Listen Now: Hysterical

[0] In 2011, a group of high school cheerleaders began exhibiting a bizarre mix of neurological symptoms, ticks, twitches, and very strange outbursts.

[1] Desperate parents and school administrators looked to material factors.

[2] Was it mold in the school buildings?

[3] A contaminated water source?

[4] But what if the cause of the contagion wasn't coming from their physical environment at all?

[5] In Wondry and Pineapple Street Studios' newest podcast, called Hysterical, host Dan Tiberski, dives into one of the most shocking outbreaks in American history, a medical mystery that had ripple effects well beyond the tight -knit community where it began.

[6] As their symptoms got worse and began to spread, the girls and their families took matters into their own hands, and their search for answers brought a media firestorm down upon their small town.

[7] Soon enough, the entire nation was trying to solve the medical mystery from Dr. Drew to Aaron Brockovich.

[8] Believe by some to be the most severe case of mass hysteria since the Salem witch trials, hysterical is a podcast about the desire to be believed, and what happens when the world tells you it's all in your head.

[9] I'm about to play you a clip from Hysterical.

[10] Follow Hysterical on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.

[11] In December of 2011, a young woman posted a video on YouTube.

[12] Hi, everyone.

[13] My name's and this is my first video.

[14] She's got shiny red hair with side bangs and she's wearing a white graphic hoodie.

[15] A poster for the metal band Avenged Sevenfold is tacked to her bedroom wall behind her.

[16] So I'll start off by telling you a little bit about myself.

[17] I'm 16.

[18] I'm an 11th grade.

[19] And I play softball, like all the time.

[20] When she made this video, there was no TikTok.

[21] There was barely an Instagram.

[22] She's not looking to monetize, not trying to influence.

[23] What this 16 -year -old is looking for is a little help.

[24] She's been having strange symptoms that so far, no one can seem to explain.

[25] Recently, last August, I had passed out at a concert.

[26] I was head -banging.

[27] And I thought, you know, I was just dehydrated and all that.

[28] By now you've noticed that her speech is a bit halting.

[29] And her nervous teenage energy is more than just fidgeting.

[30] And about a month after, I pass out again.

[31] The homecoming dance, that's awesome, right?

[32] It has pattern and repetition.

[33] eyes twitching, hands in the air, fingers flying.

[34] And a few days ago, my twitching has progressed into noises, like through my nose or in my throat.

[35] And it's something that won't go away.

[36] The more she talks, the worse it gets.

[37] She's neck tilting now and jerking her head.

[38] That's another thing I do a lot, clap.

[39] We're still trying to get answers, so going back to the doctors again.

[40] Then she signs off, her first missive of many, to wait and see what kind of response she might get.

[41] And if anyone wants to talk about this, or if anyone's starting it, I'll be willing to talk at all.

[42] I recently Googled the phrase, I twitch, the simplest of her symptoms, just to see.

[43] An i -twitch could be a symptom of dehydration, or low electrolytes.

[44] An i -twitch could mean you have glaucoma, or a disease like acanthamoeba carotitis.

[45] You don't want that one.

[46] An i .chwitch could be the first sign of a condition called Isaac syndrome, in which your muscles don't stop moving, and appear to be constantly rippling under the skin even when you're asleep.

[47] To be fair, Isaac syndrome is extremely rare.

[48] But as those sons of bitches of the NIH are quick to point out, there are over 10 ,000 rare diseases.

[49] Over 30 million Americans have been diagnosed with one.

[50] In other words, developing a rare disease, not that rare.

[51] And that's why it can be so scary when the symptoms you're experiencing all add up to a mystery.

[52] When that teenage girl sent her video out into the void, she wasn't sure she'd get anything back besides her own echo.

[53] But she does.

[54] She's about to find out there are others.

[55] A strange illness has made at least a dozen teenage girls sick at the same high school.

[56] And those others are all clustered in one small place and also just came down with the same bizarre symptoms.

[57] This is my eighth or ninth day, straight ticking and it doesn't stop.

[58] I would go to art class.

[59] I used to go to two art classes every day.

[60] Now I'm not in school.

[61] And they are all going to discover this isn't just something they have.

[62] It might be something they caught.

[63] More cases of a mysterious illness have been confirmed.

[64] A contagion.

[65] Caught from a friend or a classmate or from a place by something in the water or the air or the ground there.

[66] Famous environmentalist and activist Aaron Brockovich is getting involved.

[67] I mean, we're looking at a myriad of environmental concerns.

[68] This one's just standing out like a sore thumb.

[69] And a whole town is going to start doubting their own doctors, their own neighbors.

[70] Some will doubt their own kids.

[71] A lot of them say that we're facing.

[72] and that you're faking because you want attention.

[73] Seriously, why would we fake this?

[74] Some will even doubt the brains inside their own heads.

[75] Am I going crazy?

[76] Is this really happening?

[77] Question is, what is this?

[78] No, no, I'm done listening to you.

[79] You are not doing your job.

[80] You are not doing your job.

[81] And can they stop it from spreading?

[82] Episode 1, Outbreak.

[83] Binge all episodes of hysterical, early and ad -free, on Wondry Plus.

[84] Join Wondry Plus in the Wondry app or on Apple Podcasts.