#jacoba

"I thought getting out was the best idea at the time. But here, in hindsight, I probably should’ve stayed with them and tried to help."  -- Mitchell Tromp, the middle adult child of the family, to Sky News in September of 2016.

Description:

We all know family road trips can be fun, bonding experiences that generate fond memories, but they can also be filled with tension and frayed nerves—although perhaps not to the degree experienced by the Tromp family of Silvan, Australia. In August 2016, Mark and Jacoba Tromp and their adult children Riana, Mitchell, and Ella embarked on a perplexing journey of around 1000 miles that captivated the country. They abruptly left their home, abandoning their phones and credit cards. What followed was a five-day saga of mystery and confusion. The family’s erratic behavior, including apparent paranoia and separation, led to a nationwide search. The incident, dubbed the “Tech-Free Family Road Trip,” sparked widespread speculation about mental health, shared psychosis, and the pressures of modern life on their successful farm. During this family travel season, we work to dissect what happened and why. Was this bizarre odyssey a contagious emotional meltdown, or was there an actual threat to their safety as the parents initially thought?

Reference Links:

“Tromp family: The mystery of a tech-free road trip gone wrong” from BBC World News

“Bizarre tale of Tromp family road trip cloaked in mystery” from The Sydney Morning Herald

Folie à deux

“'Difficult period': Tromp father breaks silence over family's bizarre off-grid trip” from YahooNews.com

“Riana Tromp speaks about bizarre roadtrip in first interview” from News.com.au

“Tromp family’s idyllic life before road trip chaos” from News.com.au

“Eerie photos of the Tromps' abandoned home: What happened inside the walls of this pretty farmhouse that drove the family out of their minds at exactly the same time?” from DailyMail.com

Silvan, Victoria, Australia

Ep 233: What It Wasn't: Or "How I learned to stop dismissively categorizing potentially paranormal events as mass hysteria" from Astonishing Legends

Mass psychogenic illness

Morgellons

Dancing plague of 1518

Tanganyika laughter epidemic

TiffanyGomas.com

“Displacement” from Psychology Today

Ariel School UFO incident

“With X-Files hitting our screens, we take you through Australia’s scariest abductions” from News.com.au

The Knowles Family UFO Incident from Brian Dunning’s Skeptoid

Location:

Silvan, Victoria, Australia; the town where the Tromp family farm is located.

Suggested Listening:

The Why Files: Operation Podcast

Like many podcasts, the Why Files covers conspiracies, aliens, time travel, and ancient civilizations. Some people are very serious about this stuff. They believe every detail, even if the details don't quite add up. Others tear the stories apart. What fun is that? The Why Files is different. First, they explore the mystery, and then together, we separate fact from fiction and see what's left. Some legends can't be debunked. And those are their favorites. The Why Files is available on Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts. The X Files said the truth is out there, but the Why Files says the truth is right here. 

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CREDITS:

Jacoba smiled at her companion, stifled a chuckle at how red his cheeks had gotten, and kept walking down the hallway. The hall of the palace was much more dismal with every painting and mirror covered with a thick black cloth. The only light allowed to be in the hall was provided by the sunlight coming through the windows, and even that was a bit dim. Mourning periods were always so complicated and Jacoba never really understood why. 

“You’ll excuse the state of the palace. A member of my father’s advisors died this morning. This place will be as dismal as this for at least a week.” To fit the mourning rituals, her dress was a deep and dark blue, and only reached her knees, since the princess did not have to wear full-length gowns, thankfully. She heard more footsteps coming near them from down the hall and she instinctively reached for her dagger hidden under her skirt, but she soon realized it was only another guard. 

Jacoba had dismissed her students a few minutes ago, but she still remained at her desk, filing their assignments away. Starfleet could recommend she use the students’ PADDs for their assignments all they wanted, but she still knew pen and paper to be the best method for quizzes and short writing assignments. She saw one of the administrators walk past the left entry door, and she quickly slips on her blazer. Jacoba didn’t want to be yelled at again by the administrators for being out of the professors’ dress code. She stood on her feet as she heard footsteps enter her room from the right entry door, but she didn’t look up to see who it was.