Good drugs/Bad drugs?

Oliver Xymoron oxymoron at waste.org
Fri Sep 29 10:35:51 CDT 1995


On Fri, 29 Sep 1995, Burgess, John wrote:

> According to some interpreters, entire villages would sometimes be 
> overcome by the "natural form" of LSD, leading to events that were seen 
> as absolutely terrifying visions of the Final Judgement.  This syndrome, 
> known as St. {can't remember who}'s Dance, is pretty well documented 
> contemporaneously, though without (obviously) a causative agent.  There's 
> some suggestion that ergot poisoning had a bearing on the Dance of Death 
> (Todentanse) and its depiction in many woodcuts of the period.

I'm guessing you're referring to St. Vitus' Dance, which is usually 
characterized by uncontrollable twitching, giving the appearance of a 
dance. That's got to be a hell of a bad trip.


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