Isola alicudi allucinazione collettiva segale cornuta

The bread that caused a collective hallucination on the island of Alicudi: the scientific explanation

An island where some women fly crossing the sea to Palermo to go shopping, others are transformed into crowsthey see each other strange animals that appear and disappear suddenly, spirits And ghosts, banquets through the streets and even a creepy clown. This is what the arcudari – the inhabitants of theAlicudi islandthe loneliest in the Aeolian archipelago in Sicily – about what could be spotted in their lands between 1903 and 1905. Three years in which this island has been the victim of one collective hallucinationto date the largest and longest in history, due to the unconscious consumption of psychedelic substances present in the flour used to make bread for all the inhabitants of the island.

From flying women to mysterious voices: the reason for hallucinations

Researchers and scholars believe that the most accredited and logical hypothesis to explain the phenomena that occurred on Alicudi is the continuous and unconscious consumption of ergota cereal affected by the fungus Claviceps purpurea (also known as ergotwhich means “spur”). At sight it shows, on the ears, some black growths who actually look like gods spurs or of horn.

Ergot is characterized by a series of organic compounds containing nitrogen, called alkaloidswhich are generally used by plants and fungi for defend yourself from parasitesbacteria and herbivores. There are many ergot alkaloids and, if ingested by humans, they pharmacologically activeleading to different symptoms based on the type of alkaloid ingested. However, the nucleus common to all active alkaloids is thelysergic acidwhat is the basis of the most commonly known to date LSDone of the most powerful psychedelic substances known.

Alkaloids have been used in the nineteenth-century medicine for a long time to treat headaches, hemorrhages caused by childbirth and also to induce labor. However, alkaloids have always had this double prospect, that is, that of being, in addition to being pharmacologically active, also the cause of ergotism epidemicsa disease that has different forms. There more severe form (gangrenous ergotism) leads to pain in the limbs, ischemia, change in the color of the skin which begins to darken.

There milder form (convulsive ergotism) causes tremors, convulsions, muscle spasms, but above all it has psychological symptomssuch as visions, hallucinations, delirium, paranoia, confusion and irritability. It is precisely this last form that, according to most researchers, has affected the inhabitants of the island of Alicudi for a good three years.

Ergot hallucinations LSD
Ergot.

How did the inhabitants of Alicudi take the hallucinogenic substance

It is hypothesized that, since Alicudi is an island, the mushroom Claviceps purpurea was transported from abroad through commercial exchanges with the island. Poor hygiene meant that it spread quickly, especially on rye. The state of poverty on the other hand, ensured that the use of the island was maximized rye floura very cheap cerealand hence the production of ergot bread.

Bread was produced and consumed by the inhabitants of Alicudi every day, thus assuming a daily dose of hallucinogenswithout even being aware of it. It was also unconscious consumption that exacerbated the symptoms. The stories were handed down by the islanders over the years, mostly in verbal form, but the fact that they were widespread and very detailed led researchers and historians to investigate.