Panic Attacks: Media Manipulation and Mass Delusion - Hardcover

Bartholomew, Robert E.; Evans, Hilary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0750937858 ISBN 13: 9780750937856

Publisher: The History Press, 2004

Synopsis

Examining the ability of the media to whip up a panic and our tendency to fall victim to mass delusion and hysteria, this title discusses America's "kissing bug" scare of 1899; Seattle's atomic fallout fiasco of 1954; the phantom slasher of Taipei in 1956; Belgium's recent Coca-Cola poisoning scare and the "mad gasser" of Mattoon, and more.

About this title

Synopsis:

There have been many media-induced cases of mass hysteria in the twentieth century - perhaps the Orson Welles Mercury Theater broadcast being the most notorious. On Sunday 30 October 1938, many Americans reportedly panicked after listening to a radio play depicting a Martian landing in Grovers Mill, New Jersey. It is still widely believed that the episode triggered suicides and heart attacks. Other accounts tell of terrorised residents clutching shotguns and barricading their homes, ready to defend loved ones against the Martians. The drama was produced by Orson Welles and the script was based on an 1898 science fiction classic, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells and was the beginning of a wave of Martian invasion scare stories. Robert Bartholomew and Hilary Evans, both experts in the history of unexplained phenomena, examine the ability of the media to whip up a panic and our tendency to fall victim to mass delusion and hysteria in this entertaining and searching book. Among some of the popular delusions they discuss are America's 'kissing bug' scare of 1899; Seattle's atomic fallout fiasco of 1954; the phantom slasher of Tapei in 1956; Belgium's recent Coca-Cola poisoning scare

About the Author:

Robert E. Bartholomew is a sociologist at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia. His previous books include UFO's & Alien Contact: Two Centuries of Mystery, Hoaxes, Myths and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking and Mass Hysteria: A Social History of the Strange. Hilary Evans, director of the Mary Evans Picture Library, is a member of the Society for Psychical Research.

About this edition

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0750937858
• ISBN 13: 9780750937856
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256