Maybe It’s in the Water

On August 16, 1951, the quiet town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in southern France was struck by a bizarre outbreak. Residents suddenly experienced severe symptoms: nausea, insomnia, and vivid hallucinations. People reported seeing terrifying visions—snakes crawling out of their stomachs, fire engulfing their bodies, or blood dripping from the walls of their homes. Some cases were extreme: an 11-year-old boy attempted to strangle his grandmother, a man jumped from a window claiming he was an airplane, and others were restrained in straitjackets or chained to their beds. By the end, at least 5 people died (some sources say 7), dozens were institutionalized, and over 300 were affected.

I remember as a 13-year-old kid reading about this in some magazine (I recall it was LIFE, but I could never find it since). For some reason, it terrified me and lived with me in my memory for 50-plus years. Recently, one of you (my Shrew Views readers) turned me on to the story, and much has been written about it rather recently by other researchers.