The Ergot's Curse

The Ergot's Curse

Mass murder has very rarely been associated with one type of poison. Ergot poison, though not directly linked to the murders, was a prominent factor in bringing about much distress in Salem, a very pious and upright town. Though unknown among the people of Salem, ergot poisoning caused massive hysteria in 1692.

Ergotism affected only certain types of people and with different results. Ergotism is described as "long-term ergot poisoning...resulting from eating contaminated rye bread" (Caporael). Through various tests and observations, Linnda Caporael, who connected the ergotism theory with witchcraft in Salem, concluded that children, mostly girls, and females or pregnant women were "most likely to be affected by the condition." There were, however, men who were also afflicted. James Carr, when questioned during Mary Bradbury's trial, claimed that after visiting Mary Bradbury in her home, he began experiencing strange feelings and sensations "as if (every) liveing creature did run about every part of my [his] body redy to tare me [him] to peaces [sic]" (Roots). Marc Aronson researched those feelings and sensations and concluded that "ergot can have the effects of a drug that drives people temporarily mad, giving them visions, and tormenting their bodies" (216). There are other evidences that suggest that ergot could have been one of the most obvious causes of the Salem witchcraft hysteria. At Susanna Sheldon's trial, when questioned about who hurt her, Sheldon replied that she was bit and pinched by Goody Carrier (Aronson 4). Biting and pinching were also some of the symptoms associated with ergot poisoning.

Ergot was found in and around Salem where its effects were most obvious and where most of the hysteria occurred. According to Caporael, the grass grown along the coast of Virginia to Newfoundland where Salem was located "was, and is, wild rye, a host plant for ergot." Therefore, the girls who started the witchcraft hysteria could have unknowingly consumed ergot through the rye bread they ate. Since they "lived in the parsonage almost exactly in the center of the village," they would have been more exposed to ergotism poisoning than the other girls who were afflicted later (Caporael). Caporael also claims that "growing conditions, the timing of events in Salem, and symptomology" are obvious factors