in the execution of 20 citizens and the death of five other citizens of Salem Village, Massachusetts (present day Danvers, Massachusetts) and nearby towns who were accused of practicing witchcraft. The episode is one of America's most notorious cases of mass hysteria, and it has been used in political rhetoric and popular literature as a vivid cautionary tale about the dangers of isolationism, religious extremism, false accusations and lapses in due process. Würzburg, Germany (1749) – an outbreak of screaming, squirming, and trance in a nunnery led to the execution of a suspected witch. Great Fear (1789) – a general panic that took place between 17 July and 3 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. 1800–1950 Hammersmith Ghost hysteria (1803) – In November 1803, stories of ghost sightings in the Hammersmith neighbourhood of west London began to circulate. Many people assumed the ghost to be that of a recent suicide victim buried in Hammersmith's churchyard, which was in accordance with a popular notion at the time that suicides should not be buried in sacred grounds because their souls would be unable to find rest there. All witnesses reported the ghost as being very tall and clothed entirely in white, with some adding horns and glass eyes to the mix. As more individuals came forward to claim that they had not only seen the Hammersmith ghost, but had also been assaulted by it, alarm rapidly turned to widespread panic, and finally mass hysteria. Fearful residents responded by taking up guns and monitoring the area. This reaction resulted in one member of the public, Francis Smith, shooting and killing bricklayer Thomas Millwood by mistake, thinking he was the ghost. Spring-heeled Jack sightings (1837-1904) – The earliest known sightings of Spring-heeled Jack, a legendary figure in English folklore, are claimed to have occurred in London in 1837, and the final confirmed sighting is said to have taken place in Liverpool in 1904. "Writing Tremor Epidemic" (1892, 1904) – The right hand of a 10-year-old girl in Groß Tinz began trembling, which developed into full-body seizures that spread to 19 other students. A similar epidemic affected 20 in Basel, Switzerland. Twelve years later, the Basel school experienced another outbreak that affected 27 students. Legend of the first outbreak was said to have played a role. Montreal (1894) – 60 students at a ladies' seminary had an outbreak of fits and seizures,