The Sleeping Sickness Epidemic (1919-1930)
Morbid
01/12/26
•52m
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In late 1916, while treating a group of patients at his psychiatric clinic at the University of Vienna, Dr. Constantin von Economo began noticing the appearance of strange symptoms that he could not account for. At the same time, in France, Rene Cruchet began noticing similarly strange and unexpected symptoms in his patients. Though the two men had never met and knew nothing of one another’s patients, they would come to learn they were both witnessing the emergence of a new mysterious disease that would soon affect millions of people around the world.
The illnesses documented by von Economo and Cruchet would eventually come to be know as encephalitis lethargica, or sleeping sickness, a strange condition that caused profound lethargy, hypersomnia, and a wide range of other frightening symptoms. Between 1919 and the early 1930s, millions of people all around the world contracted the illness, with nearly half of all cases resulting in death, and many more suffering long-term effects; yet a cause of the illness has never been established and the terrifying epidemic appears to have faded from memory not long after the disease itself ostensibly disappeared.
References
Brook, Harry Ellington. 1921. "Care of the body." Los Angeles Times, March 6: 18.
Crosby, Molly Caldwell. 2011. Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries. New York, NY: Penguin Publishing Group.
Hassler, Dr. William. 1919. "No sleeping sickness in S.F." San Francisco Examiner, March 10: 1.
Hoffman, Leslie A., and Joel A. Vilensky. 2017. "Encephalitis lethargica: 100 years after the epidemic." Brain: A Journal of Neurology 2246-2251.
Montreal Star. 1920. "Sleeping sickness puzzling doctors." Montreal Star, January 15: 3.
New York Times. 1936. "Awakens from sleep continuing 440 days." New York Times, June 14: 13.
R.R. Dourmashkin, MD. 1997. "What caused the 1918-30 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica?" Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 515-520.
Sacks, Oliver. 1973. Awakenings. New York, NY: Vintage.
San Francisco Examiner. 1919. "New sleeping sickness hits S.F. residents." San Francisco Examiner, March 14: 1.
—. 1921. "Ten succumb to sleeping sickness." San Francisco Examiner, August 18: 13.
Western Morning News. 1919. "Notices." Western Morning News, January 1: 1.
Williams, David Bruce. 2020. "Encephalitis Lethargica: The Challenge of Structure and Function in Neuropsychiatry." Archives of Medicine and Health Sciences 255-262.
Wright, Oliver. 2002. "His life passed in a trance but his death may solve medical." The Times, December 14.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Previous Episode
The Mysterious Case of Sunny von Bulow
January 8
•68m
Weirdos!! On today's episode Alaina announced the third chapter in the Wren Muller series- The Butcher Legacy . Be sure to visit to PREORDER NOW by visiting butcherlegacy.com . Order NOW to get exclusive signed editions from BN.com AND the Special Edition from Target!
In the winter of 1980, wealthy socialite Martha “Sunny” von Bulow was found unconscious in the bathroom of the mansion she shared with her husband, Claus, in Newport, Rhode Island. An ambulance was called and Sunny was rushed to the nearest emergency room, but paramedics and doctors were unable to revive her and Sunny would remain in a coma until her death in 2008.
At first, Sunny’s coma was a mystery to doctors, but soon suspicion fell on her husband, Claus, who appeared indifferent to her condition and was openly carrying on an affair with another woman. The family launched a private investigation and eventually turned up strong evidence they believed implicated Claus in the attempted murder of Sunny, but, as they soon learned, believing it and proving it were two very different things.
References
Associated Press. 1985. "von Bulow stepchildren sue him for $56 million." New York Times, July 20: 30.
Burton, Tony, and William Kutik. 1981. "Charge socialite tried to kill wife." Daily News (New York, NY), July 7: 4.
Clendinen, Dudley. 1982. "von Bulow trial going to the jury." New York Times, March 11: 20.
Friendly, Jonathan. 1985. "von Bulow's mistress told of plea not to tesitfy about their affair." New York Times, June 6: B15.
Kutik, William. 1981. "Claus returns to the scene." Daily News (New York, NY), July 9: 4.
—. 1981. "In her will, $35M for hubby." Daily News (New York, NY), July 8: 189.
Nemy, Enid. 2019. "Claus von Bulow, tarred by scandal in the death of his wife, dies at 92." New York Times, May 31.
—. 2008. "Sunny von Bulow, whose near death started a society drama, dies at 76." New York Times, December 7.
New York Times. 1982. "von Bulow lover testifies on affair." New York Times, February 19: B14.
State of Rhode Island v. Claus von Bulow. 1984. 82-462-CA (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, May 24).
The Economist. 2019. "Did he or didn't he?" The Economist, June 15.
1997. American Justice. Performed by Towers Productions.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
Ricky Kasso: The Acid King
January 15
•74m
In the early summer of 1984, seventeen-year-old Gary Lauwers was murdered by his friend Richard “Ricky” Kasso in the small Long Island suburb of Northport, New York. Lauwers was stabbed more than thirty times in the attack and his body showed signs of what appeared to be torture. The death itself was shocking to the tiny community of Northport, but the details that emerged in the wake of Kasso’s arrest would shock the entire nation.
References
Breskin, Davkd. 1984. "Kids in the Dark." Rolling Stone, November 22.
Cassidy, Jerry. 1984. "Cops say 2 teens sought corpses for satanic rites." Daily News, April 26: 352.
Gruson, Lindsey. 1985. "L.I. jury acquits defendant in killing of youth in woods." New York Times, April 26: B2.
—. 1985. "L.I. murder trial opens; confession is described." New York Times, April 5: B2.
Maier, Thomas J., and Rex Smith. 1984. "2 teens arraigned in murder." Newsday (Suffolk edition), July 7: 3.
McFadden, Robert. 1984. "Youth found hanged in L.I. cell after his arrest in ritual killing." New York Times, July 8: 1.
Newsday. 1984. "Police reports; Grave robbing." Newsday (Suffolk Edition), April 25: 33.
O'Neill, Jim, and Dennis Hevesi. 1984. "2 Northport youths charged in 'Satanic' killing of teen." Newsday (Suffolk edition), July 6: 3.
Pollack, Jesse P. 2018. The Acid King. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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