Were They Real Salem Witches or... Poisoned Victims?

Описание: This documentary traces the theory that ergot, a toxic fungus growing on rye, may have shaped the Salem witch trials of 1692. Beginning with the damp fields and harsh winters of colonial New England, it explains how Claviceps purpurea infects grain and produces alkaloids linked to convulsions, hallucinations, and paranoia. Through the world of Puritan farmers, ministers, and magistrates, the film follows the afflicted girls of Salem Village, placing their strange fits and visions alongside what is known about ergotism in early modern Europe and colonial America.

Drawing on historical records, medical descriptions, and modern scholarly debate, the documentary compares eyewitness testimony from the Salem witchcraft trials with the documented symptoms of poisoning by contaminated bread. It explores how fear of the Devil, tensions over land and status, and the pressures of a strict religious society may have combined with a poisoned harvest to fuel panic and accusation. The result is a careful, historically grounded examination of how environment, religion, and emerging ideas about disease and the mind intersected in one of the most studied episodes in American history.