"My God Makes Known Your Thoughts Unto Me"

Were the accusers in the Salem Witch Trials mentally ill? Poisoned by a strange disease? This week, we delve into the accusers, the accused, and the potential roots of mass hysteria.

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“The Witch No.3,” lithograph by George H. Walker, ca. 1892. Via the U.S. Library of Congress.

On August 19th, 1692, the next group of victims from the Salem Witch Trials were executed at the bottom of Gallows Hill. The location where the hangings took place is now called Proctor’s Ledge.

Proctor’s Ledge received its name from John Proctor, one of the five accused witches who died that day in August. A month had passed since the previous group of “witches” were killed, and the list of accused individuals now included dozens of names. Indeed, by the time the Salem trials finally came to an end, over 150 people from around the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be accused of witchcraft.¹

What made the August executions unique is that four of the five victims were men. As we’ve explored in previous entries, the early victims fit the typical profile of witches from European trials. They were mainly older women with poor reputations, who had angered their neighbors due to their foul tempers, perceived slights, or for their refusal to conform to the expectations of their rigid society. But the execution of Rebecca Nurse marked a turning point. With the exception of a neighborly dispute over a property fence, Nurse enjoyed a strong reputation as a member of the saintly-elect. From that point onward, no one was immune: even several ministers would be suspected of witchcraft, and one—George Burroughs—was killed.

Before we delve further into the accused, I would like to address the characteristics of their accusers. In exploring the potential causes of their mass hysteria, we will be better positioned to understand why the accused witches increasingly came from loftier parts of society.

First, let’s rule out a common myth: that the girls were suffering from convulsive ergotism, a theory initially suggested in 1976. Ergot is a fungus that will grow on cereal grains if they are not properly dried. Rye is quite susceptible to this. Considering that rye was a staple crop in New England, and ingesting ergot can cause tics and hallucinations reminiscent of an LSD trip, some theorized that this could have caused the girls’ symptoms.

But that theory has since been disproven, because most of the symptoms of convulsive ergotism are not present in the historical record. We have no evidence of the girls vomiting or experiencing diarrhea or gangrene. Furthermore, their symptoms came and went, which is not consistent with ergot poisoning. Some of them experienced almost a year of on-and-off symptoms, yet the other members of their households, who were eating the same foods, did not. Finally, such prolonged ergot exposure can leave one mentally disabled, yet most of the girls went on to live long and healthy lives.²

This theory also discounts the fact that to most people in the 17th century, magic was a fact of life. It did not require such a leap for the people of Salem to conclude that the girls were bewitched.

So, what in the world was going on?