ABSTRACT
Psychopathological and hysterical epidemics still occur in the population, in monasteries and schools, particularly at boarding schools. In 1857-1864 a devil-possession epidemic developed among girls receiving the eucharist in Savoy. The epidemic was stopped by removal of the clergy and by acceptance of hygiene measures. Later, in 1878-1879, in the Italian village of Verzennis, not far from Udine, a devil-possession epidemic broke out and led to agitation of the population, for which which military intervention was necessary. Among the religious epidemics, deserving of attention are American religious movements known as revivals. The epidemic was expanding and raging like a fire in one part of the country known by the old residents as “the burned region.” Among the Jews there are also known great religious epidemics based on the prediction of the second coming of the Messiah. Even when Sabbatai was forced by the Sultan to accept Mohammedanism, the mystical Messianic epidemic did not weaken.
