Psychedelic Witches

I was watching PBS the other night. I guess it was part of their halloween special or something because they were showing this hour long feature on the the Salem witch crisis (1692). The feature pretty much revolved around the research done by Linda Caporael on the real cause of the physical symptoms of so-called witches and the possessed during those times.

Scientific evidence apparently points out to the fungus Ergot as the main culprit. As it turns out rye grains were infected by Ergot and consuming grain that's been contaminated by Ergot results in hallucinations, convulsions, and other symptoms that are similar to what was believed to be caused by witchcraft. Witch hunts across Europe was also linked geographically to areas where rye was planted. LSD, a hallucinogen is also derived from Ergot. So the witches were basically accidental hippies :) They were not practicing withcraft, they were just high!

Now I think about all the weird cases in the Philippines for sure a scientific and medical explanation is hidden somewhere. It's just convenient to blame it on something supernatural.