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+28 +1
The strange case of Marina Joyce and internet hysteria
Witch hunts and panic among communities are nothing new, but what happens when cyberspace intensifies the frenzy? By Amelia Tait.
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+2 +1
A Strange Case of Dancing Mania Struck Germany Six Centuries Ago
Modern experts still don't agree on what caused plagues of compulsive dancing in the streets. By Marissa Fessenden. (June 24, 2016)
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+26 +1
John Middleton, the Accidental Warlock
It’s got to be a little disconcerting to find out that despite your best efforts, a solid upbringing, and any evidence to the contrary, the court has legally determined that you are a witch. That’s the sort of thing one hopes to be aware of...
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+13 +1
The Bizarre Case Of Hiccuping Teenagers In Old Salem
An outbreak of chronic hiccups in teens in Danvers, Massachusetts, site of the Salem Witch Trials, spurred a big investigation. Health officials suspected the culprit was a group psychological phenomenon, but kept that out of the final report. By Dan Vergano.
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+15 +1
The creepy clown crisis
White House defers to FBI. Stephen King hits ‘hysteria.’ By Ben Guarino.
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+20 +1
The BBC Halloween Hoax That Traumatized Viewers
A 1992 broadcast of a supposedly haunted house led to documented cases of PTSD in young viewers. By Jake Rossen.
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+2 +1
The Great New England Vampire Panic
Two hundred years after the Salem witch trials, farmers became convinced that their relatives were returning from the grave to feed on the living. By Abigail Tucker.
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+15 +1
How a Soap Opera Virus Felled Hundreds of Students in Portugal
The “Strawberries With Sugar” outbreak is just one example of mass hysteria, which goes back centuries. By Lorraine Boissoneault.
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+4 +1
Hysteria, Witches, and The Wandering Uterus: A Brief History
Or, Why I Teach “the Yellow Wallpaper.” By Terri Kapsalis.
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+37 +1
Flakka is a dangerous drug, but it doesn’t turn you into a zombie
Flakka was believed to be behind two cannibalistic attacks in Florida that left one man blind and a married couple dead. It wasn't so. Here‘s why we need facts, not myths, about dangerous drugs. By Joseph Palamar. (Nov. 28, 2016)
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+44 +1
The unbearable wrongness of Gwyneth Paltrow
Please do not buy into her bullshit. By Yvette d'Entremont.
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+17 +1
A Painting of a Crying Boy Was Blamed For a Series of Fires in the ‘80s
The artwork, said U.K. tabloids of the time, was haunted. By Natalie Zarrelli.
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+22 +1
Children of the ‘80s Never Fear: Video Games Did Not Ruin Your Life
Inside the ridiculous media panic that scared parents silly. By Michael Z. Newman.
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+1 +1
The Terror News Cycle
“’Terrorists don’t care who they kill,’ Phillips said. ‘It’s the number of bodybags that determines success.’ ‘And the publicity,’ Robinson interjected. ‘And the publicity,’ Phillips agreed.” By Des Freedman.
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+21 +1
When the Beast of Gévaudan Terrorized France
The tale of this monster grew in the telling, but the carnage still left nearly 100 dead
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+1 +1
Russiagate Is More Fiction Than Fact
From accusations of Trump campaign collusion to Russian Facebook ad buys, the media has substituted hype for evidence. By Aaron Maté.
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+28 +1
The Scandalous Witch Hunt That Poisoned 17th-Century France
The Affair of the Poisons was one to remember. By Natasha Frost.
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+22 +1
Louise Mensch Is More Dangerous than Facebook
This isn't the first time a capitalist model designed to maximize profit failed us socially, but it might be the first time such a failure is sanctioned by the constitution. By Roger Sollenberger.
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+25 +1
Assault, Robbery, and Murder
The Dark History of "Bedsheet Ghosts." By Lucas Reilly.
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+16 +1
Turkey pardoned by Trump had multiple contacts with Russian officials
Grav E. Gobbles, a 4-year-old bird from western Minnesota, received a pardon Tuesday during a ceremony in the Rose Garden. But how Gobbles was able to secure a presidential pardon has come under scrutiny, sources say. By Paul Sharpe. [Satire]
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