I’ve been a fan of southern urban legends and folklore most of my life. If I had to rank the southern states with the best urban legends, Mississippi would definitely be a contender for the top spot. While a lot of people automatically assume that urban legends are completely fabricated, I have found that there’s often some hidden truth to the story. So, what about Mississippi? Let’s take a look at what I consider the best and most bizarre legend from Mississippi and see if there’s any truth to the story.
Mercritis Oubreak Conspiracy
This rather obscure story has all the makings of a great urban legend: a medical mystery, a government coverup, and lots of people who swear it’s true. Here’s the basic legend:
In the 1950s, Mississippi was the first state to experience a widespread outbreak of an illness called Mercritis. Some versions of the legend link Mercritis to leaded paint or mercury, while others say it was a contagious disease that slipped over from Europe. As the illness spread, it caused riots and pandemonium across the state of Mississippi that spread throughout the southern United States. The most perplexing symptom of Mercritis was a strange odor that leached from the bodies of infected men. When this odor was inhaled by a female, it caused a violent and homicidal rage that resulted in the murder of several Mississippi men. To avoid any responsibility for mishandling the outbreak, the government and the medical community banded together to completely cover up the incident. Historic accounts, newspaper articles, and even medical records were supposedly all destroyed and completely scrubbed from history to keep the incident under wraps.