About this episode

The episode explores the Salem witchcraft crisis and its lasting impact on American history with guest Sebastian Major.

It’s unlikely that I’ve undersold the significance of the Salem witchcraft crisis to the development of American history, particularly in the religious and institutional context. But what I always felt somewhat sad about leaving out was the true horror of the event itself, and really the confusing knot that it has created throughout the nearly 340 years that have passed since its conclusion. Why did such a thing happen? What bewitched the people of Salem? Was it mass hysteria? Was it social contagion? Was it ergot poisoning? Was it real witchcraft? These questions, remarkably, are still asked to this very day. That is why I enlisted the help of my friend and now second-time guest on History Impossible, Sebastian Major of Our Fake History to help me unravel this mystery for all of you fine people. Sebastian did a fantastic three-part series covering the witchcraft crisis—my favorite podcast to do so, in fact—a couple of years ago, so I figured there was no one better to get into the broad overview of this twisted and persistent legend of American history. We also looked at the psychological element of the Salem witchcraft crisis and how it carries a universal quality to this very…

People in this episode

Host: Alexander von Sternberg

Guest: Sebastian Major

Topics covered

• Salem witchcraft crisis
• American history
• mass hysteria
• social contagion
• psychological elements
• historical significance

Keywords

• Salem
• witchcraft
• mass hysteria
• social contagion
• American history
• psychology
• Sebastian Major

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Our Fake History

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