Ergot And The Salem Witch Trials

According to Theory number 1, Ergot fungus contaminated the crops harvested by the people of Salem, Massachusetts which developed the hallucinations of the citizens and started the Salem Witch Trials. In 1692, they harvested a great deal of wheat, rye and cereal grasses. Ergot, or ergot poisoning, is a fungus that attacks the central nervous system and causes muscle contractions, confusion, impaired speech, crawling sensations on the skin and hallucinations. The girls in Salem had feelings of pricking or pinching skin sensations, knifelike pains and the feeling of being choked. These symptoms are similar to each other which lead me to believe that’s what caused the accusations. Ergot thrives in warm, damp, rainy springs and summers. Salem Village, where the majority of the accusers lived, was a swampy area that was beneficial for the growth of the fungus. The summer of 1692, the end of the witch trials, everything …show more content…
They were punished as adults and were expected to do as the adults did. The children were not allowed to have an imagination and had to work with their parents. Toys and games were scarce so the children didn’t have much of an imagination. All Puritans in Salem read only the bible and listened to the long preachings. Young boys were allowed to explore outdoors and hunt but girls were expected to stay in their home to help clean, cook, wash and sew. The Puritans believed that doing other activities were a distraction and were sinful. The ones who disobeyed, were punished severely. No one was allowed to show emotion so the children didn’t get the love and attention they needed. In my opinion, the girls who made the accusations were trying to act out against the Puritan policy because they loved the attention they received. They were bored of the same routine everyday and they wanted something new. The Puritans learned at a young age about witchcraft and were paranoid about everything that