I do not know what is the medical condition of the two girls who showed peculiar behavior, which initiates witch trial.
Is it hysteria? or some other neurological disease?
Answer:
"In the village of Salem in 1692, Betty Parris, age 9, and her cousin Abigail Williams, age 11, the daughter and niece (respectively) of Reverend Samuel Parris, fell victim to what was recorded as fits "beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease to effect," according to John Hale, minister in Beverly, in his book A Modest Enquiry into the Nature of Witchcraft (Boston, 1702). The girls screamed, threw things about the room, uttered strange sounds, crawled under furniture, and contorted themselves into peculiar positions. They complained of being pricked with pins or cut with knives, and when Reverend Samuel Parris would preach, the girls would cover their ears, as if dreading to hear the sermons. A doctor, historically assumed to be William Griggs, could find no physical evidence of any ailment."Current theory ascribes their behavior to likely hysteria. Considering the Puritans' convictions that women were subservient to men and children were the lowest on the social totem-pole, and given that the men of this society spent long hours preaching hellfire and brimstone to the women (who were thought to be naturally lustful and particularly subject to the devil's influence, I think hysteria might be a logical conclusion. I know I'd hate being yelled at and called a sinner for hours and hours at a time, 7 days a week. Read the link below for the entire story.
the afflictions that caused the mass hysteria in salem were related to mold that grew on the rye that was kept in the damp and dark pantries.
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