Parents of young children are some of the most fearful humans that walk this Earth, and rightfully so. When a child falls ill, parents enlist doctor’s help to heal their young ones; however, in the 1600’s, medicine only went so far. When Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams, perfectly happy, normal children, were inflicted with uncontrollable spasms and manic episodes, the doctor found nothing physically wrong with these girls. Scrambling for answers, medical experts diagnosed their ill patients with “possession.” Mass hysteria ensued. The entire village was frightened; witches had arrived in colonial New England. 

            Why did parents and families of “possessed” children so readily believe the outrageous diagnosis that a malignant power was present in Salem and somehow responsible for their child’s condition? The precarious situation of the Salem Witch Trials was caused by a peculiar combination of poisoning, exacerbated by factional conflict, social tensions, and a particular religious figure within Salem Village. These factors severed the once whole community resulting in the time of uncertainty and horrors which was the Salem Witch Trials. 

            Leading up to the spine-chilling events of 1692 in colonial Salem, one of the many raging issues present was who could be qualified enough to be their good Puritan minister? In a time period of sixteen years, Salem had a total of three ministers; none of whom measured up to the high standards of the Salem villagers (Boyer and Nissenbaum 56). In colonial New England, most settlers heavily relied and frequently turned to religion as a comfort during uncertain times. With the village fractured over this great comfort, a proper minister, the settlers were left anxious. Religion was still very important to Salem residents however, not being able to agree on a “unifier” for the community in the dark times left rifts among the village, contributing to the chaos of the witch scare. 

            The great “unifier” that Salem Village so desperately needed was in part responsible for the 1692 witch trials. In the winter of 1692, Reverend Samuel Parris, the minister of Salem Village at the time, gave a series of perturbing sermons. Minister Parris began preaching about infiltration of the church and internal destruction of the community. The ominous exhortation can be seen in his very first sermon: “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully.” Each Sunday, Parris repeatedly incorporated the fears of his congregation and masterfully created a “universal drama in which Christ and Satan, Heaven and Hell, struggled for supremacy (Brooks 2020).” Putting ideas of “demons at work” in colonial Salem into the minds of villagers spread illogical fear and panic throughout the community resulting in the witch trials of 1692. 

            Further condemning Reverend Samuel Parris for the role in the witch trials, several Salem residents came forward with strong accusations against the minister. Residents claimed Parris was solely responsible for the witchcraft chaos. Inhabitants of Salem outwardly protested against Parris by refusing to attend church services. The protesters even compiled a list of why they refused to attend church which accuses Samuel Parris of being dishonest and deceitful during the time of the witchcraft trials. After years of discord between Parris and the congregation, the “good” Puritan minister was dismissed in 1696. Nine months after his dismal, the congregation sued him for lying during the Salem Witch Trials. According to court records: 

We humbly conceive that he swears to more than he is certain of, is equally guilty of perjury with him that swears to what is false. And though they did fall at such a time, yet it could not be known that they did it, much less be certain of it; yet he did swear positively against the lives of such as he could not have any knowledge but they might be innocent. His believing the Devil’s accusations, and readily departing from all charity to persons, though of blameless and godly lives, upon such suggestions; his promoting such accusations; as also his partiality therein in stifling the accusations of some, and, at the same time, vigilantly promoting others, – as we conceive, are just causes for our refusal (Brooks 2020). 

The court records reveal Samuel Parris swore against accused witches when he had no knowledge of their actions, ultimately condemning the innocent to their untimely deaths. It is also evident from the accounts of his many disturbing sermons, that he strongly believed in the devil and evil happenings within Salem Village. Minister Samuel Parris was largely responsible for the misfortunes of the Salem Witch Trials by spreading fear of demons at work in Salem and by condemning the innocent as witches. 

            The community of Salem Village was greatly divided on many important issues; another significant issue of divergence being local politics. In 1662, an illegal mint ran by the Massachusetts Bay Colony was brought to the attention of King Charles II. This mint generated coins without the king’s image and would melt English coins to remake them into their own. The Massachusetts General Court was also creating a number of laws contrasting their English mother country. Massachusetts’s sneaky attempts to gain more freedoms from the British, ultimately backfired when England swiftly revoked the Massachusetts Bay Colony Charter in 1684. This political blow put many colonists in the village of Salem at unease. With the charter revoked, the British crown tightened its control over the colony (Brooks 2020). This is just one of many social tensions present in the 17th century Salem Village. 

