On the morning of January 30, 1962, at a mission-run boarding school for girls in the village of Kashasha, three students began to laugh. They were between 12 and 18 years old. Nothing funny had happened. No joke, no trick, no reason anyone could find. They simply could not stop. The school stood in Tanganyika, a country only seven weeks old, free of colonial rule since December 9, 1961. This story is about what that laughter turned into. It became known as the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic, and it is the classic case of mass psychogenic illness, where shared stress produces real physical symptoms with no germ or poison behind them. Within weeks it would shut the school's doors and begin moving across the countryside. The question running through all of it is a strange one. Why did laughing feel like suffering?
The Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic
In 1962, three schoolgirls in Kashasha began laughing uncontrollably, and 95 of 159 pupils were affected before the school closed.
Three Girls Start Laughing
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the Tanganyika Laughter Epidemic?
It was an outbreak of uncontrollable laughing that began on January 30, 1962, at a girls' boarding school in Kashasha, Tanganyika. It spread to nearby villages and schools over about 18 months. It is a classic example of mass psychogenic illness, where shared stress produces real physical symptoms without any germ.
Was the laughter in Tanganyika actually joyful?
No. The fits were exhausting and often felt like suffering. Doctors found that weeping and panic were as common as laughing, and some patients also fainted, struggled to breathe or developed skin rashes.
What did doctors conclude caused the laughing epidemic?
Dr. A.M. Rankin and Dr. P.J. Philip found no poison, parasite or infection, and blood tests were normal. They concluded the cause was mass hysteria in a population susceptible to psychological stress. Later researcher Christian Hempelmann linked it to the pressures of the years right after independence.
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