Hi all, First, I have to ask, did you by any chance read the archives of this list before you wrote your paper? If not, you might want to do a search for the Ergotism theory, cuz there are those who believe it is NOT a likely explaination!! Also, what was your source for the following statements: "There was little or no time for them to defend themselves. Not one single person accused of witchcraft wasn’t charged guilty." There was certainly a defense given for Sarah Averill Wildes, Rebecca Nurse, Mary Esty and Sarah Cloyse, AND, Rebecca Nurse WAS found NOT GUILTY at her first trial, and was then arrested a second time and found guilty. If you have a source to cite on any of these points, I would be very interested in checking into them. Thanks, Joan