The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, 4th edn by 
Witches and Neighbours, 2nd edn by 
Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany by 
Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe by 
The Appearance of Witchcraft by 
Witchcraft in England, 1558-1618 by
Anyone interested in manifestations of witchcraft in Elizabethan and Jacobean England will find this book an invaluable source. Barbara Rosen has gathered and edited a rare collection of documents--pamphlets, reports, trial accounts, and other material--that describes the experience, interpretation, and punishment of witchcraft in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In her introduction, Rosen explores the full range of practices and beliefs associated with witchcraft and situates these phenomena in historical context. She explains how ignorance of science and medicine combined with social circumstance and religious ideology to shape popular perceptions and superstitions. Distinguishing between English and Continental forms of witchcraft, she also examines the legal definitions, disciplines, and punishments applied to wizards, witches, wise women, and conjures in the Elizabethan age. The pamphlets and other original texts have been modernized in certain respects to make them more accessible to general readers. But the book retains its value for scholars: omissions are detailed in the notes and additions marked; obsolete words and grammar are explained in the glossary. Originally published in England in 1970 under the title Witchcraft, this book appears now for the first time in paperback and includes a new preface by the editor.
Religion and the Decline of Magic by 
Witchcraft, Witch-Hunting, and Politics in Early Modern England by 
Instruments of Darkness by 
Embracing the Darkness by 
Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe by
‘Men and the witch-hunt in Scotland’, pp. 149-170
Witchcraft, Gender, and Society in Early Modern Germany by 
Witchcraft Narratives in Germany by Reading week - no classes
The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by You may also wish to look at :-
Danvers Archival Center (2018) 'Witchcraft in Salem Village', Salem Witch Trials. Website.
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by 
Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England by 
A Supernatural War by No specific required reading for week 12 as revision week.
Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by 
The Witch by 
Witches and Witch-Hunts by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Witches and Neighbours by Embracing the Darkness by
As dusk fell on a misty evening in 1521, Martin Luther - hiding from his enemies at Wartburg Castle - found himself seemingly tormented by demons hurling walnuts at his bedroom window. In a fit of rage, the great reformer threw at the Devil the inkwell from which he was preparing his colossal translation of the Bible. A belief - like Luther's - in the supernatural, and in black magic, has been central to European cultural life for 3000 years. From the Salem witch trials to the macabre novels of Dennis Wheatley; from the sadistic persecution of eccentric village women to the seductive sorceresses of TV's Charmed; and from Derek Jarman's punk film Jubilee to Ken Russell's The Devils, John Callow brings the twilight world of the witch, mage and necromancer to vivid and fascinating life. He takes us into a shadowy landscape where, in an age before modern drugs, the onset of sudden illness was readily explained by malevolent spellcasting. And where dark, winding country lanes could terrify by night, as the hoot of an owl or shriek of a fox became the desolate cries of unseen spirits.Witchcraft has profoundly shaped the western imagination, and endures in the forms of modern-day Wicca and paganism.Embracing the Darkness is an enthralling account of this fascinating aspect of the western cultural experience.
Enemies of God by
For many years the European witch craze of the 16th and 17th centuries was considered a subject of almost bad taste to study. Then came World War II and a genocide which was the greatest convulsion of evil the world had ever seen. Scholars realized that the witch cult was still with us.
Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe by
Men - as accused witches, witch-hunters, werewolves and the demonically possessed - are the focus of analysis in this collection of essays by leading scholars of early modern European witchcraft. The gendering of witch persecution and witchcraft belief is explored through original case-studies from England, Scotland, Italy, Germany and France.
