A fever in Salem : a new interpretation of the New England witch trials / Laurie Winn Carlson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Carlson, Laurie M., 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Witchcraft--Massachusetts--Salem--History--17th century.

Witchcraft.

Epidemic encephalitis--Massachusetts--Salem--History--17th century.

Epidemic encephalitis.

History.

Massachusetts--Salem.

Physical Description:

xvi, 197 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago : I.R. Dee, 1999.

Summary:

"In the late winter and early spring of 1692, residents of Salem Village, Massachusetts, a thinly settled town of six hundred, began to suffer from strange physical and mental maladies. Fits, hallucinations, temporary paralysis, and "distracted" rampages were suddenly occurring sporadically in the community. Livestock, too, seemed to suffer from the unexplainable illness. The randomness of the victims, and unusual symptoms that were seldom duplicated, led residents to suspect an otherworldly menace."--BOOK JACKET. "Thus suspicion and fear set in motion the infamous Salem Witch Trials. Laurie Winn Carlson, in A Fever in Salem, turns her attention to the afflicted - and emerges with a surprising and persuasive interpretation of the events at Salem."--BOOK JACKET. "Her research uncovers a well-grounded explanation of witchcraft's link to organic illness. Systematically comparing the symptoms recorded in colonial diaries and court records to those of the encephalitis epidemic in the early twentieth century, Ms. Carlson demonstrates convincingly that the victims suffered from the same disease. And she offers evidence for organic explanations of other witchcraft victims throughout New England as well as in Europe."--BOOK JACKET.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-188) and index.

ISBN:

1566632536

OCLC:

41173665