Table of Contents

1. Chasing Ghosts in Cuba.- 2. The Crisis Deepens.- 3. From Combat Syndromes to Havana Mystery Illness.- 4. Social Contagion Through the Ages: From St. Vitus Dance to Mystery Odors.- 5. Musical Illness and Telephone Sickness: An Early History of Sound and Suggestion.- 6. Modern-Day Acoustical Scares: From ‘The Hum’ to ‘Wind Turbine Syndrome’.- 7. Phantom Assailants:  Of Mad Gassers and Phantom Slashers.- 8. A Short History of Spider, Insect and Worm Scares.- 9. State Terrorism Masquerading as Psychogenic Illness.- 10. ‘Havana Syndrome’ Solved:  Separating Science From Science Fiction.- 11. The Social Construction of ‘Havana Syndrome’.

About the Author

Robert W. Baloh, MD is a distinguished professor of Neurology and Head and Neck Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. Author of 11 books and over 300 articles in peer-reviewed science journals, he is a pioneer in the study of the vestibular system: the part of the inner ear which helps people to maintain their sense of balance and spatial awareness. He has developed tests of vestibular function that are used by inner ear specialists around the world.

Robert E. Bartholomew, PhD is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland. He completed a doctorate in Medical Sociology from James Cook University in Australia and his Master’s in Sociology from the State University of New York at Albany. He has published in over 60 peer-reviewed journals, has been featured in a National Geographic series on modern myths and has appeared on The History and Discovery Channels. A Fellow with theCenter for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, he teaches History at Botany College in Auckland.

Reviews

“A book for everyone interested in how scares and social panics start and spread, especially in our era of fake news and conspiracy theories.” (Nigel Watson, Magonia review of books, pelicanist.blogspot.com, October 1, 2020)
“This is a brilliant exposition of how social panics evolve and escalate; every fortean should read it.” (Nigel Watson, Fortean Times, forteantimes.com, August 26, 2020)