Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a study of crowd psychology by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay. The subjects of Mackay's debunking include witchcraft, alchemy, crusades, duels, economic bubbles, fortune-telling, haunted houses, the Drummer of Tedworth, the influence of politics and religion on the shapes of beards and hair, magnetizers (influence of imagination in curing disease), murder through poisoning, prophecies, popular admiration of great thieves, popular follies of great cities, and relics.

Contents:

Volume 1: National Delusions:

The Mississippi Scheme

The South Sea Bubble

The Tulipomania

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

Volume 2: Peculiar Follies:

The Crusades

The Witch Mania

The Slow Poisoners

Haunted Houses

Volume 3: Philosophical Delusions :

The Alchemysts

Fortune Telling

The Magnetisers