Instruments of Darkness by Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft, 2nd edn by 
Early Modern European Witchcraft by The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe by The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, 4th edn by The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by 
The Malleus Maleficarum by
The Malleus Maleficarum is one of the best-known treatises dealing with the problem of what to do with witches. It was written in 1487 by a Dominican inquisitor, Heinrich Institoris, following his failure to prosecute a number of women for witchcraft, it is in many ways a highly personal document, full of frustration at official complacency in the face of a spiritual threat, as well as being a practical guide for law-officers who have to deal with a cunning, dangerous enemy. Combining theological discussion, illustrative anecdotes, and useful advice for those involved in suppressing witchcraft, its influence on witchcraft studies has been extensive. The only previous translation into English, that by Montague Summers produced in 1928, is full of inaccuracies. It is written in a style almost unreadable nowadays, and is unfortunately coloured by his personal agenda. This new edited translation, with an introductory essay setting witchcraft, Institoris, and the Malleus into clear, readable English, corrects Summers' mistakes and offers a lean, unvarnished version of what Institoris actually wrote. It will undoubtedly become the standard translation of this important and controversial late-medieval text.
Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography by Instruments of Darkness by 
The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic by Early Modern European Witchcraft by 
Popular Religion in Germany and Central Europe 1400 - 1800 by 
The Extraordinary and the Everyday in Early Modern England by 
Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736-1951 by
Most studies of witchcraft and magic have been concerned with the era of the witch trials, a period which officially came to an end in Britain with the passing of the Witchcraft Act of 1736.
Witchcraft, Witch-Hunting, and Politics in Early Modern England by
Witchcraft, Witch-hunting, and Politics in Early Modern England constitutes a wide-ranging and original overview of the place of witchcraft and witch-hunting in the broader culture of early modern England. Based on a mass of new evidence extracted from a range of archives, both local andnational, it seeks to relate the rise and decline of belief in witchcraft, alongside the legal prosecution of witches, to the wider political culture of the period. Building on the seminal work of scholars such as Stuart Clark, Ian Bostridge, and Jonathan Barry, Peter Elmer demonstrates how learneddiscussion of witchcraft, as well as the trials of those suspected of the crime, were shaped by religious and political imperatives in the period from the passage of the witchcraft statute of 1563 to the repeal of the various laws on witchcraft. In the process, Elmer sheds new light upon variousissues relating to the role of witchcraft in English society, including the problematic relationship between puritanism and witchcraft as well as the process of decline.
The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England by The Witch by 
Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England by 
Witchcraft in Early Modern England, 2nd edn by Religion and the Decline of Magic: Studies in popular beliefs in sixteenth and seventeenth-century England by The Extraordinary and the Everyday in Early Modern England by 
Witchcraft and Its Transformations, C. 1650 - C. 1750 by
This book is about the significance of witchcraft in English public life (c.1650-c.1750), and deals with contemporary opinion regarding its theological, philosophical, and legal dimensions. Ian Bostridge discusses civil war politics, the writings of Thomas Hobbes, the debate about witchcraftat the time of the Glorious Revolution, and the disputes surrounding the repeal of Jacobean witchcraft legislation in 1736. He also examines the work of less familiar writers and propagandists such as Richard Boulton, Francis Hutchinson, and James Erskine of Grange, and balances this account of thegradual demise of witchcraft theory in Britain with a comparative case study of the debate in France. Finally, by asserting that witchcraft remained a serious topic of debate well into the eighteenth century, and that its descent into polite ridicule had as much to do with politics as with the birthof reason, Witchcraft and its Transformations offers a lively critique of current interpretations of English popular culture and political change.
Witchfinders: A seventeenth-century English tragedy by 
A Trial of Witches: A Seventeenth-Century Witchcraft Prosecution by
In 1662, Amy Denny and Rose Cullender were accused of witchcraft, and, in one of the most important of such cases in England, stood trial and were hanged in Bury St Edmunds. A Trial of Witches is a complete account of this sensational trial and an analysis of the court procedures, and the larger social, cultural and political concerns of the period. In a critique of the official process, the book details how the erroneous conclusions of the trial were achieved. The authors consider the key participants in the case, including the judge and medical witness, their institutional importance, their part in the fate of the women and their future careers. Through detailed research of primary sources, the authors explore the important implications of this case for the understanding of hysteria, group mentality, social forces and the witchcraft phenomenon as a whole.
