What Caused The Salem Witch Trial Of 1692

Death and hysteria loomed over the town of Salem during the dark period known as the Salem Witch Trial of 1692. Over the period of 15 weeks, witch hunts and a number of unnecessary killings occurred. Although there is many speculations as to what caused this outbreak, it’s known that there is multiple reason. The Salem Witch Trials were caused by the accounts of Betty Parris and her cousin, the hysteria that consumed the town, as well as the idea of Ergotism overcoming Salem. One cause for the witch trial hysteria was the case of Betty Parris and her older cousin Abigail Williams. The young girls seeked out to a Native American slave by the name of Tituba in order to learn their fortunes but ended up being “bewitched” causing them to exhibit strange behaviors (What Caused the Salem Witch Trial Hysteria of 1692?). Resulting in the first major rumors of witches in Salem, Massachusetts. Betty’s father, Reverend Samuel Parris, claimed the girls began “... creeping under Chairs and Stools… uttering foolish and ridiculous speeches...” and later learned of the trip the girls ventured

Ergot is parasitic fungus that grows on grains, especially rye, resulting the possibly of symptoms such as the sensation of the victim's skin crawling, hallucinations, psychosis, as well as delirium. Comparatively enough, the same signs were found within the witch trials of Salem (Document N). The period of rye crop harvest coincided with the time span in which the Salem trials took place. Given the statistics within the table on Document E, the majority of the accused were female which corresponds with what was mentioned in Document N explaining women and children are more likely to catch the poison. This evidence helps explain the hysteria and the hangings because the effects Ergotism held of those who contracted it. Resulting in the mass becoming paranoid of anyone and