Women In The Salem Witch Trials

There are various allegations that may have played a role in many of history's mysterious events. Some speculations are that girls suffered from sickness and questionable actions due to fungus on rye. Even though there are many theories as to why the girls of the Salem witch trials made accusations, the two most believable are that there was fungus growing on the rye and the girls suffered from an outbreak of encephalitis because the girls showed signs of sickness and questionable actions. In February 1692, the people of Salem were all caught up in a case of mass hysteria: (Saxon). Eight girls ruled the town by accusing their neighbors of witchcraft (Saxon). It all began with two young girls who had become so called victims of,”fits or natural disease, including screams, strange contortions, and throwing objects” (Bellows, Rye and Witches). The girls questionable sicknesses were caused by an outbreak of ergotism. Other young girls in Salem eventually started to show these same symptoms of the first two. Once there was a whole group of girls falling into these fits, people began to cry witch (Bellows, Rye and
Mass hysteria consumed the people of Salem in 1692 due to eight mischievous girls accusing neighbors of witchcraft. Fear, vengeance, arguments over land, sexual restraint, and the placement of ergotism were the ignition of the fire in Salem. Consequently, there is a wide variety of symptoms in ergotism therefore leading to many different cases of the disease. Ultimately, the girls were impaired due to the outbreak of encephalitis, which was an inflammation of the brain. Even today, there are very few people that believe those hanged actually practiced witchcraft. All in all, this shows that a reason behind calling someone a witch was for personal gain or