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Salem Witch Trials Theories Essay

1196 Words5 Pages

Giovanni Juarez

Mr. G

English 11A

16 December 2022

Theories Of The Salem Witch Trials

What do theories mean, what makes a theory? There are a lot of theories in the world, there are theories about pretty much everything. The small town of Salem in Massachusetts had a lot of theories about girls being witches. What were the theories that people would have during the 1690s if you were a witch or not. What theories were true about the Salem Witch Trials. There are all kinds of theories that were said but which ones were the real ones that caused the Trials. In the town of Salem, they all had their different beliefs and they believed in one certain thing. What were the reasons that people thought that people were witches in Salem. The …show more content…

There were all kinds of different theories going around which made the people of Salem think those girls were witches. One big theory that small town had was the bread that the girls ate they were all thinking that that bread had some type of poisoning, which that was a theory that bread had caused the girls to become witches. In the article the New Yorker Stacy Schiff a newsletter writer states that “Salem witch trials followed an outbreak of rye ergot. Ergot is a fungus blight that forms hallucinogenic drugs in bread.” That ergot poisoning was a serious thing when that drug was in the bread the girls that had ate it would be crazy, they didn’t act the same that’s why they would accuse them of being witches. That poisoning was a drug that would make whoever ate that bread it would make them hallucinate, and make them seem like they were …show more content…

The other theory that they had for the “witches” is that they were suffering from epilepsy. In January 1962 when the group of young girls who were known as the “afflicted girls” after they had played the fortune game, after that they were acting very strangely. They were starting to feel some type of symptoms, a lot of the girls would start to feel very sick, and they would get fevers and the strange part is that they would hide under furniture. In the town of Salem, they didn’t believe in anything else all that they would believe is that were controlled by the devil and, they had become witches. There was nothing that was going to convince the people in the town to believe that they weren't witches after they saw that the girls started to get symptoms about getting sick and acting very strange, they were certain that they were taken by the devil and became witches. History of Massachusetts states “In February, Samuel Parris called for a doctor, who is believed to be Dr. William Griggs, to examine the girls. The doctor was unable to find anything physically wrong with them and suggested they may be bewitched.” After the girls were examined and found out that they could bewitched the town couldn’t believe it. The girls were still denying that they were not witches even though most of the girls were getting sick and they were being very

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