Medical explanations of bewitchment

rdf:langString Medical explanations of bewitchment

rdf:langString Medical explanations of bewitchment, especially as exhibited during the Salem witch trials but in other witch-hunts as well, have emerged because it is not widely believed today that symptoms of those claiming affliction were actually caused by bewitchment. The reported symptoms have been explored by a variety of researchers for possible biological and psychological origins. Modern academic historians of witch-hunts generally consider medical explanations unsatisfactory in explaining the phenomenon and tend to believe the accusers in Salem were motivated by social factors – jealousy, spite, or a need for attention – and that the extreme behaviors exhibited were "counterfeit," as contemporary critics of the trials had suspected.