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Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, True Crime, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved

THE STRANGEST TRUE CASES OF MASS HYSTERIA: Meowing, Twitching, Laughing, and Dancing to Death

Weird Darkness: Stories of the Paranormal, True Crime, Legends, Lore, Mysterious, Macabre, Unsolved

Darren Marlar

True Crime, History, Society & Culture, Documentary, Science, Religion & Spirituality

4.64K Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2025

⏱️ 82 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When terror takes hold of the mind, whole communities descend into madness—meowing like beasts, dancing to exhaustion, and vanishing into the grip of something seemingly paranormal and demonic.

Download The FREE Word Search Puzzle For This Episode: https://weirddarkness.com/TrueCasesOfMassHysteria

Get the Darkness Syndicate version of #WeirdDarkness: https://weirddarkness.com/syndicate

DISCLAIMER: Ads heard during the podcast that are not in my voice are placed by third party agencies outside of my control and should not imply an endorsement by Weird Darkness or myself. *** Stories and content in Weird Darkness can be disturbing for some listeners and intended for mature audiences only. Parental discretion is strongly advised.
IN THIS EPISODE: Nuns that meow like cats, people who can’t stop laughing maniacally, an entire high school begins twitching… even the Salem witch trials. Just a few of the 8 cases of mass hysteria I’ll be sharing with you. *** January 7, 1950, events began in what became one of the strangest disappearances of the middle twentieth century – the vanishing of a West Point cadet. *** Visitors to Calke Abbey have reported a strange atmosphere of sadness and foreboding and many have reported being scared by the sounds of a tin whistle. *** We’ve all heard of the Bermuda Triangle – but there are strange, anomalies worldwide – and one in Russia is known as the “M Triangle”. *** As far back as the 19th century, a hairy monster has been frightening guests of an Irish castle. *** When living in a home built in the 1800s, it might be expected to have something paranormal living with you.

CHAPTERS & TIME STAMPS (All Times Approximate)…
00:00:00.000 = Lead-In
00:01:13.141 = Show Open
00:03:19.677 = Whispering Ghost of Calke Abbey
00:07:03.615 = The M Triangle
00:16:54.708 = Hairy Monster Frightening Guests At An Irish Castle
00:21:55.288 = The Haunted Farmhouse
00:30:28.274 = The Vanished Cadet
00:57:24.932 = Strange Cases of Mass Hysteria
01:10:32.285 = The Rearview (Fictional Story)
01:16:19.799 = Betty Bites (Fictional Story)
01:19:39.546 = Show Close

SOURCES AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE…
“The Whistling Ghost of Calke Abbey”: https://tinyurl.com/y53zgov3
“The M-Triangle”: https://tinyurl.com/y582ymo6
“Arkaim Anomalous Zone”: https://tinyurl.com/y465d3u7
“Hairy Monster Frightening The Guests Of The Irish Castle”: https://tinyurl.com/y5gbnbx2
“The Haunted Farmhouse”: https://tinyurl.com/yyncsbyo
“Strange Cases of Mass Hysteria”: https://tinyurl.com/y6ja9ezo
“The Vanished Cadet”: https://tinyurl.com/y4h8et3p
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(Over time links seen above may become invalid, disappear, or have different content. I always make sure to give authors credit for the material I use whenever possible. If I somehow overlooked doing so for a story, or if a credit is incorrect, please let me know and I will rectify it in these show notes immediately. Some links included above may benefit me financially through qualifying purchases.)
= = = = =
"I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46
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WeirdDarkness® is a registered trademark. Copyright ©2025, Weird Darkness.
=====
Originally aired: December 01, 2018
EPISODE PAGE at WeirdDarkness.com (includes list of sources): https://weirddarkness.com/TrueCasesOfMassHysteria

TAGS: mass hysteria, collective delusion, dancing plague, meowing nuns, Salem witch trials, Tanganyika laughter epidemic, Muhnochwa, Halifax slasher, historical mass hysteria, bizarre true stories, paranormal events, unexplained phenomena, psychological horror, group psychosis, creepy history, strange epidemics, human mind mysteries, occult history, mass hallucination, supernatural events, weird true crime, haunted history, folklore and legends, spooky mass events

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

I remember very clearly, waking up early when I was about 13.

0:08.8

I don't remember where my sister was, but I was alone in the room.

0:13.5

This would have been maybe 5.30 in the morning, and the sun was just starting to rise.

0:19.0

My cat was howling, and I mean howling. He was normally really

0:23.8

sweet and relaxed, but he was freaking out, running between me and the door and me yowing his

0:29.5

head off. Finally, he just bolted out the door and ran downstairs. I shrugged it off and rolled

0:36.5

over, trying to go back to sleep. I could feel something

0:40.4

wasn't right. I turned back toward the door to see what was up. Standing on the other side of the

0:47.6

room was a white female figure. I couldn't see her face, but I could make out her long hair and body. We just sat there,

0:58.2

staring at each other for what felt like an eternity. Finally, I heard people starting to move

1:04.5

around downstairs, and the figure disappeared. I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weird Darkness.

1:13.6

Welcome, Weirdoes.

1:22.6

I'm Darren Marler, and this is Weird Darkness.

1:26.6

Here you'll find stories of the paranormal, supernatural,

1:30.3

legends, lore, crime, conspiracy, mysterious, macabre, unsolved, and unexplained.

1:40.3

Coming up in this episode, Nuns that meow-like cats, people who can't stop

1:47.9

laughing maniacally, an entire high school begins twitching, even the Salem witch trials.

1:55.4

Just a few of the cases of mass hysteria I'll be sharing with you. January 7, 1950.

2:03.8

Events began in what became one of the strangest disappearances of the middle 20th century,

2:09.9

the vanishing of a West Point cadet.

2:14.0

Visitors to Cock Abbey have reported a strange atmosphere of sadness and foreboding, and

2:20.3

many have reported being scared by the sounds of a tin whistle.

...

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