Hysterical

In 1500s France, a silent convent suddenly erupted into chaos when one exhausted nun in the back pew began to meow—and other sisters started joining her. What looked like mockery of God quickly spiraled into a full‑blown “feline chorus” that shattered the vow of silence, terrified authorities, and drew whispers of witchcraft, hysteria, and demonic possession. As discipline tightened and punishments escalated, church leaders called in an exorcist, convinced this bizarre behavior had to be the Devil at work. But hours of dramatic exorcism, fasting, and prayer couldn’t silence the meows—only the arrival of soldiers and the threat of brutal corporal punishment finally did. In this episode of Hysterical, we unravel the so‑called “meowing nuns” as a case of mass psychogenic illness, and explore what happens when generations of silenced, abandoned girls are given one tiny crack in the armor of obedience—and take it, together.