Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics: A Study of Mass Psychogenic Illnesses and Social Delusion [Paperback]

Robert E. Bartholomew (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001 | ISBN-10: 0786409975 | ISBN-13: 978-0786409976

"For a two week period in 1956, residents in the vicinity of Taipei, Taiwan, lived in fear that they would be the next victims of a crazed villain who was prowling the streets and slashing people at random with a razor or similar weapon. At least 21 victims were reported during this period, mostly women and children of low income and education." A thorough investigation revealed however, that: "five slashings were innocent false reports, seven were self-inflicted cuts, eight were due to cuts rather than razors, and one was complete fantasy."

This is one example of many cases of what has traditionally been called "mass hysteria" that are examined in this comprehensive study of human beings’ fear of the unknown. Beginning with a concise history of mass hysteria and social delusions, the author differentiates between the two and investigates mass hysteria in closed settings such as work and school, and mass hysteria in communities with incidents such as gassings, Pokémon illnesses in Japan, and medieval dance crazes. Also examined are collective delusions, with information on five major types: immediate threat, symbolic scare, mass wish fulfillment, urban legends and mass panics. The book ends with a discussion of major issues in the area of mass hysteria and a look toward the future of this intriguing subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...well-documented information to those interested in mass psychosocial phenomena, and as fascinating leisure-time reading to the general."  --Wolfgang G. Jilek, Professor Emeritus, Clinical Psychiatry, University of British Columbia.

"...will interest any reader curious about the fallibility of human reason and observation.  For the expert who has to address strange conditions in the courts such as the multiple personality disorder, it provides a wide range of even stranger phenomena over the centuries."
--David Bell, Editor, Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences

"Important... extensive critical apparatus" -- Fortean Times

"The book will interest any reader... it is extensively documented and food for thought" -- Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences

"Vivid title" -- Hysteria

About the Author

Robert E. Bartholomew has taught sociology in Australia at The Flinders University of South Australia and James Cook University in Queensland. Also a former broadcast journalist and contributor to news organizations such as the Associated Press and United Press International, he lives in Whitehall, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 293 pages
• Publisher: Mcfarland & Co Inc Pub (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786409975
• ISBN-13: 978-0786409976
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,096,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sociologist Robert Bartholomew is an authority on social panics, rumors, scares, and hysterias. His articles have appeared in more than 60 peer-reviewed publications including the British Medical Journal, British Journal of Psychiatry, Canadian Medical Association Journal, and Medical Journal of Australia. He has worked as a journalist for several New York State radio stations, serving as news director twice, and is a former correspondent for WGY, Schenectady, one of the largest stations in the United States. A licensed secondary school social studies teacher, he has been interviewed on media scares in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, The New Yorker, and on the History Channel. The Chair of his Ph.D. Committee was Professor Arthur Kleinman, Head of the Department of Social Medicine at Harvard University.