During seasons of great pestilence, men have often believed the prophecies of crazed fanatics, that the end of the world was come. Credulity is always greatest in times of calamity.

Charles Mackay (1814–1889) Scottish poet, journalist, song writer

Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, “Modern Prophecies” (1841)
    (Source)