Member-only story
Unable To Stop Dancing After 3 Straight Days In 1907, Woman Drugged To Save Her Life
In 1907, a domestic servant started dancing and couldn’t stop — leading to her being medicated with morphine three days later to prevent her death
When the song and the beats are right, there is nothing like getting into the groove of a good dance. However, there can always be too much of a good thing. This was certainly the case for a young woman named Theresa Horn in 1907, who had to be drugged to save her life after she had compulsively danced for three straight days and indicated she was unable to stop.
In 1907, Horn was a 21-year-old domestic employed with John Kelly, a wealthy resident of Ardmore (a Philadelphia community). The April 15, 1907 issue of the Chicago Tribune reported how the young woman nearly lost her life due to a bizarre affliction.
The young woman had started dancing, which is normally an activity that is satiated after a few numbers. However, she found that she simply couldn’t stop. Three days later, after nearly continuous movement of her feet she was plied with opiates by concerned doctors in an attempt to still her body and save her life. It was described that even as she lay in a stupor from this dosage, her feet continued to…
