An early Western description of the practice appears in the journals of Captain James Cook, a British explorer, who encountered amok firsthand in 1770 during a voyage around the world. Cook writes of individuals behaving in a reckless, violent manner, without cause and "indiscriminately killing and maiming villagers and animals in a frenzied attack."
Interesting parallel between "running amok" and female hysteria -- both were believed to be caused by evil spirits:
"They believed that amok was caused by the hantu belian, which was an evil tiger spirit that entered one’s body and caused the heinous act" [ibid]
Of course, the very word "hysteria" has its origin in the Greek for "uterus", and in ancient times the belief was that the womb was responsible for a number of female behaviors. It progressed to include demonic forces:
"Through the Middle Ages another cause of dramatic symptoms could be found: demonic possession. It was thought that demoniacal forces were attracted to those who were prone to melancholy, particularly single women and the elderly" [0]
