1. The Devil in Massachusetts By Marion L. Starkey

2. Type of People Accused

3. Type of History Accessed Primary Sources –Court records –Personal narratives (letters, diaries, editorials) –Background sources Secondary Sources –Historical accounts –Psychological and anthropological sources

4. Type of Historical Narrative Non-fiction written in the form of fiction Dialogue taken from historical accounts, not fabricated Where historical accounts were not available, “psychological reconstructions” were made--there are only a few instances of this

5. Causes Strong belief that Satan is acting in world –Recruits witches/wizards to work for him Prior witchcraft cases in Europe and Puritan New England Time of troubles –Easy to believe Satan is active Smallpox, wars with Indians, congregational strife

6. More Causes Magistrates receptive to witchcraft ideas –Allow spectral evidence Can you prove your shape DIDN’T attack me? Confessing witches –Then it must be true! Teenage boredom –Strict society, lots of Bible reading, no TV…

7. More Causes Stimulation of imagination by Tituba Old feuds –Disputes within congregation, property arguments

8. And perhaps the most interesting theory….. Rye bread makes LSD? Convulsive ergotism, a disease caused by eating infected rye that can produce hallucinations, causing strange behavior? –Some research supports that the rye harvested the fall before would have been stored in a damp area, and could have become infected.