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Afflicted Girls Behavior During The Salem Witch Trials In Salem Village

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Possible Medical Explanations to Explain the Afflicted Girls’ Behavior During the Salem Witch Trials in Salem Village, Massachusetts of 1692 Through 1693 Angela Weaver Kankakee Valley High School Possible Medical Explanations to Explain the Afflicted Girls’ Behavior During the Salem Witch Trials in Salem Village, Massachusetts of 1692 Through 1693 Angela Weaver Kankakee Valley High School Introduction Many are quick to judge the young afflicted girls of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 through 1693, proclaiming that the afflicted were just desperate for attention, but there may potentially be actual medical explanations in the logic behind this bewitchment. Medical experts have found possible explanations for the young girls’ behavior. …show more content…

Several common viruses can cause encephalitis: Measles, Polio, Rubella, Varicella, Rabies, and Mumps (Encephalitis, 2012). The emotional changes of Encephalitis are changes in self concept, anxiety, frustration and anger, emotional lability, perception of emotions, and depression, commonly found in the afflicted girls (Dewar B, 2014). Therefore, making the parallels between the afflicted girls and the victims of Encephalitis clearly …show more content…

The deaths ye died I have watched beside And the lives ye led -- were mine” (H. Lienhard, 1997). Ergot poisoning, found in rye, was commonly included in the breads of the time, leading to the belief that this tainted food caused tainted ideas. Having daily contact with breads, this is the most logical medical reason the girls acted the way they did. According to the WebMD, common effects of ergot poisoning, on the human body is “nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and weakness, numbness, itching, and rapid or slow heartbeat. Ergot poisoning can progress to gangrene, vision problems, confusion, spasms, convulsions, unconsciousness, and death” which is common to those of the afflicted girls (Ergot, 2009). Conclusion Although the logic behind the Salem Witch Trials has been a mystery for hundreds of years, the unknown details of this massacre might finally be coming to a close. Researching medical conditions that have effects similar to those of the afflicted girls, this created a path where historians could trace the parallels between the two. Medical experts have potentially figured out the confusion of this decades year old phenomenon, tracing it back to the hysteria, encephalitis, and ergot

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