Just a quick one here. I'm going to list some of the different theories I have come across, in no particular order and I will continue to add to this list as I come across more theories. I will then do a post on each one in detail, but I just want to get what I know out there now.
* Power struggle within the community
* Product of repressed Puritan mind (outward expression of inner sexual and spiritual turmoil)
* Ergot poisoning (which could explain the symptoms of the children)
* Fear of Smallpox
* Fear of Indian attack
* Contextual belief in the Devil using witches to destroy God's will
* Strain on recources- both from the influx of refugees from Nova scotia, New York etc and a series of harsh winters.
*The girls made the whole thing up, and when it spiraled out of control they had to continue with their stories
* Some of the accused actually were practicing witchcraft (I read in Witchcraft: A Secret History that 'At least one modern historian has suggested that some of the accused...were practicing witchcraft', but I am going to have to do some more extensive research to discover just who this 'modern historian' is.)
*common medical practice to blame insoluble conditions on the supernatural
Am I the only one who is hoping it is numbers 2 and/ or 9?
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