In the summer of 1518, the city of Strasbourg was seized by madness. It began with one woman, Frau Troffea, who stepped into the street and began to dance. Days passed, and she did not stop. Soon her daughter joined her. Then dozens. Then hundreds. They danced until their feet bled, until their bodies convulsed, until some collapsed dead.

Was it mass hysteria? Ergot poisoning from tainted rye? Or was it, as the people believed, a judgment from heaven with Saint Vitus himself compelling sinners to dance? The city council built stages and hired musicians, hoping to “dance it out.” But the mania only spread. Finally, the Church intervened with red shoes, holy water, incense, and prayers and the frenzy broke.

The Dancing Plague of 1518 remains one of the strangest events in Christian history. A parable of joy without God collapsing into chaos, and of the Church restoring order through ritual.

Join me as we step into Strasbourg’s cobbled streets, hear the bells of its great cathedral, and uncover the meaning behind a plague that made a city dance toward death.