Witchcraft has a story in which flying never requires leaving the ground. Dr Joe Schwarcz connects that image with plant chemistry, opening a different route into the history behind the Halloween broomstick.
A plant associated with beauty also appears in accounts of witches’ visions. The familiar flying figure takes on another meaning when the sensation and the physical event become separate questions. What could produce the experience that the story describes?
Even an ordinary loaf of rye bread enters the picture. Joe outlines a contamination theory proposed for Salem, where reported experiences became accusations with devastating consequences. From the broomstick to the cauldron, the question becomes what an apparent supernatural event might conceal about the materials involved.
Topics: witchcraft, broomstick folklore, belladonna, ergot theory, Salem witch trials
GUEST: Dr Joe Schwarcz
Originally aired on2026-10-29
