Today in History

June 24, 1374

Dancing Mania Breaks Out in Germany

On this day in 1374, a severe outbreak of "dancing mania", also known as "St. John's Dance" or "dancing plague", occurred in Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany. This particular outbreak soon spread across the European continent, as far as Italy, Luxembourg and France.

Dancing mania involves men and women breaking into frenzied, erratic dancing - dancing which continues until they physically collapse from exhaustion. The dancing proved highly contagious and overtook entire townships. No one is sure what caused dancing mania - ideas put forward today include physiological and sociological explanations.

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