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.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Shrew Views to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.