Chapter 1: Returning Home |
In 3 B.C., during the reign of Emperor Ai of Han, there was a great drought in the world. A mysterious event occurred in the area east of the Hangu Pass. The people were in a collective panic, abandoning their fields and throwing their hoes, all holding harvest stalks, claiming that they were the plans of the Queen Mother of the West and had to be delivered to the palace. They were all running around in the fields and roads at dawn and night with disheveled hair or naked and barefoot, passing the harvest stalks to each other. Officials around the country either grabbed or pressed or beat them with the intention of stopping them, but to no avail. In the end, thousands of harvest stalks were sent to the capital through 26 counties and countries and finally placed in front of Emperor Ai of Han.
After that, the people sang and danced in the lanes and fields to worship the Queen Mother of the West until the autumn of the year, when they first awoke from their dream.
—"Zizhi Tongjian" scroll 34
In 1518 A.D., the "dancing plague" broke out in Strasbourg, France, when a woman suddenly danced and partied in the street, attracting people to stop by. Later, people joined in one after another and danced with her, continuing through the night. One day later, there were 34 dancers, and three days later, there were more than 400. The local officials brought in medical doctors for help, but nothing could be done. Even a number of doctors and soldiers joined the dance, danced for several days, and died of exhaustion. A month later, nearly half of the people in the city died in the madness of the dance.
In 1960, the scarecrow incident in Massachusetts, USA, happened. A scarecrow appeared in a wheat field in the New England highlands, the maker of which is unknown. Anyone who saw the eyes of the scarecrow stood on the spot, dazed and stiff. Those who saw the people affected by the scarecrow also experienced similar symptoms, which spread to the surrounding area. In one day, the scarecrow plague spread throughout the city, and the army and state police were deployed, but the results are unknown.
In 2005, a group of students at a middle school in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, collectively dreamed of red-eyed spiders during their afternoon break, causing panic. Later, the students began to show symptoms such as twisted limbs, slanted eyebrows, and tangled arms and legs. Experts understood the phenomenon and called it mass hysteria triggered by symptoms of muscle spasms. The following day, a gas explosion occurred at the school, destroying several school buildings. The number of casualties and survivors is unknown!
In 2030, the Red Moon event occurs!
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