Charles Mackay

Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay was first published in 1841. An early study of crowd psychology, it consists of three volumes: National Delusions: Peculiar Follies; and, Philosophical Delusions. Chapter subjects include: The Mississippi Scheme; The South Sea Bubble; The Tulip mania; Relics; Modern Prophecies; Popular Admiration for Great Thieves; Influence of Politics and Religion on the Hair and Beard; Duels and Ordeals; The Love of the Marvellous and the Disbelief of the True; Popular Follies in Great Cities; Old Price Riots; The Thugs, or Phansigars; The Crusades; The Witch Mania; The Slow Poisoners; Haunted Houses; The Alchemysts; Fortune Telling; and, The Magnetiser.