Early Modern Witches: Witchcraft Cases in Contemporary Writing by
This collection of pamphlets describes fifteen English witchcraft cases in detail, vividly recreating events to give the reader the illusion of actually being present at witchcraft accusations, trials and hangings. But how much are we victims of literary manipulation by these texts? The pamphlets are presented in annotated format, to allow the reader to decide. Some of the texts appear in print for the first time in three centuries, whilst others are newly edited to give a clearer picture of sources.
Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England by 
Literature, Gender and Politics During the English Civil War by Witchcraft in England, 1558-1618 by
Anyone interested in manifestations of witchcraft in Elizabethan and Jacobean England will find this book an invaluable source. Barbara Rosen has gathered and edited a rare collection of documents--pamphlets, reports, trial accounts, and other material--that describes the experience, interpretation, and punishment of witchcraft in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. In her introduction, Rosen explores the full range of practices and beliefs associated with witchcraft and situates these phenomena in historical context. She explains how ignorance of science and medicine combined with social circumstance and religious ideology to shape popular perceptions and superstitions. Distinguishing between English and Continental forms of witchcraft, she also examines the legal definitions, disciplines, and punishments applied to wizards, witches, wise women, and conjures in the Elizabethan age. The pamphlets and other original texts have been modernized in certain respects to make them more accessible to general readers. But the book retains its value for scholars: omissions are detailed in the notes and additions marked; obsolete words and grammar are explained in the glossary. Originally published in England in 1970 under the title Witchcraft, this book appears now for the first time in paperback and includes a new preface by the editor.
Instruments of Darkness by
They flew through the air, consorted with animals, and made pacts with the devil. Witches were as unquestioned as alchemy or astrology in medieval England; yet it wasn't until the midsixteenth century that laws were passed against them. Now a leading historian of crime and society in early modern England offers the first scholarly overview of witchcraft in that country in over eighty years, examining how tensions between church, state, and society produced widespread distrust among fearful people. Instruments of Darkness takes readers back to a time when witchcraft was accepted as reality at all levels of society. James Sharpe draws on legal records and other sources to reveal the interplay between witchcraft beliefs in different partts in the social hierarchy. Along the way, he offers disturbing accounts of witch-hunts, such as the East Anglian trials of 1645-47 that sent more than 100 people to the gallows. He tells how poor, elderly women were most often accused of witchcraft and challenges feminist claims that witch-hunts represented male persecution by showing that many accusers were themselves women. Prosecution of witches gradually declined with increasing skepticism among jurists, new religious attitudes, and scientific advances that explained away magic. But for two hundred years, thousands participated in one of history's most notorious persecutions. Instruments of Darkness is a fascinating case study that deepens our understanding of this age-old cultural phenomenon and sheds new light on one society in which it occurred.
The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by 
Scottish Witches and Witch-Hunters by
This book brings together twelve studies that collectively provide an overview of the main issues of live interest in Scottish witchcraft. As well as fresh studies of the well-established topic of witch-hunting, the book also launches an exploration of some of the more esoteric aspects of magical belief and practice.
Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland by 
Witch-Hunting in Scotland by 
An Abundance of Witches by
The first history of the most intense period of witch-hunting in Scotland between 1658-62. Scotland, in common with the rest of Europe, was troubled from time to time by outbreaks of witchcraft which the authorities sought to contain and then to suppress, and the outbreak of 1658-1662 is generally agreed to represent the high water mark of Scottish persecution. These were peculiar years for Scotland. For nine years Scotland was effectively an English province with largely English officials in charge. In 1660 this suddenly changed. So the threat to Church and state from a plague of witches was particularly disturbing. The tension between imported official English attitudes to witchcraft and the revived fervour of Calvinist religion combined to produce a peculiar atmosphere in which the activities of witches drew hostile attention to an unprecedented degree.
