Mind. Blown. If you had asked me 10-minutes ago I would have answered ergot poisoning, basically a bad trip. And here it was debunked when I was 6-yo.

Caporael’s paper introduced the theory that the visions, convulsions, and distress the “afflicted” girls reported might not have been supernatural after all.

...you don't say.

mass hysteria doesn't really require hypotheses like these. it's a (somewhat) well understood flaw of our socially-hyperfocused monkey brains that mirror the thoughts and feelings of people around us. we see it all the time still nowadays, it's just a) less geographically concentrated, and b) it's riling up people into ganging up on folks on twitter instead of in the town square (although primarily nowadays it's selling products and services). our attention spans have been weaponized; there's no room for idle gossip to whip people into a frenzy - they need a solid narrative, some catchy clapbacks, and commentary from their preferred slice of culture to confirm their biases.

also, really bad title.

I never even knew there was a theory like this to explain the Salem witch trials. I always assumed that everyone understood it as a case of superstition and suspicion run amok, I mean we even use the term "witch hunt" for such cases these days.

I have heard the ergot theory to explain dancing plagues, but those are fringe theories as well and not really accepted as a likely cause.

Never heard this theory either. Wonder if it is more commonly heard by like boomers. Either way it's fading it seems.

When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

The Man Who Got Liberty Valance