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A Fever in Salem

A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials

Laurie Winn Carlson

In the late winter and early spring of 1692, residents of Salem Village, Massachusetts, began to suffer from strange physical and mental maladies. The randomness of the victims, and unusual symptoms that were seldom duplicated, led residents to suspect an otherworldly menace. Their suspicions and fears eventually prompted the infamous Salem Witch Trials. While most historians have concentrated their efforts on the accused, Laurie Winn Carlson, A Fever in Salem focuses on the afflicted. What were the characteristics of a typical victim? Why did the symptoms occur when and where they did? What natural explanation could be given for symptoms that included hallucinations, convulsions, and psychosis, often resulting in death? Ms. Carlson offers an innovative, well-grounded explanation of witchcraft's link to organic illness. Systematically comparing the symptoms recorded in colonial diaries and court records to those of the encephalitis epidemic in the early twentieth century, she argues convincingly that the victims suffered from the same disease, and she offers persuasive evidence for organic explanations of other witchcraft victims throughout New England as well as in Europe. A Fever in Salem is a provocative reinterpretation of one of America's strangest moments, and a refreshing departure from widely accepted Freudian explanations of witchcraft persecution.
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Ivan R. Dee
Pages: 220 • Trim: 5½ x 7⅜
978-1-56663-309-3 • Paperback • August 2000 • $14.95 • (£11.99)
978-1-56663-339-0 • eBook • July 1999 • $13.99 • (£10.99)
Subjects: History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775), History / General, Science / Applied Sciences
Laurie Winn Carlson has written frequently on the history of the West, including Cattle: An Informal Social History; Seduced by the West; Sidesaddles to Heaven; and Boss of the Plains. She lives in Cheney, Washington.
Part 1 Preface xiii
Part 2 The Witch Craze in Seventeenth-century New England 3
Part 3 The Afflicted 9
Part 4 The Response 38
Part 5 Mental Illness and the Persecution of Witches 61
Part 6 The Forgotten Epidemic 76
Part 7 What Happened at Salem? 114
Part 8 Alternative Outcomes 147
Part 9 Could Encephalitis Lethargica Return? 157
Part 10 Afterword: Satanic Possession and Christian Beliefs 157
Part 11 Chronology 159
Part 12 Statistical Appendix 167
Part 13 Notes 171
Part 14 Bibliography 183
Part 15 Index 189
Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations.
— Barbara Lloyd McMichael; The Seattle Times


A fascinating, refreshing reassessment of one of the most bizarre episodes in American history.
— The A-List


What an intriguing hypothesis!
— Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer; author of I Heard the Sirens Scream


This book will send historians and epidemiologists scurrying back to the drawing board.
— Katrina L. Kelner, Editor, Science Magazine


Ms. Carlson writes well, at times, even humorously.
— Phoebe-Lou Adams; Atlantic Monthly


Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.
— John Banville; The New Yorker


Provocative, informative, and dramatic...packed with epidemiological evidence and studded with convincing figures and maps.
— Nan Sumner-Mack; Providence Journal


A medical mystery that will intrigue both the epidemiologist-historian detectives and the lay reader.
— Robert S. Desowitz, Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina and author of Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria?


Was it sickness of the mind or of the body?

A Fever in Salem

A New Interpretation of the New England Witch Trials

Cover Image
Paperback
eBook
Summary
Summary
  • In the late winter and early spring of 1692, residents of Salem Village, Massachusetts, began to suffer from strange physical and mental maladies. The randomness of the victims, and unusual symptoms that were seldom duplicated, led residents to suspect an otherworldly menace. Their suspicions and fears eventually prompted the infamous Salem Witch Trials. While most historians have concentrated their efforts on the accused, Laurie Winn Carlson, A Fever in Salem focuses on the afflicted. What were the characteristics of a typical victim? Why did the symptoms occur when and where they did? What natural explanation could be given for symptoms that included hallucinations, convulsions, and psychosis, often resulting in death? Ms. Carlson offers an innovative, well-grounded explanation of witchcraft's link to organic illness. Systematically comparing the symptoms recorded in colonial diaries and court records to those of the encephalitis epidemic in the early twentieth century, she argues convincingly that the victims suffered from the same disease, and she offers persuasive evidence for organic explanations of other witchcraft victims throughout New England as well as in Europe. A Fever in Salem is a provocative reinterpretation of one of America's strangest moments, and a refreshing departure from widely accepted Freudian explanations of witchcraft persecution.
Details
Details
  • Ivan R. Dee
    Pages: 220 • Trim: 5½ x 7⅜
    978-1-56663-309-3 • Paperback • August 2000 • $14.95 • (£11.99)
    978-1-56663-339-0 • eBook • July 1999 • $13.99 • (£10.99)
    Subjects: History / United States / Colonial Period (1600-1775), History / General, Science / Applied Sciences
Author
Author
  • Laurie Winn Carlson has written frequently on the history of the West, including Cattle: An Informal Social History; Seduced by the West; Sidesaddles to Heaven; and Boss of the Plains. She lives in Cheney, Washington.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
  • Part 1 Preface xiii
    Part 2 The Witch Craze in Seventeenth-century New England 3
    Part 3 The Afflicted 9
    Part 4 The Response 38
    Part 5 Mental Illness and the Persecution of Witches 61
    Part 6 The Forgotten Epidemic 76
    Part 7 What Happened at Salem? 114
    Part 8 Alternative Outcomes 147
    Part 9 Could Encephalitis Lethargica Return? 157
    Part 10 Afterword: Satanic Possession and Christian Beliefs 157
    Part 11 Chronology 159
    Part 12 Statistical Appendix 167
    Part 13 Notes 171
    Part 14 Bibliography 183
    Part 15 Index 189
Reviews
Reviews
  • Carlson turns to tackle a phenomenon that has engrossed and frightened generations.
    — Barbara Lloyd McMichael; The Seattle Times


    A fascinating, refreshing reassessment of one of the most bizarre episodes in American history.
    — The A-List


    What an intriguing hypothesis!
    — Laurie Garrett, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer; author of I Heard the Sirens Scream


    This book will send historians and epidemiologists scurrying back to the drawing board.
    — Katrina L. Kelner, Editor, Science Magazine


    Ms. Carlson writes well, at times, even humorously.
    — Phoebe-Lou Adams; Atlantic Monthly


    Meticulously researched...marshals her arguments with clarity and persuasive force.
    — John Banville; The New Yorker


    Provocative, informative, and dramatic...packed with epidemiological evidence and studded with convincing figures and maps.
    — Nan Sumner-Mack; Providence Journal


    A medical mystery that will intrigue both the epidemiologist-historian detectives and the lay reader.
    — Robert S. Desowitz, Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina and author of Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria?


Features
Features
  • Was it sickness of the mind or of the body?

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