The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context by 
Male Witches in Early Modern Europe by Embracing the Darkness by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by 
Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe by Reading Week - no classes
In the devil's snare; The Salem witchcraft crisis of 1692 by Witches and Witch-Hunts by 
Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736-1951 by 
The Decline of Magic: Britain in the Enlightenment by
A new history which overturns the received wisdom that science displaced magic in Enlightenment Britain In early modern Britain, belief in prophecies, omens, ghosts, apparitions and fairies was commonplace. Among both educated and ordinary people the absolute existence of a spiritual world was taken for granted. Yet in the eighteenth century such certainties were swept away. Credit for this great change is usually given to science - and in particular to the scientists of the Royal Society. But is this justified? Michael Hunter argues that those pioneering the change in attitude were not scientists but freethinkers. While some scientists defended the reality of supernatural phenomena, these sceptical humanists drew on ancient authors to mount a critique both of orthodox religion and, by extension, of magic and other forms of superstition. Even if the religious heterodoxy of such men tarnished their reputation and postponed the general acceptance of anti-magical views, slowly change did come about. When it did, this owed less to the testing of magic than to the growth of confidence in a stable world in which magic no longer had a place.
The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by Witchcraft in Early Modern England, 2nd edn by Religion and the Decline of Magic by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Embracing the Darkness by
As dusk fell on a misty evening in 1521, Martin Luther - hiding from his enemies at Wartburg Castle - found himself seemingly tormented by demons hurling walnuts at his bedroom window. In a fit of rage, the great reformer threw at the Devil the inkwell from which he was preparing his colossal translation of the Bible. A belief - like Luther's - in the supernatural, and in black magic, has been central to European cultural life for 3000 years. From the Salem witch trials to the macabre novels of Dennis Wheatley; from the sadistic persecution of eccentric village women to the seductive sorceresses of TV's Charmed; and from Derek Jarman's punk film Jubilee to Ken Russell's The Devils, John Callow brings the twilight world of the witch, mage and necromancer to vivid and fascinating life. He takes us into a shadowy landscape where, in an age before modern drugs, the onset of sudden illness was readily explained by malevolent spellcasting. And where dark, winding country lanes could terrify by night, as the hoot of an owl or shriek of a fox became the desolate cries of unseen spirits.Witchcraft has profoundly shaped the western imagination, and endures in the forms of modern-day Wicca and paganism. Embracing the Darkness is an enthralling account of this fascinating aspect of the western cultural experience.
Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736-1951 by 
Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft by 
Writing Witch-Hunt Histories by 
The Witch in History by 
The Witch in the Western Imagination by 
Cursed Britain by
The definitive history of how evil magic has survived into the present day
Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography by The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic by
This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Witchcraft in Europe, 1100-1700 by
In bringing together a rich collection of contemporary accounts of the period, this volume chronicles the rise and fall of the cult of witchcraft that swept through Europe between the 11th and 18th centuries.
The Witchcraft Sourcebook by The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by Early Modern European Witchcraft by 
Marks of an Absolute Witch by
This work explores the social foundation of evidence law in a specific historical social and cultural context - the debate concerning the proof of the crime of witchcraft in early modern England. In this period the question of how to prove the crime of witchcraft was the centre of a public debate and even those who strongly believed in the reality of witchcraft had considerable concerns regarding its proof. In a typical witchcraft crime there were no eyewitnesses, and since torture was not a standard measure in English criminal trials, confessions could not be easily obtained. The scarcity of evidence left the fact-finders with a pressing dilemma. On the one hand, using the standard evidentiary methods might have jeopardized any chance of prosecuting and convicting extremely dangerous criminals. On the other hand, lowering the evidentiary standards might have led to the conviction of innocent people. Based on the analysis of 157 primary sources, the book presents a picture of a diverse society whose members tried to influence evidentiary techniques to achieve their distinct goals and to bolster their social standing. In so doing this book further uncovers the interplay between the struggle with the evidentiary dilemma and social characteristics (such as class, position along the centre/periphery axis and the professional affiliation) of the participants in the debate. In particular, attention is focused on the professions of law, clergy and medicine. This book finds clear affinity between the professional affiliation and the evidentiary positions of the participants in the debate, demonstrating how the diverse social players and groups employed evidentiary strategies as a resource, to mobilize their interests. The witchcraft debate took place within the formative era of modern evidence law, and the book highlights the mutual influences between the witch trials and major legal developments.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic by
