by Leslie Griffin

Created on: October 19, 2008   Last Updated: October 20, 2008

With Halloween coming, Salem Massachusetts is now in full swing with its festivities. Salem MA has become an icon of American lore for its famous Witch Trials of 1692. It is also considered by many to be "Witch Central" of the New England area. As such, it attracts thousands of sightseers every October and has a fantastic array of spooky events to enjoy, all leading up to a gigantic block party carnival on October 31st. While there are a great many historical tours offered in Salem, most of the stories told involve great chilling tales of the supernatural. Interestingly, the actual history of the Salem Witch Trials is much less "supernatural," but is perhaps even darker and more disturbing; especially in light of the fact that it demonstrates a very dangerous side human nature and what can happen when fear, zealotry and mob mentality overtakes a town.

There's a wealth of information available on the Salem Witch Trials. As is true in almost all cases of history, most of the stories contain partial information and variations on the account. For the sake of brevity, I am including links to the chronology and events of the Salem Witch Trials at the end of this article. Rather than to re-tell the story, here are a few nuggets of information that sadly, seem to go missing from most accounts. Read on, for a peek at the version I find to be most credible, documented and scientifically proven. It is full of scandal, dirty politics and even drug use!

Through the 1600s to late 1800s, rye was a staple crop in New England, as it very hardy and resistant to cold weather. It also provided a significant source of grain, used for mainly for feeding livestock. However, people did also use rye for baking bread and for making a single malt whiskey (similar to Old Overholt.) On an aside, single malt rye whiskey was George Washington's drink of choice, and was very commonly enjoyed between 1680 through the mid 1700s in New England.

Ergot is a mold that grows on certain grasses like millet, wheat, barley and of course, rye. One of the side effects of ergot is that it acts as a hallucinogen, similar to LSD.

If you consider how bread was made back in the late 1600s (much the same way we make Amish bread and Sourdough starters- a portion of the batter is left to continue fermenting and is added to daily), mold contamination was a big problem. Usually though, the baking and distilling processes would kill off the mold, rendering rye products safe to consume.

Baking the daily bread was a

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