The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were a time of hysteria, stress, and destruction. These dreadful trials took place in Massachusetts (“A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials”). During these trials, more than two hundred people were accused of being witches; 24 of them were executed (“A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials”). All of these innocent people were falsely accused. However, it is not possible to fully blame the girls who initiated it, because they most likely had Ergot of Rye which occurs as a plant disease, affects the girls, and caused this incident.
The whole fiasco started with Reverend Parris’s nine-year-old daughter, Betty, and his orphaned eleven-year-old niece, Abigail Williams (Schanzer 18). These girls are believed to have ergot (“Part II: The Witches of Salem: Theories and Speculations”). “Ergot of Rye is a plant disease that is caused by the fungus Claviceps” (“Ergot of Rye - I: Introduction and History”). Even though the ergot on the grain looks different than the grain itself, it was so common that it was thought to be part of the rye until the 1850s (Ergot of Rye - I: Introduction and History). It is a decrepit disease that dates back to the Middle Ages and possibly even ancient Greece (Ergot of Rye - I: Introduction and History).
Another reason that Ergot of Rye was most likely what the girls had is because of where the girls were located. (Ergot of Rye - I: Introduction and History). In Massachusetts, rye was grown, which was what Ergot of Rye originated from (The Witches Curse). This disease was caused when people would grind up the ergots with the rye, and consume the baked product that they made (Ergot of Rye). The people of ancient times used to call the disease “holy fire” or “St. Anthon...
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Caporael, Linnda R. Ergotism: The Satan Loosed in Salem? Washington D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1976. Print.
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Other historians refer to factors such as religion, economics, and weather to explain the beginnings of an unforgettable time in Salem, Massachusetts. For over 300 years, historians have tried to reveal the truth about the beginnings of the Salem Witch Trials, but in order to do so historians must look at both the way of life in Salem in the seventeenth century and use knowledge that is available now to explain the phenomenon. Linda Caporael proposes a theory that Elizabeth and Abigail suffered from convulsive ergotism. Ergotism is a disease caused by ergot, a type of fungus, found in rye and other grains. Beginning in the fourteenth century, temperatures began to decrease, and it began to increase by the early nineteenth century.
Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft is a concise, 231 page informational text by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum. Published in 1974, it explores the economic and social conditions present in the Salem village during the 1600s that led to the hysteria surrounding witchcraft. Multiple graphs and illustrations are present, as well as an average sized font, an abundance of footnotes typically on the left page, and a prominent voice from the authors. The book was written to serve as a more comprehensive informational piece on the Salem witch trials due to the authors finding other pieces written about the same topic to be inaccurate. Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum wanted to create something that utilized
What really happened in Salem that ignited the spark of the Witchcraft Trials? Was it out of boredom? Did the girls come down with a case of Schizophrenia, encephalitis, or Huntington’s chorea? (Vogel 1). These are all possibilities, but there is still one theory that could reveal the truth behind the Salem Witch Trials. According to the research by psychologist Linda Caporael, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York, the poisoning of ergot originally created the hysteria. (Vogel 1 and Clark 2). Ergot is a form of fungus that spreads best in cold, damp weather. (Vogel 1). This fungus mostly grows on different types of grain, wheat, and especially rye. (Vogel 1). In the year of 1692, Salem, Massachusetts suffered a cold, wet winter. (Vogel 1). The growth of rye was substantial, making rye the main grain for the citizens of Salem. (Vogel 1).
Starkey, Marion L. The Devil In Massachusetts: A Modern Inquiry Into The Salem Witch Trials. London: Robert Hale Limited.
In 1976 Linnda R. Caporael writes Ergotism:The Satan Loosed in Salem? where she explains that ergotism is the cause of the people acting the certain way. The evidence of ergotism in the Salem Village was the growing conditions and localization. The growing conditions for rye were perfect and rye is known to be a host plant for ergot. The cycle at which rye is harvested and stored for months fits the timing of the Salem Witch Trials. The pattern of residence of the accusers, the accused, and the defenders of the accused living within the Salem Village may have been an area of contamination.2 The result of not understanding ergotism at the time caused the people to start assuming witchcraft for the people with convulsions, mental disturbances, and perceptual distortions.3 In 2000 Dr. Alan Woolf being a medical toxicologist writes Witchcraft or Mycotoxin? The Salem Witch Trials in which she states that some people believed the Salem Witch Trials people were affected with egotism like Linnda R.
