I'm starting to compile information for the causes of the Trials. I was going to focus on King Philip's War and ergot poisoning for right now. There are not many books in the library on either subject, but I was able to find a few articles.
As I looked at websites about King Philip's War, I had a hard time finding connections between the War and the Trials. However, I did find one article, by Benjamin C. Ray, that reminded me why I thought it was a cause in the first place. There were people who were directly affected by the War that lived in Salem Village. Mary Beth Norton's In The Devil's Snare goes into more detail about the subject. I believe Norton's book will be very helpful for this topic.
Ergot poisoning was a little easier to research. Linnda Caporael wrote an article in the 70s proposing ergot poisoning as the reason for the Trials. It is a very fascinating subject. I believe this could very well be the reason for the Trials. I found a few other articles to help back up my research. I found one by Mary K. Matossian. Matossian compiled mounds of research on ergot poisoning and witchcraft. Her focus was mostly in Europe, but the article I found was on Salem. I believe it will be useful. Nicolas Spanos and Jack Gottlieb wrote an article as a rebuttal to Caporael's research. I used it in previous research. I think it will give more perspectives about the subject.
As far as my website goes, I have titled every page. Today, I hope to write my homepage, add images, and start adding the information for the causes. I'm pretty excited about where this is o
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