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When a group of high school cheerleaders fell victim to a baffling mix of neurological symptoms, parents and administrators, of course, looked into the material factors. Mold in the building? Contaminated water source? But what if the cause of the contagion wasn't coming from their physical environment at all? Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios' newest podcast, Hysteric,
examines a mysterious outbreak that saw a ripple effect far beyond the tight-knit community where it began. Believed by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem witch trials, host Dan Taberski explores the power of our minds to manifest very real symptoms that spread like an airborne contagion. From CIA agents inexplicably crippled with nausea and vertigo, cops ODing from minuscule exposure to fentanyl, every story asks the same question. Could this actually happen to me?
I'm about to play you a clip from Hysterical. Follow Hysterical on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. In December of 2011, a young woman posted a video on YouTube. Hi, everyone. My name's *** and this is my first video. She's got shiny red hair with side bangs and she's wearing a white graphic hoodie.
A poster for the metal band Avenged Sevenfold is tacked to her bedroom wall behind her. So I'll start off by telling you a little bit about myself. I'm 16. I'm in 11th grade and I play softball like all the time. When she made this video, there was no TikTok. There was barely an Instagram. She's not looking to monetize, not trying to influence. What this 16-year-old is looking for is a little help.
She's been having strange symptoms that so far no one can seem to explain. "Recently, last August, I had passed out at a concert. I was headbanging and I thought, you know, I was just dehydrated and all that." By now you've noticed that her speech is a bit halting and her nervous teenage energy is more than just fidgeting. "And about a month after, I pass out again at the homecoming dance. That's awesome, right?
It has pattern and repetition. Eyes twitching, hands in the air, fingers flying. And a few days ago, my twitching has progressed into noises like through my nose or in my throat. And it's something that won't go away. The more she talks, the worse it gets. She's neck tilting now and jerking her head. That's another thing I do a lot, clap. Um...
We're still trying to get answers, so going back to the doctors again. Then she signs off, her first missive of many, to wait and see what kind of response she might get. And if anyone wants to talk about this or if anyone's starting it, I'll be willing to talk at all.
I recently googled the phrase "Eye Twitch" - the simplest of her symptoms - just to see. An eye twitch could be a symptom of dehydration or low electrolytes. An eye twitch could mean you have glaucoma or a disease like Acanthamoeba keratitis. You don't want that one. An eye twitch could be the first sign of a condition called Isaac syndrome, in which your muscles don't stop moving and appear to be constantly rippling under the skin even when you're asleep. To be fair, Isaac syndrome is extremely rare.
But as those sons of bitches at the NIH are quick to point out, there are over 10,000 rare diseases. Over 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with one. In other words, developing a rare disease? Not that rare. And that's why it can be so scary when the symptoms you're experiencing all add up to a mystery. When that teenage girl sent her video out into the void, she wasn't sure she'd get anything back besides her own echo. But she does.
She's about to find out there are others. A strange illness has made at least a dozen teenage girls sick at the same high school. And those others are all clustered in one small place and also just came down with the same bizarre symptoms. This is my eighth or ninth day straight ticking and doesn't stop. I would go to art class. I used to go to two art classes every day. Now I'm not in school.
And they are all going to discover this isn't just something they have. It might be something they caught. More cases of a mysterious illness have been confirmed. A contagion. Caught from a friend or a classmate or from a place by something in the water or the air or the ground there. Famous environmentalist and activist Erin Brockovich is getting involved. I mean, we're looking at a myriad of environmental concerns. This one's just standing out like a sore thumb.
And a whole town is going to start doubting their own doctors, their own neighbors. Some will doubt their own kids. A lot of them say that we're faking and that you're faking because you want attention. Seriously, why would we fake this? Some will even doubt the brains inside their own heads. Am I going crazy? Is this really happening? Question is, what is this? No, no, I'm done listening to you. You are not doing your job. You are not doing your job.
And can they stop it from spreading? Episode 1, Outbreak. Binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.