I don't buy the hallucinogen theory, not after reading about the family histories, the family dynamics and some of the charactars of the individuals who were involved. I believe the situation involved power and greed..... They wanted to choose the minister because whoever ran the congregation had the power. You have to remember the Walcotts and the Putnams lost considerable power after the death of Deliverance and Thomas Putnams father, when he left everything to his second wife and their stepbrother. And, you have to look back and see the litigation between some of the individuals accused and the Putnams. The Putnams had a real problem with their stepbrother, Joseph, who received the bulk of the family inheritance and who was married into the Porters who were very powerful and very close to the Nurses. There was a very strong line divided in that community during that period of time. What better way to establish the need for a minister than to find evil within a community? And, what better person to accuse of being evil than the enemies of the family? That coupled with the guilt of school girls who had been playing with tea leaves with their Indian housekeeper (such a thing was witchcraft and very evil) left the situation ripe for false allegations. Accusing individuals of witch craft in those days was not an uncommon incident, as is accusing an individual of child abuse of sexual assault during child custody cases today. Linda Descendant of the Putnams, Porters, Walcotts, Hales, Hathornes and others........................