An Absolutely Terrifying Outbreak
The Pont-Saint-Esprit made headlines for weeks and it took some time for doctors to see the similarity of what was happening to ergot poisoning, an epidemic that was popular during Medieval times but was never experienced again in France until early on in the 19th century. Ergot is a parasitic fungus which preys on rye and similar plants. Ergot has lysergic acid, is an active component of LSD and it has wreaked worse havoc on France before.
