Ergot Poisoning: The Salem Witch Trials

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Mercy Short was visited by demons whose voices were “big, thick, and low (Chadwick pg. 175).” These voices she was hearing could’ve possibly been a result of a hallucination due to ergotism. Ergot poisoning could have infected the inhabitants of Essex County through bad weather in 1691 and a lack of food then for the town of Salem. Which in result may have possibly led to the citizens of Salem eating poisonous foods that caused hallucinations and the belief that they were afflicted in the witchcraft accusation in Salem in 1692.
In Salem, the fall of 1691 was not good one for harvest. For the summer was hot and stormy (Witchcraft or Mycotoxin). What many do not know is that the cause of the harvest being so bad is the real reason as to why so …show more content…
Well the only way they could tell from there was the prick test according to Willow Winsham. They had taken a needle and poked it into the spot that was discolored or distortion of the skin such as skin tags, moles, or birth marks. In order for it to be considered a devil’s mark then, when pricked the area could not bleed (Shaw web). These marks were to be believed that the Devil marked his own that were considered witches. Now, this was quite easy to tell then if a person was a witch or not, but with the problem of ergot poisoning at the time nobody knew about, there were many factors could decide if you were a witch. A wart though is what changed Sarah Good’s life. Her husband William, had told the magistrates that she was either a witch or would be one very quickly. In the Devil’s Snare he said he saw a wart or a teet below her right shoulder that he had never seen before (Norton pg. 53). What we know of now today is that a wart is a very visible brownish and moist lump that is a viral infection that can be transferred through contact (Magill’s pg. 680). That is why you are able to say that if you know a person who may be a witch, you may be one next cause a wart is able to be
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