Bad Rye and the Salem Witches..........fungus Claviceps purpurea (fungus from rye bread)

Currently I am reading "The Taking" by Dean Koontz and as often in science fiction books here and there you stumble across interesting bits of factual information.

Now we all know that certain types of mushrooms if taken internally will produce hallucinations.

But mold and fungus?

So I started researching and yes, there is a fungus that grows out of rye bread that can make you very sick and even hallucinate.

Bad Rye and the Salem Witches- Written by Alan Bellows on 09 March 2007

This classic Damn Interesting article originally appeared on 27 June 2006.

In the late 1600s, the Puritan settlement of Salem in Massachusetts toppled into chaos when accusations of witchcraft began to appear. Two young girls, aged nine and eleven, were said to have fallen victim to fits “beyond the power of Epileptic Fits or natural disease,” including screams, strange contortions, and throwing objects. The village doctor, unable to explain the symptoms, suggested that witchcraft may be afoot in Salem. Others in the settlement began to exhibit similar inexplicable behavior, and shortly the accusations began to fly.

The infamous trials that followed left nineteen people hanged to death, and scores of others imprisoned under suspicion of supernatural wrongdoing. Today, few would suggest that those punished were actually guilty of witchcraft, but the true cause of the errant behavior in Salem’s citizens is still a mystery. One theory– perhaps the most intriguing yet offered– suggests that the community’s rye crop may have been partially to blame. Moreover, such maladjusted rye may have played a role in many of history’s mysterious events.

Salem, like many other communities in the past and present, harvested rye as part of their grain crops, and it was a staple in their diet. But it turns out that rye grass is susceptible to a particular fungus called Claviceps purpurea which infects the edible portions of the plant. During the ergot stage of this fungus’ development, a cocktail of interesting alkaloids are present which will cause problems with circulation and neurotransmission when ingested by humans. A woman named Linnda Caporael was the first to suggest that Ergot of Rye may have contributed to the madness in the Salem trials.

Ergot poisoning, or ergotism, can cause a distressing array of side effects. The initial symptoms are usually gastrointestinal in nature, including nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. Shortly thereafter the sufferer may experience a gamut of symptoms caused by ergot’s influence on the central nervous system. These usually start with relatively benign sensations such as headaches, “pins and needles,” and burning/itching sensations on the skin; but the the experience can escalate into spasms, convulsions, unconsciousness, hallucinations, and psychosis. In severe cases, the body tissues experience physical side effects such as loss of peripheral sensation, swelling, blisters, dry gangrene, and sometimes death.

Wheat infected with ergotThis menagerie of nastiness is caused by two characteristics in the Ergot of Rye: Clavine alkaloids, which cause convulsive symptoms; and ergotamine-ergocristine alkaloids which restrict blood vessels and starve the limbs and brain of oxygen.

Ergot poisoning has been problematic throughout history. In the Middle Ages the disease was known as “St. Anthony’s fire,” and it was responsible for countless limbs lost to gangrene and many deaths. Entire villages were sometimes known the suffer such symptoms, and it is now believed that these outbreaks were caused when a village bakery used ergot-contaminated grain. Monks of the order of St. Anthony the Great became skilled at treating the condition with balms that stimulated circulation, and they became skilled amputators. The cause of the disease was not isolated until the late seventeenth century, and it did not become widely known until the 1800s. Before that time, epidemics of ergotism were often seen as a punishment from God.

Today historians are speculating that some other bizarre events of the past may be due to ergot poisoning. For instance, an affliction known as “dancing mania” which struck Europe from the 14th to the 17th century may have been caused by the troublesome fungus. This phenomenon caused groups of people to dance through the streets of cities– often speaking nonsense and/or foaming at the mouth– until they finally collapsed from exhaustion. Sufferers often described wild visions, and continued to writhe after falling to the ground. Some also suggest that Kykeon, a popular hallucinogenic drink from ancient Greece, may have been made from ergot-infected barley.

