" (Guiley 289) Their religion told them that witchcraft could be a cause of illness and that witches were involved with the devil. The thought of witchcraft and the devil lurking among them in their small village caused an outburst of hysteria in which no one in the town was above suspicion.
The Puritan religion, now far less popular than in seventeenth century Salem, dictated the lives of its followers. Their lives were governed by the word of god and the fear of his wrath. "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) Puritans in Salem were devout followers of their strict religion and anyone who faltered was greatly looked down upon. Due to the strict nature of their religion, when the girls were afflicted the suspected witches were viciously sought out and tried for their crimes against the girls, against God, and against the town. .
There has been substantial research since the trials that could provide an explanations as to why the young girls had these fits. One explanation suggests that the girls were victims of ergot posining. Ergot posining comes from a common grain fungus that was common duing this time period. The effects of this poisoning are similar to the effects of LSD. The fits of hysteria could have been caused by ingestion of ergot and would explain the girls freighting behavior. Toxicologists now know that eating ergot contaminated can lead to a convulsive disorder characterized by violent muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions, hallucinations, crawling sensations on the skin and a host of other symptoms- all of which these girls displayed. Since villagers were unaware of this fungus, the possibility of food poisoning was easily overlooked. .
When the idea of these children being the victims of witchcraft was introduced, the girls were immediately questioned in order to seek out the evil doers and punish them for their indiscretions.