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WHAT was going on in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692?? A pretty fair question! In the span of just a few months, a small colonist community went a little nuts and condemned and executed 20 people, mostly women, for witchcraft. At a time in Western history when witch hunts and trials had been winding down, they made a sudden big, if brief, comeback in New England. This week we give you the who, what, where, and when, as well as some pretty interesting theories on why, exactly, the whole mess happened. Frustrated teens? Mental illness? Could funky rye have played a part?? Historians are still divided!

Further Reading:

• A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials (Smithsonian)
• Salem Witch Museum
• Salem: Witchcraft Hysteria (National Geographic)
• Famous American Trials: The Salem Witchcraft Trials (UMKC School of Law)
• Conversion Disorder and Mass Hysteria (Huffington Post)
• Were The American Colonists Drugged During the Salem Witchcraft Trial (How Stuff Works)