I came across this story on PBS' website about the Salem Witch Trials. Eight young girls on trial were delirious, convulsing, had odd skin sensations and were in a trance. The only way to explain such symptoms would be... witchcraft! They are under a spell! Who in the community could have done this?! This is were all the finger pointing came about. Around 150 "witches" were taken custody,and by September 1692 20 men and women were killed with out even confessing and five more died while in jail. After the trials the townsfolk did not know how to explain what they have done. Why had they gotten into such a witch frenzy? One theory is that none other than a fungus caused this madness. Behavioral Psychologist Linnda Caporael saw the link between the symptoms and the effects of hallucinogenic drugs like LSD. LSD is derived from the fungus Ergot. Ergotism (meaning Erogt poisoning) caused by Calviceps purpurea affects rye, wheat and other cereal grasses The grains will then turn to sclerotia which is mistaken for discolored rye and contains chemicals found in LSD like Lysergic acid and ergotamine. If the sclerotia was eaten toxicologists say it will cause convulsive disorder characterized by violent muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions, hallucinations, crawling sensations on the skin, and a host of other symptoms, just like the ones stated in the Salem Witch Trials! After all Salem was in a swampy breeding ground for fungus and rye was the staple crop so this theory does make a lot of sense. The article also says " The rye crop consumed in the winter of 1691-1692 -- when the first unusual symptoms began to be reported -- could easily have been contaminated by large quantities of ergot. The summer of 1692, however, was dry, which could explain the abrupt end of the 'bewitchments'". Spooky and also very cool to hear an explanation like that for something we have heard about for years!
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| Here is a picture I found of Ergot on rye. |
Where all of these fun facts are coming from.
Totally cool post!
ReplyDeleteI've seen more than one documentary on the Salem Witch Trials in my time, and I've heard this theory more than once. The other version of the facts that I heard was that one of the girls was the victim of an attack from one of the hostile Native tribes that inhabited the area. According to the facts, the girl, Mercy Lewis, watched her family die at the hands of the Natives (who were most likely "in the right," so to speak, in the events). Needless to say, this evidence suggests that she was psychologically scarred from the event, and - as you mentioned - the theory also states that there was a significant amount of ergot contamination in that year's crops, which explains their symptoms; but the actions of the girls, accusing innocent men and women of witchcraft, can be attributed to their psychological instabilities. It's too bad the time period's version of therapy was to watch the person you thought was harming you strung up from a tree.
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