I’m heading back to Salem for our annual trip and was talking to a friend about the history of the witch trials and my opinions. I Googled it to see if anyone else had the same ideas. It seems we were all on the same track however, it was suggested they had Huntington’d Chorea. Although possible I am going to say I believe they had St. Vitus Dance AKA Syndenham’s Chorea. This illness can cause spasms, facial and body distortion, slurred or incoherent speech and high fevers, which I think the girls had. If I remember correctly, they were out at night prior to this. They could have gotten strep throat, which turned into Rheumatic Fever then the chorea. This for the most part runs it course and goes away which would explain the girls recovery, compared to Huntington’s which is permanent. I’ve had Sydenhams and it sounds highly possible. Any thoughts?
Well, the way I’ve always seen it is this: These were young girls, at the age of sexual awakening, living in a** very **repressive society where, I think it’s fair to say, young unmarried women had the least voice and power of anyone in their community except for slaves and servants. Certainly they had less than their fathers, brothers, or mothers.
Being “afflicted” meant that they were the center of attention; their power to point an accusing finger was probably the first real power any of them had ever had. You notice that they did not accuse popular, powerful people around them; but rather the weaker people without others to stand up for them.
I have always felt that this is what comes from rigid, puritanical societies which enable their members to feel as if they are actually superior to others less fortunate; whether those others are impoverished widows, eccentric loners, inner-city youth, or <shudder!> drug users.
So, I am inclined to think that there was nothing wrong with those girls at all that a good real attorney couldn’t tear apart in 30 seconds.
That is not to say that your theory is not a good one – I think it’s an excellent hypothesis, and you may be right.
I think this adds an interesting angle to the discussion.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, dar72, we’re glad you found us… and hope you have a wonderful and fun trip.
For future ref, when you start a thread that’s about a prior column by Cecil, it’s helpful to other readers if you provide a link to that thread. I’ve added what I think is the link to the column in question. Saves search time and keeps us mostly on the same page.
On t’other hand, if your question was NOT in reaction to Cecil’s column (about ergot fungus rather than chorea), please let me know and I’ll remove that link and move your question to a forum where it may get more responses. (You can let me know by clicking on the little ! in the red triangle in the upper right corner of your post, and REPORTing the post.)
There was a lot of political termoil at that time. Massachusetts had no charter official government due to the desolution of the Commomwealth of New England. King Williams war was in full swing and Massachusetts was overrun by refugees from Maine amd New Hampshire. The Commonwealth also introduced The Church of England into Massachusetts and that clashed with the Puritan population.
I always wonder how the pressure and stress contributed to this, and also wonder if there were players taking political advantage of the charges.
There have been many theories about what caused the Salem Witch trials. Perhaps the best is the simplest – an overblown hysteria at just the right time and place, with just the right people. Witches and other supernatural beings were thought to exist, thought to be responsible for anything that went wrong, and a lot went wrong in this primitive society living in a marginal existence. Couple this with the enthusiastic support of religion, fear of the unknown, community-supported irrational beliefs, and a severe lack of scientific concepts, and you have fantasies running wild. Some unfortunate souls got caught in it.
All these conditions existed for a long time. However, the hysteria happened at this very time. There was an increase concern with witches since the 17th century, and accusations and convictions took place, but the sheer number here is astounding. There were 20 people executed. Another was found guilty but escaped before execution, and one more died being pressed in order to make her confess. All in all, over 100 people were accused.
The question is why. There were political disputes between the village of Salem and the town of the same name. These were disputes over taxing and pasturing rights and other mundane topics. There was a split in the church at Salem town. Different pastors were hired and fired. There was a feud between two prominent families, the Putnams and the Potters in Salem town. There was a devastating war (King William’s War) not long after another war (King Philip’s War). And you had issues with the local politics – the end of the hated Dominion of New England, and the reinstitution of Massachusetts colony.
We need to not put too much distance between us and 17th century New England. These people were still people – just like us. And what they were capable of doing is something we too are capable of doing.
We have had several red scares in the U.S. In the 1980s and 1990s, we had a major Day care sex abuse hysteria. No one was sentenced to death, but innocent lives were destroyed. Some people spent decades in prison.
We can’t be so careful to simply brush it off as mere primitive thinking because we are just as capable to repeat the whole episode.
It’s my theory that everything – much of what you itemized – came together at just the right time and place. Other times, other places never reached “critical mass,” the tipping point where finger pointing became legal execution.
My explanation relies more upon psychology, mob reinforcement, and fanatical religious ideas rather than ergot poisoning, chorea, or something in the water or air.[sup]*[/sup]
Your reference to the day care hysteria and satanic panic of the last century is quite apt. There are a lot of parallels, and so far, I haven’t heard any theories about water or air poisoning causing the McMartin or Wee Care events. We may jail supposed offenders, but at least we don’t execute them. Can we call that social progress?
One of the rarely discussed aspects of the Salam Witch Trials is that within a decade, it was widely looked upon as a case where innocent people were wrongly accused and executed. Almost all of the judges admitted they were wrong in their zeal. In 1697, a public fast day was declared where many of the participants asked for forgiveness.
This is one of the reasons why the Salam Witch Trials are so embedded in our country’s memory, why it’s talked about to this day, and why we nationally recognize it was wrong. There are no apologists for the Commission of Oyer & Terminer (the court that tried the witches).
Maybe if we took that one lesson from the Salam Witch Trials, and people who were wrong admitted to it instead of making excuses (cough …IRAQ… cough!) and glorified their mistakes (cough! …Civil War… cough!), we’d be a much better nation.
It was a him and they pressed him in order to make him enter a plea rather than to confess. He knew that if he was convicted his property could be seized and his children would receive nothing. By refusing to enter a plea he could not be convicted and his property could not be seized.