What happened on June 24th

This story is very obscure and probably not my normal genre; however when I read about this phenomena I knew that I wanted to include it in my blog.  On June 24, 1374, the people of Aachen, Germany danced in the streets screaming of visions and hallucinations.  They continued to writhe and twist after they were too exhausted to stand.  This dancing mania spread throughout Europe.  This dancing mania was given a name in medieval times, St. John’s Dance.  What was very likely a nervous system disorder was consider a sign of possession by the devil by the church.  This disorder was found in mainland Europe between the 14th and 18th centuries and involved large groups of people.  No real decision has been made as to the cause; however some of the symptoms seem to be ergot poisoning, or ergotism which was known in the Middle Ages as “St. Anthony’s Fire”.  It is caused by eating rye infected with Claviceps purpurea, a small fungus that contains toxic and psychoactive chemicals (alkaloids), including lysergic acid and ergotamine (used in modern times as a precursor in the synthesis of LSD). I highlighted the last part as I know those of us that are not technical and have lived through the 1960s or 1970s could relate to it from pop culture.  Symptoms of ergot poisoning include nervous spasms, psychotic delusions, spontaneous abortion and convulsions and gangrene caused by severe vasoconstriction; some dancers claimed to have experienced visions of a religious nature.

Source:  http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/St.+John%27s+Dance