about

The Salem Witch Trials were a sequence of persecutions and arrests of alleged 'witches'. This is a highly significant event in history because in the Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony, from June 1692 to May 1693, many people were hung to death; suspected of witchcraft.

'Witches' were people believed to be worshipers of the devil. This began after 2 children, Abigail Williams and Betty Paris fell violently and abnormally ill. They showed no physical symptoms but their health showed no signs of improvement. They experienced fits, hallucinations and often complained of an itching sensation on their skin. A doctor was called in and due to the village's mindset prone to superstition and lack of proper medical knowledge, he diagnosed the girls as 'bewitched'. Soon enough, these symptoms spread to other people of the village, evoking terror and hysteria among the people of Salem. 

This fear invited a new court to unite and persecute those rumoured to practice witchcraft in an attempt to provide some consolance to Salem's panicking citizens. People pointed fingers and accused others of witchcraft to avoid blame or rescue themselves, evoking mass apprehensions. This leads to many deaths, whether it be from execution via hanging or death induced by the poor conditions within custody.

Whilst it isn't entirely confirmed, many specialists suspect the cause of the 'odd' behaviour seen in Salem Village at the time was caused by convulsive ergotism. During the time period of the two girls falling ill had been lots of rain in Salem Village. This rain would have caused the rye, picked commonly by women and used in bread to grow a toxic fungus. Women were directly exposed to the ergot while picking grains, causing the 'demonic' symptoms they experienced and the ergot cooked in bread produced a hallucinogenic drug and is widely believed this is what caused the mass hysteria in Salem.