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Salem Witch Trials And Sarah Good With The Devil

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Salem Witch Trials Argumentative Essay “I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!” (Kinsella 1286). In 1692, mass hysteria hit Salem Village in the form of Satan and his mephistophelian goals. Turning neighbors upon neighbors, accusations of one another piled up, damaging reputations and the liveliness of the town along with it. A group of young afflicted girls in Salem describe their experiences and witnesses gaze upon their supernatural exertions. In this course of events, the most logical explanation for the girl's behavior during the hysteria that took place was due to supernatural causes, inflicted by the devil. First being seen, the girls were afflicted with all sorts of effects that could not be explained using the medical knowledge of the day. It was reported that they would have convulsive fits, scream as if …show more content…

This has led some researchers to believe it as a potential cause of this mass hysteria. Ergot is a fungal infection that has the potential to grow on rye, wheat, oats and other cereals if the seasons have had a cold winter followed by a long spring with wet soil (Caporael). Salem did in fact have all of the right conditions to support the growth of Ergot. All of the girls had logical ways to find contaminated grain in their homes.When an individual consumes Ergot, they will begin to experience the effects of ergotism. Ergotism behaviors include but are not limited to nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and weakness, numbness, itching, and rapid or slow heartbeat, convulsions, muscle spasms, confusion and unconsciousness (Caporael). Ergot symptoms lineup similarly to the behavior of the girls in Salem. There are a plethora of reasons why Ergot was simply not the cause of the Salem Witch Trials. Salem was a very successful port city, meaning they were not hurting for food rich in nutrients, specifically Vitamin A

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The Salem Witch trials had nothing to do with the devil and all to do with ergot. Ergot is a parasitic fungus that grows on cereal grains like rye. This infection is most common in the summer and spring. People can get this infection by eating bad rye bread. It was more common for women to get Ergot than men.

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Causing many suspicion of demonic activity throughout the salem village, hysteria spread quickly as the population ascended to witchcraft creating the act of cynicism. Most conducted these suspicions though dissecting their physical and mental image meaning that most of the civilians would convert to supernatural explanations in order to assume the act of demonic possession and I quote “Good also had a reputation for holding a grudge and for muttering curses against those who crossed her, which would have alarmed her neighbours, not least because many people believed that such curses would work” ( The Salem Witch Hunt, p.69). This quote taken from Sarah Good’s bibliography confirms the suspicions of witchcraft as these sign were depicted as supernatural to the puritans perspective. Being fearful of the devil, most puritans believed that the abnormal should endure punishment as for these acts were created against the church law leading to christian ignorance and disbelief and I quote “They also show how easily people could become convicted that hostile neighbours were wielding occult forces against them”(The Salem Witch Hunt, p.69).

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The witch panic started in Salem, Massachusetts hanged 19 people and inspired a wide-swept fear of the Devil and witchcraft that lasted for over a year. Historians have discussed why this panic occurred for years, producing a slew of opinions on what caused one small community to erupt into such fear. Two such historians, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, attempted to understand the 1692 Salem witch trials by analyzing Salem Village’s social and economic tensions dividing the community in the book Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft. Yet the two historians ignore the largest group of participants in the witch trials: women. When looking at the documents recording the events of 1692, however, a historian cannot escape the importance of the young girls who were first afflicted and started the accusations.

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Nineteen men and women hung from the tree of destruction, for they were the ornaments of hysteria. New England was supposed to be a land of opportunity for the Puritans. During the summer of 1692, Salem Village proved to a wretched example of this; twenty people were falsely accused of witchcraft and were accordingly jailed and executed. Salem’s infamy has bewildered many, for nobody truly knows in entirety what caused the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. Clearly, there were a few possible causes of the hysteria; however, envious, young, single women; sexism; and lying little girls stand out as the main causes.

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Part of those reasons being, “the actions of the girls in the courtroom during examinations and trials when the girls fell into their fits based on the movements of the accused which caused them to cry out names” (Howlett.) As well as others turning to the work of Arthur Miller The Crucible for direction of what happened during the time of the Salem Witch Trials. They think as John Proctor states in the play “They‘re pretending!”(Mr.) Even though many theories say differently Ergot is one of the only reasonable explanations for the way that the accused had been acting. There was no other medical reason during that time and even when they were inspected by doctors they found nothing.