Given the conditions, the idea that the Salem witch trials may have been fuelled by ergot poisoning is quite plausible. The season had been warm and the growing area was swampy, a combination which creates an ideal environment for Ergot of Rye to develop. Also supporting this hypothesis is the fact that symptoms characteristic of ergot poisoning occurred in Connecticut in the same year. The ergot poisoning in Salem could not have been severe, however, otherwise more dramatic side effects would have occurred. Salem was a community stricken with inequality, fear of the native Indians, bitter disputes over land, and sexual repression; It is likely that Ergot of Rye was merely a catalyst in an already volatile situation, and mass hysteria took care of the rest.

Source and rest of article: www.damninteresting.com...

Other sites to support this theory

www.helium.com...

www.timduffy.com...

www.botany.hawaii.edu...

"The Taking" is about an alien invasion that is quite interesting.

Instead of "War of the Worlds" an invasion could be as simple as introducing lower forms of alien life to re-terraforming vs an all out war.

The Salem witch trials and all the other inhuman actions that went along with this period have always fasinated me. How could people be so cruel and crazy?

Well, possibly it wasn't all their fault. Possibly some of the craziness was due to the ingestion of the rye mold. Back in the middle ages, most people ate rye flour vs white refined or wheat flour. Only the rich could afford white (refined) flour.

An accident or purposely planned?

Somethings aren't always what they seem.

Maybe, just sometimes when someone or a group of someones go off the deep end there is a scientic explanation.

In recent years, the mold work that we have been involved in has brought us into contact with what seems to be an abnormally high number of individuals demonstrating strange behavior. There was the man who informed us that mold knows when you are coming and if you get too close, it "sporinates" in a different direction. He explained that "sporinate" is the term used to describe how mold escapes capture by shooting its spores away from a person. One woman told us that she and her children could feel something growing in their heads as a result of mold exposure - that something was "moving up there." We have had numerous customers who initially contacted us for assistance, but later believed we were "out to get them."

After discussing these cases and others encountered by our colleagues, we began to notice similarities. The people who exhibit odd behavior have usually been exposed to a mold-contaminated environment for a long time, often years. In addition to an array of physical symptoms, they report (and we frequently observe) personality changes, depression, paranoia and loss of mental acuity. We have been contacted by individuals who have said that we (an indoor environmental consulting firm), all lawyers and the media were against them; who state that they are being poisoned; and who describe themselves as hysterical, sad and about to go crazy. A tenant of one of our clients has attempted to take legal action against our organization more than once, has made personal threats by way of e-mail and voice messages, and has harassed our employees, all with no factual foundation, but a very real, intense perception of personal offense.

Many of the characteristics observed in these people who speak or act strangely are consistent with delusions. Rudimentary research into psychology reveals two sub­types of delusional disorders (persecutory and somatic) that closely match the symptoms of mold exposure that we've seen. The persecutory subtype is characterized by a persons belief that he is being conspired against, poisoned, maliciously maligned or cheated. Such individuals may make repeated attempts to obtain justice through the courts. People with persecutory delusions are often angry and resentful, and sometimes resort to violence against those they believe are harming them. Delusions of the somatic subtype involve the belief that something is physically wrong with the individual, such as an infestation of insects on or in the skin. Further research shows that disorders such as these can be caused by certain medical conditions or by changes in brain chemistry.

Some types of mold that are commonly found in water-damaged buildings can produce potent poisonous substances called mycotoxins. Scientists believe that certain molds produce these poisons to gain an advantage over competing molds and other microorganisms, and any harm caused to human health is a byproduct of this natural survival trait. Even so, the toxins produced by Stachyhotrys (the most talked about black mold) are widely recognized as having the ability to affect a person's central nervous system. It is our experience that when a person has been exposed to these mycotoxins for a long period of time, the incidence of delusions or other psychotic disorders seems to increase - Kristie P Source: answers.yahoo.com...

Now in the quote above, Yes we know humans and animals are living thinking beings, most lower forms of life such as amoeba, jelly fish and cockroaches simply react to stimulus. Mold probably fits this category. But, are we sure?

