mass hysteria [ME, maiour, great; Gk, hystera, womb] , an episode of psychogenic illness affecting a large group of individuals at the same time. Examples include the witchcraft trials of the 17th century and the irrational mass reaction to the 1938 radio show based on H.G. Wells’ science-fiction novel, War of the Worlds. Also called collective hysteria, epidemic hysteria, mass panic, mass psychogenic illness.