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N) also brings up the possibility of a fungus called ergot triggering the hysteria of 1692. Ergot grows on cereal grains and can be poisonous which was a “common condition resulting from eating contaminated rye bread” back in the seventeen hundred´s. Ergot is believed to have affected the accusers by causing symptoms such as “crawling sensations, tingling in the fingers, vertigo and hallucinations”. To better understand how ergot played a role in the Salem witch hysteria, an additional document listing how much rye and other cereal grains were consumed during the year 1692 would help determine a

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The sudden onset of symptoms in multiple individuals without a clear medical diagnosis causes high suspicion. Without concrete medical evidence to support their claims, we begin to speculate that the girls might be exaggerating their symptoms for attention or other motives. While some attribute the girls' behavior to ergot poisoning, Ergot poisoning typically results from consuming grains contaminated with the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which produces toxic alkaloids. Ergot poisoning can cause symptoms such as convulsions, hallucinations, and erratic behavior (Howlett). Moreover, ergot was located in rye, a grain that has been said to be the reason for the ergot poisoning, during this time this grain was one of the main sources of food (Weller).

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Early in the 1690s, a wave of hysteria and paranoia swept over Salem, Massachusetts, and resulted in the Salem Witch Trials, one of the most significant events in American history. In a community engulfed in doubt and religious passion, accusations of witchcraft drove families apart through mistrust and terror. The firmly rooted belief in the supernatural and the devil’s involvement in daily life is one of the leading causes of the hysteria. Accusations of witchcraft were able to flourish because of Puritan belief and the rigidly regulated society of the period. There was an atmosphere of distrust and paranoia because of the dread of the unknown, and the desire to purge the evil from the community; even the most innocent behaviors could be interpreted as proof of witchcraft.

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The majority of individuals have heard about the Salem Witch Trials, either from a history lesson or when reading for their enjoyment. People often wonder how a group of young girls convinced residents in the town of Salem of being witches, causing a large number of executions. However, for many years, people have not found a definitive answer to what really caused the mass hysteria. Researchers speculate it could be rooted in ergotism, a disease caused by the consumption of ergot, which usually grows on rye (Caporael). Due to this, the girls could have imagined that they were being attacked by “witches.”

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This theory is supported by what is known as the Little Ice Age, where the climate during the 14th and mid-19th century were abnormally cold and fell on the same time period as the Great Witch Craze. I believe that the ergot poisoning theory is more plausible than the Cold Weather Theory, I believe this because the side effects of ergot poisoning are known and can be tested even today. Additionally, the village of Salem was more than likely very dependent on the growth and harvest of rye grain. On the other hand, I believe that the Cold Weather Theory could have happened but is less likely to be the whole

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557 Words | 3 Pages

Some people think ergot is the main cause of the Salem witch trials but they are wrong. The salem witch trials are a great example of how the power of suggestion can change your view of people. Ergot is a fungi that grows on rye and is poisonous to humans. Ergot can cause LSD like effects to humans. People thought this was the cause

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The Salem Witch Trials accusing others of a feared crime showed definite evidence that mass hysteria was to blame. Salem was a religious settlement, following Puritan beliefs (Miller, 6). A large fear for everyone in Salem was the touch of the Devil (Miller, Arthur). According to Puritan beliefs, if a man or woman was touched by the Devil he would convince them to do witchcraft. Once word was mentioned the Devil had possibly touched Salem, the fear spread.

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In order to understand the magnitude of the Salem witch trials, it is important to know about the symptoms from which the accusers suffered, to know who were the victims being accused, and the history of ergot poisoning. The symptoms of the accused are very important to understand. In 1691, late December, eight girls had started acting odd after the minister

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In the old town of Salem, Massachusetts, there lived a very religious and superstitious people. Everyone had to be Christian, and if something went amiss, everything would get out of control. When Abigail Williams and her friends were found dancing around a fire in the black of night in the forest, people began to wonder what could have possibly been the cause and purpose of such wicked ways. The easy, first conclusion was that witchery and the devil were involved. They believed that the Devil had to have caused them to do such evil things, and they wanted to find the source of it.

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How two little girls (Abigail and Betty) where the first to suffer from fits of hysterical outbreaks and how many accusers came forward and described how they or their animals had been bewitched. It mentions the court cases and how there were more woman than men accused of practicing witch craft. It also states how historians believe the girls were faking their fits from the start. Also mentions how religious Salem was at the time which influenced the trials. •

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