Tumblr Users Explain The Real Reason People Believed That Witches Exist, And It’s Eye-Opening
The belief that there are people who possess supernatural powers and use them to harm innocent people dates back to the 14th century. This belief, fueled by fear and mass hysteria, led to the witch hunt which lasted up until 18th century and resulted in thousands of ‘witches’ being executed by hanging or burning to death.
Today, stories of witches are still terrifying. However, as more scientific evidence emerges, the scary part becomes the fact that most people who were accused of witchcraft were innocent. People who lived centuries ago were completely oblivious to something that today we can easily diagnose as poisoning. Scroll below to read how Tumblr users explain what actually may have happened to those accused of ‘bewitchment’!
More info: obytheby.tumblr.com
The belief that people can possess supernatural powers led to the witch hunt and resulted in thousands of ‘witches’ being executed by hanging or burning to death
Tumblr users explain what actually may have happened to those accused of ‘bewitchment’
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You mean scientific reasoning has thoroughly disproven a religious belief? Well, that's a big surprise and that probably won't happen again.
Terra messorem: the simulation theory isn't considered to be the current scientific consensus. Although some people who work in science may think that it is true there are quite a few others in theoretical physics who would say either that the simulation theory isn't true, or that there is no way to really test or get at that question, so they'd say there's no reason to take much of a position on it. On the other hand, the big bang and Einsteinian Relativity are part of the current scientific consensus of what is considered firmly established facts about existence, b/c there is significant bodies proof that they are true across multiple scientific disciplines. So arguing against those ideas is something you can only do if you're willing to disagree with nearly every expert. So it's important to distinguish here what is and is not considered a settled factual point by a heavy consensus of scientists. Simulation theory isn't, but Big Bang, Relativity, Evolution are.
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Great job, tumblr. Now explain why so many drivers don't use their turn signal.
My brother-in-law said because he already knew which way he was turning. Why yes he is an idiot...
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Very interesting article, but at the end of the day, witchcraft was just one of the excuses used by men to subjugate and sometimes murder women.
After the trials in Salem there was a lot of remorse. One girl who accused many of witchcraft publicly apologized and admitted she was wrong to accuse others being in league with the devil. One of their elected officials was put out of office because of the trials. At some point sanity seemed to return and folks felt horror at what they had done to their fellow townsfolk.
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It's wrong to say that the ergot has the same effects as LSD. If it had the same effects, you wouldn't need to isolate and characteriz the nucleus in ergot alkaloids to make lycerik acid, from which LSD is made. From what I've learned, ergot can give you hallucinations, yes, but LSD doesn't give you convulsions and gangrene like ergot does, so it's not "the same effects as LSD".
Yes this article makes it sound like LSD is something deadly and terrifying which it is not. Unintentionally misrepresenting the drugs uses and effects.
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Ergot/Ergotamine is quite dangerous, but I honestly think this was more a matter of old fashioned human greed, and men wanting to get rid of 'troublesome' women who were not compliant with their BS. Just my opinion based on everything I have read about the whole witch trial mess.
I've read a lot about this, they always mention ergot as one of the reasons the girls acted the way they did when they started this whole witch hunt thing. It's just one possible reason though. Another is the group of girls who began it were possibly playing around/actually believed a witch got them and exaggerated everything to the point it was scaring people. They did say when a doctor went to check on them, one of the girls acted "possessed " but when the doc left, they went back to normal. And I'm sure the adults took this to their advantage. Lots of people who go hanged were those whose neighbors fighting over land.
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In French, Ergotism is called "Le Mal des Ardents" because you feel like your body is burning from the inside plus gangrene turn our body part to black as if they were burnt... A nice disease you don't want to try.
In Catalan, ergotism is called "el mal de foc" (illness of fire) and "foc de l'infern" (hell's fire) for the same reasons. Most people, if survived, lost their extremities, as hands and feet were the first parts of the body to gangrene. It happened to women and men and it wasn't so linked to witches. In Catalonia and other parts of Europe it was very usual in the middle ages (however it was known far before, 600 bc) and there were lots of hospitals completely consacred to those ill people. They were directed by the brothers of saint anthony and that's why in europe it was known as well by the st anthony's illness or fire.
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Fungus may have been part of it, but human nature was certainly the major part.
Those young women posing and grinning in front of a house of horrors just shows that idiotic selfie-taking is not new.
