A Wisdom Archive on Salem witch trials - Ergot Theory

It is not widely believed any longer that the girls were actually possessed by the devil nor that their neighbors had anything to do with their symptoms. So what really happened? Some experts believe the accusers were motivated by jealousy or spite and their behavior was an act. Some believe they were afflicted by hysteria, a form of mental illness. In 1976, a psychologist named Linnda Caporeal discovered the girls' symptoms (convulsive jerking, stupor, delirium, and hallucinations) precisely mirrored those of poisoning by ergot. Ergot is a ...

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Salem witch trials - Clerical participants and commentators. The Rev. Cotton Mather The Rev. Samuel Parris The Rev. Increase Mather The Rev. Francis Dane The Rev. Deodat Lawson The Rev. Samuel Willard The Rev. John Hale Salem witch trials - Presiding officials. Presiding officials, Court of Oyer and Terminer Lieutenant Governor William Stoughton, Chief Magistrate Captain Jo ...

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Sabbath witchcraft - Hallucinogens. It has been recently speculated that some of the historical cases of Sabbath and witchcraft could be the result hallucinations caused by hallucinogenic drugs. The psychoactive effects of plants like the nightshade were known since antiquity; and ergot, a fungus that grows on rye in humid conditions, is know to cause neurlogical disturbances which could fit some of the acts described in the Sabbath inquries. In particular, the ergot theory has been put forward in connection with the Salem Witch Trials. < ...

Read more here: » Sabbath witchcraft: Encyclopedia II - Sabbath witchcraft - Origins and connections

As some inquisitor wrote, "the acts of the witches/warlocks are only known by us for the confessions they make when tortured". All the descriptions about the Sabbaths were made and published by priests, jurists and judges who (theoretically) never took part in these gatherings, or written in the acts of the tribunals that carried out the processes. All of them were based on the confessions under torture made by people accused of practising witchcraft and heresy. Moreover, the accusers were often insane, and their "confessio ...

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In Christian folklore, the Sabbath (also known as "Witch's Sabbath") was a gathering supposed to have been celebrated by Satanists, witches and warlocks to honor the Devil, offend God, Jesus, the sacraments, the cross, and perform unholy rites. European records tell of innumerable cases of persons being accused or tried for taking part Sabbath gatherings, from the Middle Ages to the 17th century or later. However, there are no reliable reports on what actually happened during a Sabbath; and much of what was written about them m ... Including:

• Sabbath witchcraft - The Sabbath in history
• Sabbath witchcraft - What has been said about the Sabbath
• Sabbath witchcraft - Ritual elements
• Sabbath witchcraft - Location
• Sabbath witchcraft - Dates
• Sabbath witchcraft - What is actually known about the Sabbath
• Sabbath witchcraft - Origins and connections
• Sabbath witchcraft - Hallucinogens
• Sabbath witchcraft - Old heathen rituals
• Sabbath witchcraft - Shamanism and African rituals
• Sabbath witchcraft - The Sabbath in art

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The witch trials ended in January 1693, although people already jailed for witchcraft were not all released until the next spring. The royal appointed governor of Massachusetts, Sir William Phips, disturbed when his wife was accused of witchcraft, ended them by appealing to the Boston-area clergy headed by Increase Mather. In October 3, 1692, Increase Mather published "Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits." In it, Increase Mather stated "It were better that Ten Suspected Witches should escape, than that the Innocent Person should be C ...

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In the town of Salem in 1692, eight young townswomen fell victim to "fits, outbreaks of obscene babbling, and wild partying in the local woodland. (Woolf 2004)" The girls claimed they were bewitched by other members of the community and possessed by the devil. Among the first accused were Sarah Good, Sarah Osbourne, and Tituba. Good, orphaned as a teenager at the death of her mother (a French innkeeper) was the town beggar, noted for her strange "muttering." Osborne was a bedridden elderly woman who had gotten on the wrong side of the ...

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In 1692 eight young townswomen fell victim to "fits, outbreaks of obscene babbling, and wild partying in the local woodland. (Woolf 2004)" The girls claimed they were bewitched by other members of the community and possessed by the devil. Among the first accused were Sarah Good, Sarah Osbourne, and Tituba. Good, orphaned as a teenager at the death of her mother (a French innkeeper) was the town beggar, noted for her strange "muttering." Osborne was a bedridden elderly woman ______________. Tituba was the Carib Native American slave of ...

Read more here: » Salem witch trials: Encyclopedia II - Salem witch trials - Background