Can a psychological illness become contagious? Many experts believe that in rare cases a phenomenon known as a “mass psychogenic illness” can break out in a population. Can this strange quirk of group psychology help us understand the Salem Witch Crisis of 1692? The community had been stressed by local factionalism, regional political turmoil, and a global climate crisis. The strange behavior of a few young girls quickly escalated into accusations of witchcraft against three local women. But a disturbing confession from one of the accused would transform a typical New England witch-hunt into uncontrollable witch panic. Tune-in and find out how a toxic bus event, a witch cake, and three-foot hairy imp all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Baker, Emmerson. A Storm of Witchcraft: The Salem Trials and the American Experience. Oxford University: Oxford, 2014.

Breslaw, Elaine G. Tituba: Reluctant Witch of Salem. New York University Press: New York, 1996.  

Demos, John Putnam. The Enemy Within: A Short History of Witch-Hunting. Penguin: New York, 2008.

Demos, John Putnam. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New England. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2004.

Goss, David K. The Salem Witch Trials: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Press: Westport, 2008.

Hoffer, Charles Peter. The Devil’s Disciples: Makers of the Salem Witchcraft Trials. Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore, 1996.

Reis, Elizabeth. Damned Women: Sinners and Witches in Puritan New England. Cornell Univeristy Press: Ithaca, 1997.