some historians and anthropologists think people who claimed to be possesed may have been drugged however the drugging was accidental the theory suggests they may have eaten moldy rye grain wich contained an ergot this poisonous substance can cause hallucinations similar to those brought on by lsd during the middle ages a similar witch hunt broke out in europe it is thought that ergot poison was to blame then too whatever the cause whether it was an adolescent craving for attention or the accidental ingestion of a psychadelic substance the results were terrifying 