Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds

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Alchemy Witchcraft and demonology

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• Read at gutenberg.org ↗ gutenberg.org checked September 11, 2026

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is an early study of crowd psychology by Scottish journalist Charles Mackay, first published in 1841 under the title Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions. The book was published in three volumes: "National Delusions", "Peculiar Follies", and "Philosophical Delusions". A second edition appeared in 1852, reorganizing the three volumes into two and adding numerous engravings. Mackay was an accomplished teller of stories, though he wrote in a journalistic and somewhat sensational style.

From the Wikipedia article Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, revision 1341529673, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata Q2431853: “1841 collection of historic anecdotes about human follies by Charles Mackay”.