Robert E. Bartholomew – författare

It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science:  the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row.  Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba.  While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.” 

Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria is a scientific detective story and a case study in the social construction of mass psychogenic illness.

This book provides an accessible overview of one particular type of social panic: that of the phantom attacker. Such panics are characterised by outbreaks of sensational claims of attacks by mysterious figures that seem to emerge from nowhere, attack their innocent human and animal victims, only to vanish without a trace. Taking the recent wave of needle-spiking reports in Europe as a starting point, this book does more than just catalogue such outbreaks historically and geographically. It also ties the phenomenon of phantom assailants to the moral panics literature.

Meticulously investigating archival sources, the authors examine the social construction of social panics and unearth the parallels between contemporary episodes and historical antecedents in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. Focusing on the sociohistorical and -cultural context, they uncover the role of mass media in creating and perpetuating these panics, which respond to anxieties pervading societies at particular points in history.

Written in a lively style, this book is not only of interest for scholars and students of sociology, criminology, social psychology, media studies and history but also appeals to a lay audience interested in urban legends and true crime.

A scientific detective story and a case study in the social construction of mass psychogenic illness.

The authors provide dozens of examples of kindred episodes of mass hysteria throughout history, in addition to psychosomatic conditions and even the role of insects in triggering outbreaks.

It is one of the most extraordinary cases in the history of science: the mating calls of insects were mistaken for a “sonic weapon” that led to a major diplomatic row. Since August 2017, the world media has been absorbed in the “attack” on diplomats from the American and Canadian Embassies in Cuba. While physicians treating victims have described it as a novel and perplexing condition that involves an array of complaints including brain damage, the authors present compelling evidence that mass psychogenic illness was the cause of “Havana Syndrome.”

This mysterious condition that has baffled experts is explored across eleven chapters which offer insights by a prominent neurologist and an expert on psychogenic illness. A lively and enthralling listen, the authors explore the history of similar scares from the eighteenth century belief that sounds from certain musical instruments were harmful to human health, to nineteenth century cases of “telephone shock,” and more contemporary panics involving people living near wind turbines that have been tied to a variety of health complaints. The authors provide dozens of examples of kindred episodes of mass hysteria throughout history, in addition to psychosomatic conditions and even the role of insects in triggering outbreaks.

Havana Syndrome: Mass Psychogenic Illness and the Real Story Behind the Embassy Mystery and Hysteria is a scientific detective story and a case study in the social construction of mass psychogenic illness.