Salem should have been razed to the ground. Its people were monsters, tripping or not. Too much innocent blood was spilled there, and those responsible never got what they deserved.
And many women were midwives & healers who knew about plants and how to treat illness, but the church saw them as rivals since the women's knowledge gave them power & respect.
There ARE witches. We aren't particularly scary, tho. No witches died in Salem. The only person even close to being a witch (Tituba) didn't get executed.
Also some of the Bible stories (like Moses seeing a burning bush) have been explained with some interesting drug hallucination stories that could be historically accurate because some plants with hallucinating effects actually grew on the areas where most of the Bible stories happened.
Well, this might be true, to some extent, for Salem. But they didn't come up with the idea first. If I remember correctly it was some danish King , who then spread his belief to other European Kings and queens. They saw how handy a little burning could be from time to time and used the churches to justify it. When the churches took matters in their own hands things escalated.
The viking warriors deliberetly consumed fly amnita/ fly agaric mushrooms in the belief that it would boost their morale and battle prowers
My ancestor was accused in Salem because the men of the town wanted him dead for helping the French and the Indians.He escaped and waited it out and was cleared but, the judges told the girls to accuse him. His name was Captain John Alden.
If you read "Glimpses of the Devil" by Scott Peck, he also didn't believe demonic voices and energy were real either, and intended to prove these were mere "delusions" in the minds of schizophrenic patients. But after confronting these "demonic personalities" directly, he came to the conclusion they were not coming from the patients but had intelligence and systems of operating of their own. He applied the steps of exorcism as therapy for schizophrenia, and wrote that book about his observations and how that changed his mind.
There was also the fact that the witch hunters and the church got to confiscate the property of executed witches.
Wow - that is really interesting to read. Too bad one of my ancestors was named a witch and burned at the stake in Salem.
I personally think this theory is reductionist. Even if the accusers were tripping it doesn’t explain why it led to the persecution of women rather than men. The real reasons are more mundane: good old misogyny and anti paganism that was systematically stoked up from the pulpits for 1100 years because monotheism served the purposes of imperialists. Accusing members of rival religions of being evil, eating babies and drinking blood, having hooked noses and wearing funny clothes is as old as the hills. Unfortunately in the case of female Celts, none survived to disprove the propaganda.
This is the 21st century. Yes witches do exist, but keep a low profile because of former persecution. And, no, they are not 'evil, possessed, or in league with the devil.' In fact, witches don't even believe in the devil.
This is so interesting! Paranoia was so rampant back then. It didn't take much for the clergy nor the judges to get their knickers in a twist and fly off the handle. Oh wait, it's the witches who flew on broom handles
I was also taught that doulas and midwives were accused of being witches by male doctors as they didn't want women in the medical field to get them killed off O.o
It's also thought to be responsible for the werewolf phenomena in France, people who suffered the hallucinations from consumption thought that they transformed into wolves and the cramping twisted and deformed their bodies
Actually took a course of history of witchcraft- nope not usually the case. The Salem case is usually considered an outlier. Most of the cases were in areas where there was a lot of religious upheaval due to the Reformation (which led to wars, etc making people panicky). The victim type usually depended on the region, but were typically among the most vulnerable (older widows, beggars, etc) and often midwives. No one cared about them enough to do anything to stop it until someone high enough up was accused.
I learned this on some discovery channel special on monster stories in the 90's. It was most likely responsible for perceived lycanthropy as well.
Actually this theory has been around for quite a while, House MD did an episode based on this some years ago and, as Tumblr says, it was, to some degree, eye-opening.
"Removal of ergot bodies is done by placing the yield in a brine solution; the ergot bodies float while the healthy grains sink" This is from the Wikipedia page, and it made me suspect that maybe there is a connection between this and how a woman could be tested for innocence by throwing her into a lake or a pond: If she would float she was a witch, and could thus be sentenced to burn, but if she was innocent she would sink to the bottom. In both cases, she would, of course, end up dead.
This is old news. I learned about ergot poisoning in Salem 30 years ago. Read ohbytheby's write-up . She's got the correct explanation. As for being prosecuted for illegal substances, ergot was a fungus that grew on rye, and was never an intended outcome. If you look throughout history, ergot outbreaks explain so, so much. Especially if you lived in a patriarchal, superstitious society that did not like independent women.
