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Saturday, November 13, 2004

LECTURE: Mysterious Delusions: Witchcraft in Salem Village, by Walter
Rowe, Professor of Forensic Sciences, George Washington University 2
P.M. Saturday, Nov 13. Free and open to the public. Bethesda Public
Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD (near Bethesda Metro station)
Hosted by the National Capital Area Skeptics. 301 587-3827
ncas@ncas.org www.ncas.org.

About the lecture:
The witchcraft trials in Salem in 1692-1693 were the largest episode of
witch hunting in what is now the United States and the last large
witchcraft outbreak in Western Civilization. Over a hundred persons
were accused of witchcraft and imprisoned; nineteen witches were
convicted and executed. A variety of explanations for this event have
been advanced. In the Seventeenth Century most citizens of
Massachusetts believed that witches existed and that the accused were
part of a conspiracy to overthrow Christianity and replace it with the
rule of Satan. During the Enlightenment many educated persons adopted
the view that the witchcraft accusers were frauds and that their fits
before the Massachusetts judges were mere imposture. In the last fifty
years a new set of explanations has emerged. Some attempts at
explanation have focused on food-born toxins (ergot fungus) or
pathogens (encephalitis). Other explanations have emphasized mass
hysteria, bitter quarrels within the Salem Village community, the
psychological stresses of adolescence and ageing or the psychological
stresses experienced during a period of protracted warfare. This
presentation will critique the modern explanations in the light of the
historical record.


About the speaker:
Prof. Walter F. Rowe is professor of forensic sciences at The George
Washington University. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of
Forensic Sciences and a former member of the editorial board of the
Journal of Forensic Sciences. Prof. Rowe is a longtime student of the
Salem witchcraft outbreak and has spoken on this topic before NCAS as
well as the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic
Sciences. He is currently applying the methods of forensic firearms
examination to archaeological artifacts excavated at the site of the
1866 Fetterman
Massacre.


About NCAS:
The National Capital Area Skeptics is an independent nonprofit
educational and scientific organization that promotes critical thinking
and scientific understanding, with a focus on paranormal and
fringe-science claims. NCAS is based in the Washington, Maryland, and
Virginia community, where it serves as an advocate for science and
reason, actively promoting the scientific method, rational inquiry, and
education. NCAS is at the front lines in the battle against gullibility
and fraud.  301 587-3827 ncas@ncas.org www.ncas.org.