For centuries, people across Europe were gripped by a terrifying belief: that their bodies were made of glass.

In this episode of The Dark History Podcast, we uncover the forgotten psychological phenomenon known as The Glass Delusion — a historical mental illness that convinced kings, scholars, poets, and servants alike that a single touch could shatter them into pieces.

From Charles VI of France, the king who ruled an empire while terrified of sitting down, to a learned scholar who believed he had transformed into a fragile glass vessel, this episode explores how fear, culture, medicine, and metaphor fused into one of the strangest mass delusions in recorded history.

Set against the backdrop of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Scientific Revolution, this story reveals:

• Why glass became the ultimate symbol of human fragility

• How early medicine failed those suffering from delusions

• Why the Glass Delusion spread among intellectual and aristocratic circles

• How cultural fears shape the way mental illness presents itself

• And why this condition vanished almost entirely by the 18th century

This isn’t just a strange historical curiosity. It’s a deeply human story about anxiety, identity, and what happens when the mind turns the body into a prison.

If you’re fascinated by dark history, forgotten mental illnesses, historical psychology, medieval madness, and the unsettling ways culture influences fear — this episode is for you.

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