I understand you but also it isn't a bad idea to remember certain facts from time to time, just to be sure everybody is informed. Think for example about people younger than 30... :)
Load More Replies... This isn't new, I remember watching a documentary when i was 17 (31 now) about that fungus theory and it makes complete sense.
What's new about this? Probably all those r******d religions are based on someone tripping on something.
if you don't believe there are witches out there, go to any big city's psychic fair they hold once or twice a year...
You mean scientific reasoning has thoroughly disproven a religious belief? Well, that's a big surprise and that probably won't happen again.
Terra messorem: the simulation theory isn't considered to be the current scientific consensus. Although some people who work in science may think that it is true there are quite a few others in theoretical physics who would say either that the simulation theory isn't true, or that there is no way to really test or get at that question, so they'd say there's no reason to take much of a position on it. On the other hand, the big bang and Einsteinian Relativity are part of the current scientific consensus of what is considered firmly established facts about existence, b/c there is significant bodies proof that they are true across multiple scientific disciplines. So arguing against those ideas is something you can only do if you're willing to disagree with nearly every expert. So it's important to distinguish here what is and is not considered a settled factual point by a heavy consensus of scientists. Simulation theory isn't, but Big Bang, Relativity, Evolution are.
Load More Replies... Great job, tumblr. Now explain why so many drivers don't use their turn signal.
My brother-in-law said because he already knew which way he was turning. Why yes he is an idiot...
Load More Replies... Very interesting article, but at the end of the day, witchcraft was just one of the excuses used by men to subjugate and sometimes murder women.
After the trials in Salem there was a lot of remorse. One girl who accused many of witchcraft publicly apologized and admitted she was wrong to accuse others being in league with the devil. One of their elected officials was put out of office because of the trials. At some point sanity seemed to return and folks felt horror at what they had done to their fellow townsfolk.
Load More Replies... It's wrong to say that the ergot has the same effects as LSD. If it had the same effects, you wouldn't need to isolate and characteriz the nucleus in ergot alkaloids to make lycerik acid, from which LSD is made. From what I've learned, ergot can give you hallucinations, yes, but LSD doesn't give you convulsions and gangrene like ergot does, so it's not "the same effects as LSD".
Yes this article makes it sound like LSD is something deadly and terrifying which it is not. Unintentionally misrepresenting the drugs uses and effects.
Load More Replies... Ergot/Ergotamine is quite dangerous, but I honestly think this was more a matter of old fashioned human greed, and men wanting to get rid of 'troublesome' women who were not compliant with their BS. Just my opinion based on everything I have read about the whole witch trial mess.
I've read a lot about this, they always mention ergot as one of the reasons the girls acted the way they did when they started this whole witch hunt thing. It's just one possible reason though. Another is the group of girls who began it were possibly playing around/actually believed a witch got them and exaggerated everything to the point it was scaring people. They did say when a doctor went to check on them, one of the girls acted "possessed " but when the doc left, they went back to normal. And I'm sure the adults took this to their advantage. Lots of people who go hanged were those whose neighbors fighting over land.
Load More Replies... In French, Ergotism is called "Le Mal des Ardents" because you feel like your body is burning from the inside plus gangrene turn our body part to black as if they were burnt... A nice disease you don't want to try.
In Catalan, ergotism is called "el mal de foc" (illness of fire) and "foc de l'infern" (hell's fire) for the same reasons. Most people, if survived, lost their extremities, as hands and feet were the first parts of the body to gangrene. It happened to women and men and it wasn't so linked to witches. In Catalonia and other parts of Europe it was very usual in the middle ages (however it was known far before, 600 bc) and there were lots of hospitals completely consacred to those ill people. They were directed by the brothers of saint anthony and that's why in europe it was known as well by the st anthony's illness or fire.
Load More Replies... Fungus may have been part of it, but human nature was certainly the major part.
Those young women posing and grinning in front of a house of horrors just shows that idiotic selfie-taking is not new.
Salem should have been razed to the ground. Its people were monsters, tripping or not. Too much innocent blood was spilled there, and those responsible never got what they deserved.
And many women were midwives & healers who knew about plants and how to treat illness, but the church saw them as rivals since the women's knowledge gave them power & respect.
There ARE witches. We aren't particularly scary, tho. No witches died in Salem. The only person even close to being a witch (Tituba) didn't get executed.
