Social manias are mass movements which periodically sweep through societies.
Some fail to 'catch fire', while others persist for centuries (although sometimes in severely attenuated form).
The Taiping Rebellion is an excellent illustration, as it was both widespread and destructive and has no modern adherents to whom its use as an example would be a distraction.
The Ghost dance which was briefly embraced by Native Americans of the Great Plains in 1890 is another excellent example which may be viewed in some historical perspective, as may The Crusades.
Almost any form of religion could be argued to be a long-standing social mania, many of which have persisted through thousands of years.