What Is The Role Of Ergot In Salem Witch Trials

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In 1692, Salem went wild hunting for witches. There are many different theories and explanations behind what could have happened during these trials and why the girls acted the way that they did. One of the more controversial theories is the convulsive ergotism theory. Ergot is a fungus that grows on grain and can cause an infection that affects mental and physical well-being. Knowing how it can affect a person's general well-being can help us come to the conclusion that the townsfolk of Salem could be infected by this fungus. A supporting reason for the side of the ergot theory is that ergot can affect physical and mental well-being. Therefore, it causes the hallucinations. People could have also mistakenly eaten ergot infested plants according …show more content…
“Until the mid-19th century, ergot was not known as a parasitic fungus, but was thought to be sunbaked kernels of grains”. Dean Miner is a USU Extension agriculture professor in Utah County. He stated that “Ergot cannot survive in the soil for more than one year, so crops are rotated. He also stated that “Some fields are deep-plowed because ergot cannot germinate when buried more than one inch. Wild grasses are prevented from reaching fields, and ergot-free seeds are now planted to avoid introducing or reintroducing the fungus to a field. Increased use of fungicides for many purposes has also reduced the incidence of ergot. Still, this points out the need for folks who mill their own flour, especially if they raise their own grains, to be mindful that some dark particles in the grain may be more than trash or mouse droppings.”(University). Many people were affected by the hallucinations and bread was very common for people to eat at that time. Bread at this time was exceedingly dangerous due to ergot being a “fungus blight that forms hallucinogenic drugs in bread” …show more content…
People not only in Salem but in other places were having a bad harvest and used rye that was infected with ergot, which easily spread across to people. Since the blame was the bread, the bread had many symptoms after people consumed it, which included: severe convulsions, muscle spasms, delusions, the sensation of crawling under the skin, and, in extreme cases, gangrene of the extremities. A common argument against the ergot theory is that as a coastal town with many cattle farms, the people of Salem would have an abundance of dairy and fish in their diet, providing the vitamin A that would be necessary for the body to fight off the ergot’s influence. The whole hysteria behind the witch trials started whenever they quoted the bible which was found in The Search for History: Salem Witch Trials “thou shall not suffer a witch”(Weller). Though the theory that people were actually bewitched was behind all the hysteria that was going on and the spread of the ergot infections. However, this argument fails to account for the fact that the girls initially fell ill in December 1691, which would mean temperatures were incredibly low in Salem when the hysteria
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