Also some of the Bible stories (like Moses seeing a burning bush) have been explained with some interesting drug hallucination stories that could be historically accurate because some plants with hallucinating effects actually grew on the areas where most of the Bible stories happened.
Well, this might be true, to some extent, for Salem. But they didn't come up with the idea first. If I remember correctly it was some danish King , who then spread his belief to other European Kings and queens. They saw how handy a little burning could be from time to time and used the churches to justify it. When the churches took matters in their own hands things escalated.
The viking warriors deliberetly consumed fly amnita/ fly agaric mushrooms in the belief that it would boost their morale and battle prowers
My ancestor was accused in Salem because the men of the town wanted him dead for helping the French and the Indians.He escaped and waited it out and was cleared but, the judges told the girls to accuse him. His name was Captain John Alden.
If you read "Glimpses of the Devil" by Scott Peck, he also didn't believe demonic voices and energy were real either, and intended to prove these were mere "delusions" in the minds of schizophrenic patients. But after confronting these "demonic personalities" directly, he came to the conclusion they were not coming from the patients but had intelligence and systems of operating of their own. He applied the steps of exorcism as therapy for schizophrenia, and wrote that book about his observations and how that changed his mind.
There was also the fact that the witch hunters and the church got to confiscate the property of executed witches.
Wow - that is really interesting to read. Too bad one of my ancestors was named a witch and burned at the stake in Salem.
I personally think this theory is reductionist. Even if the accusers were tripping it doesn’t explain why it led to the persecution of women rather than men. The real reasons are more mundane: good old misogyny and anti paganism that was systematically stoked up from the pulpits for 1100 years because monotheism served the purposes of imperialists. Accusing members of rival religions of being evil, eating babies and drinking blood, having hooked noses and wearing funny clothes is as old as the hills. Unfortunately in the case of female Celts, none survived to disprove the propaganda.
This is the 21st century. Yes witches do exist, but keep a low profile because of former persecution. And, no, they are not 'evil, possessed, or in league with the devil.' In fact, witches don't even believe in the devil.
This is so interesting! Paranoia was so rampant back then. It didn't take much for the clergy nor the judges to get their knickers in a twist and fly off the handle. Oh wait, it's the witches who flew on broom handles
I was also taught that doulas and midwives were accused of being witches by male doctors as they didn't want women in the medical field to get them killed off O.o
It's also thought to be responsible for the werewolf phenomena in France, people who suffered the hallucinations from consumption thought that they transformed into wolves and the cramping twisted and deformed their bodies
Actually took a course of history of witchcraft- nope not usually the case. The Salem case is usually considered an outlier. Most of the cases were in areas where there was a lot of religious upheaval due to the Reformation (which led to wars, etc making people panicky). The victim type usually depended on the region, but were typically among the most vulnerable (older widows, beggars, etc) and often midwives. No one cared about them enough to do anything to stop it until someone high enough up was accused.
I learned this on some discovery channel special on monster stories in the 90's. It was most likely responsible for perceived lycanthropy as well.
Actually this theory has been around for quite a while, House MD did an episode based on this some years ago and, as Tumblr says, it was, to some degree, eye-opening.
"Removal of ergot bodies is done by placing the yield in a brine solution; the ergot bodies float while the healthy grains sink" This is from the Wikipedia page, and it made me suspect that maybe there is a connection between this and how a woman could be tested for innocence by throwing her into a lake or a pond: If she would float she was a witch, and could thus be sentenced to burn, but if she was innocent she would sink to the bottom. In both cases, she would, of course, end up dead.
This is old news. I learned about ergot poisoning in Salem 30 years ago. Read ohbytheby's write-up . She's got the correct explanation. As for being prosecuted for illegal substances, ergot was a fungus that grew on rye, and was never an intended outcome. If you look throughout history, ergot outbreaks explain so, so much. Especially if you lived in a patriarchal, superstitious society that did not like independent women.
I understand you but also it isn't a bad idea to remember certain facts from time to time, just to be sure everybody is informed. Think for example about people younger than 30... :)
Load More Replies... This isn't new, I remember watching a documentary when i was 17 (31 now) about that fungus theory and it makes complete sense.
What's new about this? Probably all those r******d religions are based on someone tripping on something.
if you don't believe there are witches out there, go to any big city's psychic fair they hold once or twice a year...
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