The Salem Witch Trials occurred in 1692. Young girls started acting strangely. They started randomly having delusions, muscle spasms, seizures, and trances. 1692 was a period in time when hundreds of people were practicing witchcraft. Only 19 people, 14 of them women, were tried and hanged for witchcraft. One specific trial was Martha Corey. After Mercy Lewis, Mary Walcott, Mary Warren, and Ann Putnam Jr. were proven to be afflicted by witchcraft, Ann accused Martha Corey of afflicting them. Martha was tried in the Court of Oyer and Terminer. Whenever she did something, the young girls were afflicted. When she moved her feet, they cried out. When she touched her face, they screamed in pain. Martha was proven guilty, and was hanged on September 22, 1692. After she was hanged, the young girls were still thought to be afflicted by witches. The court held other trials, but none of the people were causing their afflictions.

Most people thought the girls were being controlled by witches, but others thought it was food poisoning. People were always growing rye, which could easily be affected by fungus. If the rye had gotten affected by Ergot, and the girls had eaten it, they would’ve been experiencing almost the exact same symptoms-muscle spasms, delusions, seizures, and contortions. How the rye could have been infected by the fungus is by molding. The girls lived by the marsh, so if the rye got wet and started to mildew, it could have produced Ergot.