Last week we learned about mass hysteria, specifically focusing on the Salem Witch Trials. I realized that growing up and hearing about the trials in conversation and pop culture media gave me a skewed perspective on what really happened 300 years ago. The most famous example of a misconception being that it was all women who died through being burned at the stake. One of the things that surprised me the most was that a lot of the accusations came form young girls. Considering an accusation of being a witch led to either execution, jail time, or (at best) ruined reputation, it is almost hard to believe that everyone in the Salem Village would listen to them. To me it seems like they were looking for scapegoats to blame issues they were facing which Sandra and Ashley touched on in their presentation. Throughout time we have seen marginalized groups being used as scapegoats to justify brutal actions such as murder, but this case is interesting because the people being blamed were, for the most part, not an necessarily apart of an "outgroup" -- people were blaming their neighbors and acquaintances as things being to spiral out of control.
Before last week, I had never heard of ergot. On History's website they mentioned "it contains a chemical cousin to hallucinogenic LSD" which may have been why people were seemingly delusional. This is fascinating to me since it gives a scientific reason for what may have happened instead of having to think every accusation was completely unbased.
As we turn towards the Millerite movement this week I am interested to dive more into mass hysteria, specifically how people use religion to drive people's actions.
Great review of our Salem class. Mass hysteria is always a compelling topic, and Salem is a great example. For 9 months a group of young girls held the power of life or death. They were among the most powerless individuals in Puritan society, and they suddenly became the most powerful by pointing fingers at others. I am glad the class dispelled a few myths about Salem.
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