I remember twenty years ago most scientists stated that dogs don't have emotions and don't think and feel as we do................granted they can't perform math but my dog sure as hell thought deeper about some stuff than some humans I know.

How do we really know what is consciously aware and what isn't.

Anyway interesting articles and examine your food more closely.

Incredibly interesting, S&F!

Purpurea .... this happens with Sjogrens. Sjogrens happens with women mostly. I'm wondering if those women with 'witch marks' had Purpurea and perhaps Sjogrens. We'll never know. But now I'm wondering.

People need to stay away from wheat and rye bread. There are so many origin stories out there stating that Aliens introduced certain crops and grains to human beings, and taught them the skill of agriculture, but one must wonder, was this an act of kindness, or an attempt to CONTROL?

This would be the equivelant of feeding a bunch of hardcore Puritanical Christians '___' or shrooms......every day.....for a long time.

No wonder these people were seeing witches and ghosts and the devil at every turn..... they were all tripping balls


Great post s&f

reply to post by ofhumandescent

I suffer from cluster headaches, no big deal.
I mention this because for years my medication was ergot.
It was banned in the U.K. some years ago and now I receive Sumatriptan.
I was tested for ergotism a few times, fortunately I was fine.
Ergotism as you say was once called St Anthony's fire, I think this was because he may have been, among other things, the patron saint of hopeless causes.
Ergotism is also linked to lycanthropy, sufferers complained of an agonising sensation of hair growing inwards from their skin.

I always thought it strange that these two substances with hallucinogenic properties were a palliative for my condition.
I mean how did they discover this as a remedy.
Ergot as a treatment is still available in the USA.

It works by constricting the smooth muscle lining the arteries.

reply to post by leira7


Interesting comment.

reply to post by midicon


You probably received a "refined" or "in the lab adjusted" form and not the raw fungus itself.

But your comment is also very interesting.

I'm going to have to look into this more once I finish "The Taking".

Really good read.............I'm a sucker for nice people facing invincible odds, children in need of rescuing and dogs.

Oh, I like Dean Koontz's work, so I'll have to check out that novel. This is a really interesting post about the affect of mold/fungus on people. There's an episode of Ghost Whisperer that had a premise like this, the one where Amy Acker (who played Fred in one of my old favorite TV shows, Angel) was a guest as Melinda's ancestor, Tessa. Tessa had been killed when she'd been sent by a ghost to warn the original town about that mold/fungus that was in the bread. It caused people to hallucinate and go homicidal, and a lot of people including Tessa died in a fire after some of the townspeople barricaded themselves in a church. The bread they shared while barricaded in the church was contaminated with that mold/fungus.

Great thread and interesting commentaries. I had once a very vivid past life regression of having been in Salem, It does make sense and yet from what I remember those people were just pure evil themselves with a thirst for human sacrifice and public torture.

reply to post by midicon


Scientist have discovered that lsd also is effective for helping with cluster headaches. They are now trying to find a way to synthesize it so there are no hallucinogenic affects. I hope all goes well for you.

reply to post by kimish

Thanks Kimish,
I will check that out.

Regards Midicon.

reply to post by ofhumandescent

It is a refined form.
Although the artery constriction is what leads to gangerine.
Also Erysipelas etc.
Most users of Ergot suffer from over usage and tolerance build up


" Now we all know that certain types of mushrooms if taken internally will produce hallucinations.

But mold and fungus?"

They all belong to the same family, mushrooms and mold are fungi.

reply to post by Ariel


4shared has a free ebook copy.........hurry grab it before they take it down.

There are also a few others on there.

google 4shared

reply to post by kimish


Albert Hoffman is the man who invented Lysergic Acid Diethylmide-25. He was using Ergot to make a cure for headaches. He inhaled some of the mixture by accident and discovered the hallucinatory factors on his bike ride home. Wheat is a strange plant and I would not be surprised if it was not originally from this planet. Most people on this planet are actually allergic to gluten and do not know it because the symptoms are normally things like being tired,sore,angry,etc. Maybe we are really not supposed to eat it and our bodies are letting us know? Who knows.. Fun thoughts though.