            According to Boyer and Nissenbaum, authors of Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft, the village Salem was divided into two factions (page 100). One faction, prominently on the Eastern side of Salem Village, closer to the wealthy community of Salem Town, were business-minded people interested in mercantilism. The townsfolk in the western portion of the village were largely agrarian. Rivalries between families in the differing factions of Salem were prominent as well. The most note-worthy family from the eastern faction is the Porters and leading the agriculture faction was the Putnam family. This community-wide polarization on the identity of Salem Village itself created dangerous social tension; one stop on the road to the fear-filled nightmare responsible for the witch trials. 

            These opposing factions had different expectations for Salem Village. People who stood behind the Porter family firmly believed the Village should be a part of Salem Town, a community just to the east of Salem Village populated primarily by wealthy merchants. According to court records, the majority of the opposition for a permanent minister came from the eastern faction, while villagers who stood behind the Putnam family supported minister Samuel Parris. (Boyer and Nissenbaum 97). 

            The unique combination of many years of factional strife and social tensions present in Salem Village were responsible for the witchcraft accusations of 1692. Daniel Andrew and Phillip English were elected as Salem Town selectmen. With the election of these men, the Putnam's effort to stage a comeback in politics was diminished. Due to the ugly factional discord, Daniel Andrew and Phillip English were charged with witchcraft shortly after their election (Boyer and Nissenbaum 132). Another example of how factional discord was responsible for the witch trials was the accusation of Rebecca Nurse. Witchcraft allegations were made against Rebecca immediately following her husband’s decision to join a village committee that took office in 1691 (Boyer and Nissenbaum 149). This committee was against minister Samuel Parris’s permanent position in Salem Village. These allegations of witchcraft blatantly furthered the agenda of the Putnam’s, western faction, creating a fear-filled nightmare for the villagers. 

            Some dismiss the unspeakable acts of 1692 in Salem as fraud. These historians argue that the bewitched girls were liars and performers. A key piece of evidence supporting this theory is from Sarah Good’s witchcraft trial. A girl, not identified by the court records, was caught lying when she claimed that “Good’s spirit” stabbed her with a knife which then broke during the attack. The girl then presented the broken knife to the courtroom at which point a man in the room stood and explained the knife was his and that he had broken it himself the day before(Brooks 2020). It is true that fraud may have been present in the witchcraft trials, but how can the horrendous afflictions of so many young girls be ignored and written off as fraud? Businessman and judge, Samuel Sewall of the Massachusetts Bay Province, witnessed the symptoms of these haunted victims firsthand in his diary on April 11th, 1692: “Went to Salem, where, in the Meeting-house, the persons accused of Witchcraft were examined; was a very great Assembly; ëtwas awfull to see how the afflicted persons were agitated (Sewall 2010).” 

            The many documented cases of “possession” in Salem cannot simply be overlooked. These young girls touched by the supernatural would throw things, speak in tongues, and contort themselves into unnatural positions (Karlsen 1999). Political and social factions undoubtedly played a role in the 200 witchcraft accusations in Salem, but what started the spread of this witchcraft epidemic? The possession of Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams. Many if not all of these young girl’s symptoms may have been caused by a fungus called Claviceps purpurea or more commonly known as “ergot.” 

            Ergot thrives in warm, damp weather. In the growing season of 1691, it was recorded that these humid conditions were present. During the fall is when the infected rye would have been harvested and in turn would have been used to bake bread during the winter months. This is of particular importance because the first signs of possession began in the winter of 1691 (Mason 2019). 

            Ergot is known to infect rye and other cereal grains. It contains a byproduct known as ergotamine, which is related to LSD. When ingested, ergotamine can cause a number of cardiovascular and neurological effects. Symptoms may include vomiting, crawling sensations on the skin, hallucinations, and many others. These symptoms align with the afflictions the possessed girls suffered from. Convulsive ergotism also aligns with the age group of the enchanted, since young children tend to be the most at risk for ergotism (Mason 2019). This further affirms ergot may have been the culprit of the afflictions that accompanied possession cases, therefore creating the spark of the Salem witchcraft accusations. 

            It cannot be denied that the deplorable events of 1692 that took place in Salem Village were caused by a number of disparate factors. Many try to argue that one particular event or factor was solely at fault for the Salem Witchcraft Trials. A community comes to blows and resorts to violence when it is deeply fractured. The factors discussed in this paper all contributed to the strain responsible for the severing of the once whole Salem Village. An evil, condemning, minister, a case of rye poisoning, and a fight fueled by social and political tensions for the identity of Salem Village itself, are all in part responsible for the horrors of humanity during the Salem Witchcraft Trials.