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Metaphysics & Psychology

40 school kids collapse due to mass hysteria

By T.K. Randall
November 12, 2015 · Comment icon 21 comments

The incident was blamed on a 'ripple effect' of anxiety. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 2.0 frwl
A bizarre wave of anxiety caused several dozen pupils at a school in North Yorkshire to fall unconscious.
The incident, which occurred at Outwood academy in Ripon, made headline news after reports suggested that chemical fumes or a gas leak might have been making the students ill.

When fire crews and specialist hazardous substance teams attended the scene however it was quickly determined that no noxious chemicals were present and that the children had instead suffered a 'ripple effect' of nausea and faintness.

"We were all in assembly for Remembrance Day and people were just passing out towards the end," said 15-year-old Joshua Hall who was present at the time of the incident. "It was pretty scary, it was talked about the whole day and it kept getting worse and worse."
One pupil was taken to hospital with minor injuries however the hysteria soon passed and everyone went on to make a full recovery.

"We are of the view the children just fainted and there was a ripple effect throughout the school," said Dave Winspear of the North Yorkshire fire service.

"More children felt anxiety and started to feel concerned and the thing escalated."

Source: The Guardian | Comments (21)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #12 Posted by back to earth 8 years ago
I don't think 40 kids were like "Man, this is so BORING!" *faint* I do think it's probably an aspect of mass hysteria and that's what makes me interested. If this can happen, is this also what is at work in *some* paranormal experiences or even "sightings"? Like what ? Ones I looked into didnt hold up ..... I am still looking. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun
Comment icon #13 Posted by LightningSieler 8 years ago
Sounds like a good time/place to test out a frequency device..... Ripple effect.... Interesting.
Comment icon #14 Posted by Paranormalcy 8 years ago
I don't know which ones, if any, that's why I posed the question. One of my original ideas long ago was "mass psychic resonance" and a dependence on the overall belief in a given area of a given phenomenon be mostly receptive, but potentially even one fairly strong uncertain or a direct skeptic, could prevent the entire thing.
Comment icon #15 Posted by Goodnite 8 years ago
Maybe they all got their results from the algebra test that day. Lol.
Comment icon #16 Posted by Captain Dumbass 8 years ago
Captain Dumbass, your name is truly apt. Have some respect. I am very sorry rjos... i don't know what apt. means. I do have respect and i represent my theory in the most respectful way. I have been to several remembrance days when i attended an english univercity... and they ARE truely boring. I don't say i don't respect it or the reason to do it, WW1. But it does not take away the FACT that it is extremely boring and doesn't feel current for minors of today. Maybe americans are better to put a party into a day like that, but that is unrelated to this story.
Comment icon #17 Posted by Athena1979 8 years ago
How does one separate mass hysteria from an actual problem? I can see hysteria causing it, but what if there was something else that affected those specific children? OK, not gas, but, maybe food or an allergy to soap at the school... How do you prove hysteria? Just because you gave up, so you claim hysteria? If that's true, why only 40 kids. Kids talk about all sorts of unnerving things all the time ( drama, rumors) . those kids would be fainting on a daily basis.
Comment icon #18 Posted by AstralPhae 8 years ago
Didn't this happen somewhere else as well?
Comment icon #19 Posted by Paranormalcy 8 years ago
It's happened many times. Quiet a few in the UK, some in Russia, some in one or two Hispanic countries. I would guess it has probably happened in every country. It's when it's large groups of people, typically kids. To me, it's a form of "viral" mass hysteria, like a "viral video" - it's "going around". There are some very old accounts of "diseases" that worked the same way, but more horrifyingly. Like one that caused people to dance uncontrollably until their death. Not just jerk or twitch but actually dance, rhymically. NO actual medical condition will make you dance (well, maybe Saturday Ni... [More]
Comment icon #20 Posted by Paranomali 8 years ago
This is beyond bizarre. I wonder if it was pre planned, like to get out of an upcoming class or something lol
Comment icon #21 Posted by Paranormalcy 8 years ago
No it tends to be surprising to everyone involved. Sometimes it happens all at once, sometimes it takes almost a week to get rolling. Hazmat/EMT and other contamination specialists get called in, search everything, and declare the area safe. It's not *everybody* in the school that gets it, it's a sometimes significant but still minor fraction of teh total students that are afflicted - with documented but not serious conditions - anxiety, blood pressure, drowsiness, weakness, headaches, etc. Typical psychosomatic symptoms that more or less mimic a cold or flu.


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