Convulsions, diarrhea, vomiting, skin discoloration, hallucinations, burning and cold sensations, coma, and death are all symptoms of convulsive ergot poisoning (Coll). Ergot poisoning was said to be the cause of the haunted behavior of the afflicted girls during the Salem witch trials; however, convulsive ergotism only occurs in places lacking vitamin A, ergot symptoms were not present in the girls, and the girls were most likely faking any symptoms they had. Gangrenous ergotism is the type of ergot poisoning that is contracted when there is a lot of vitamin A in the environment. Salem was a farming town, meaning there was always a well-balanced diet; thus making the contraction of convulsive ergotism very difficult. The seizures that the “afflicted” girls had would not have occurred with ergot poisoning because they are not part of the symptoms. Since gangrene is completely absent, it is very likely that ergot played a role in Salem. Furthermore, the first bewitched girls came from very wealthy families who could easily afford the vitamin-rich foods that would prevent their seizures if they contracted ergot poisoning. Ergot is rare, but when it appears in people, it tends to occur much more frequently in younger children. “…56% of those affected by the Finnish epidemic were under the age of ten; sixty percent of Scrine's cases were under fifteen...' (Spanos and Gottlieb) During the trials there were only three girls under fifteen out of eleven girls. Finally, it was more common that when one member contracted convulsive ergotism, the entire family contracted it. However, during the trials, an entire house was not said to be completely “…… middle of paper … l the evidence shows that ergot poisoning did not play a role in the Salem witch trials. Instead, it was about a group of teenage girls who pretended to be sick to get people into trouble. Works Cited Glazer, G., K. A. Myers, and E. R. Davies. "Ergot poisoning." Postgraduate Medical Journal 42,491 (1966): 562-568. Google Scholar. Network. 26 Feb 2014. INTERESTS, DECLARATION OF. "The History of Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) I: From Antiquity to 1900." J R Coll Physicians Edinb 39 (2009): 179-84. Google Scholar. Network. 26 Feb 2014. “RootsWeb: SALEM-WITCH-L [SALEM-WITCH-L] Spanos and Gottlieb on Ergotism in Salem.” RootsWeb: SALEM-WITCH-L [SALEM-WITCH-L] Spanos & Gottlieb on ergotism in Salem. Np, nd Web. February 27, 2014. Spanos, Nicholas P., and Jack Gottlieb. "Ergotism and the Salem Village Witch Trials." (1976) Google Scholar. Network. February 26 2014.