When one evokes The Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the image that comes to most peoples minds are that of witches with pointed hats riding broomsticks. This is not helped by the current town of Salem, Massachusetts, which profits from the hundreds of thousands of tourists a year by mythologizing the trials and those who were participants. While there have been countless books, papers, essays, and dissertations done on this subject, there never seems to be a shortage in curiosity from historians on these events. Thus, we have Bernard Rosenthal's book, Salem Story: Reading the Witch Trials of 1692, another entry in the historiographical landscape of the Salem Witch Trials. This book, however, is different from most that precede it in that it does not focus on one single aspect, character, or event; rather Rosenthal tells the story of Salem in 1692 as a narrative, piecing together information principally from primary documents, while commenting on others ideas and assessments. By doing so, the audience sees that there is much more to the individual stories within the trials, and chips away at the mythology that has pervaded the subject since its happening. Instead of a typical thesis, Rosenthal writes the book as he sees the events fold out through the primary documents, so the book becomes more of an account of what happened according to primary sources in 1692 rather than a retelling under a new light.
More than three centuries ago, an entire community in Salem, Massachusetts, just 5 miles from Salem Town fell victim to what would become the most notorious instance of witch hysteria in United States history. The infamous witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts remain one of the most unscrupulous and inexplicable phenomena in the United States, having resulted in a total of 20 deaths and 165 accusations related to Witchcraft within the span of four months. [3] The brief, but tumultuous period has long been a source of debate amongst historians. For nearly a century, it was widely accepted that social tensions and Puritan religious beliefs were the primary cause of the trials, but in the 1970’s, a college undergraduate suggested ergot poisoning might be to blame. Ergotism – ergot poisoning – is born from the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which is known to infect rye and other cereal grains, it produces a chemical known as ergotamine which is the base for toxic hallucinogenic chemicals such as LSD. [2] Studies have shown that the consumption of ergot-contaminated food results in symptoms much like those associated with the afflicted girls in Salem, 1692. [2] Collectively, Ergot poisoning, and the implication Puritanism and Puritan values had on the genuine fear of witches, and socioeconomic tension caused the events that would become the Salem witch hysteria of 1692.
In the early winter months of 1692, in colonial Massachusetts, two young girls began exhibiting strange symptoms that were described to be "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect (examiner.com)." Doctors looked them over, but could not come up with any sort of logical explanation for their ailments. Therefore, the girls were accused of taking part in witchcraft. Soon, other young women in the village started showing similar symptoms. This "illness" of sort slowly made its way through the village to many of the residents. Soon, people started coming up with possible theories as to what started all the madness.
The notorious witch trials of Salem, Massachusetts occurred from June through September. It is a brief, but turbulent period in history and the causes of the trials have long been a source of discussion among historians. Many try to explain or rationalize the bizarre happenings of the witch hunts and the causes that contributed to them. To understand the trials and how they came to be, we must first examine the ideals and views of the people surrounding the events. Although religious beliefs were the most influential factor, socioeconomic tensions, and ergot poisoning are also strongly supported theories. A combination of motives seems the most rational explanation of the frenzy that followed the illness of the two girls. This paper looks closely at the some of the possible causes of one of the most notable occurrences in history.
While researching texts written about the Salem Witch Trials, I found a few authors who published articles and books about the Salem Witch Trials. These authors often showed that the most likely cause of the fits coming from the victims was produced by ergot of rye. However, I could not find much discussion about another important source of the fits’ cause: witchcraft. My goal in this paper is to produce a convincing argument that the victims during the Salem Witch Trials that experienced strange behaviors came from ergot of rye rather than witchcraft.
The Salem, Massachusetts Witch Trials have generated extensive evaluation and interpretation. To explain the events in Salem, psychological, political, environmental, physical, and sociological analysis have all been examined. The authors Linnda Caporael, Elaine Breslaw, Anne Zeller, and Richard Latner all present differing perspectives to speculate about the events of the Salem Witch Trials. This changing interpretation and perspective has resulted in an extensive historiography to explain the
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