This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Witchcraft and Society in England and America, 1550-1750 by 
The European Witch-Hunt by
The European Witch-Hunt seeks to explain why thousands of people, mostly lower-class women, were deliberately tortured and killed in the name of religion and morality during three centuries of intermittent witch-hunting throughout Europe and North America. Combining perspectives from history, sociology, psychology and other disciplines, this book provides a comprehensive account of witch-hunting in early modern Europe. Julian Goodare sets out an original interpretation of witch-hunting as an episode of ideologically-driven persecution by the 'godly state' in the era of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Full weight is also given to the context of village social relationships, and there is a detailed analysis of gender issues. Witch-hunting was a legal operation, and the courts' rationale for interrogation under torture is explained. Panicking local elites, rather than central governments, were at the forefront of witch-hunting. Further chapters explore folk beliefs about legendary witches, and intellectuals' beliefs about a secret conspiracy of witches in league with the Devil. Witch-hunting eventually declined when the ideological pressure to combat the Devil's allies slackened. A final chapter sets witch-hunting in the context of other episodes of modern persecution. This book is the ideal resource for students exploring the history of witch-hunting. Its level of detail and use of social theory also make it important for scholars and researchers.
The Witchcraft Sourcebook by 
Godly Zeal and Furious Rage by
Though it is clearly an exceptionally important part of popular culture, witchcraft has generated a variety of often contradictory interpretations, starting from widely differing premises about the nature of witchcraft, its social role and the importance of higher theology as well as more popular beliefs. This work offers a conspectus of historical work on witchcraft in Europe, and shows how many trends converged to form the figure of the witch, and varied from one part of Europe to another.
Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe by Religion and the Decline of Magic by 
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Male Witches in Early Modern Europe by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by 
Fearless Wives and Frightened Shrews by 
Thinking with Demons by 
Women and Religion in England, 1500-1750 by 
Popular Magic: Cunning-Folk in English History by
Cunning-folk were local practitioners of magic, providing small-scale but valued service to the community. They were far more representative of magical practice than the arcane delvings of astrologers and necromancers. Mostly unsensational in their approach, cunning-folk helped people with everyday problems: how to find lost objects; how to escape from bad luck or a suspected spell; and how to attract a lover or keep the love of a husband or wife. While cunning-folk sometimes fell foul of the authorities, both church and state often turned a blind eye to their existence and practices, distinguishing what they did from the rare and sensational cases of malvolent witchcraft. In a world of uncertainty, before insurance and modern science, cunning-folk played an important role that has previously been ignored.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic by
This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Witchcraft, Gender and Society in Early Modern Germany by
sing the example of Eichstatt, this book challenges witchcraft historiography by arguing that the gender of the witch-suspect was a product of the interrogation process and that the stable communities affected by persecution did not collude in its escalation."Recent witchcraft historiography, particularly where it concerns the gender of the witch-suspect, has been dominated by theories of social conflict in which ordinary people colluded in the persecution of the witch sect. The reconstruction of the Eichstatt persecutions (1590-1631) in this book shows that many witchcraft episodes were imposed exclusively 'from above' as part of a programme of Catholic reform. The high proportion of female suspects in these cases resulted from the persecutors' demonology and their interrogation procedures. The confession narratives forced from the suspects reveal a socially integrated, if gendered, community rather than one in crisis. The book is a reminder that an overemphasis on one interpretation cannot adequately account for the many contexts in which witchcraft episodes occurred.
Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England by 
Ecstasies: Deciphering the witches' Sabbath by
Weaving early accounts of witchcraft--trial records, ecclesiastical tracts, folklore, and popular iconography--into new and startling patterns, Carlo Ginzburg presents in Ecstasies compelling evidence of a hidden shamanistic culture that flourished across Europe and in England for thousands of years.
The European Witch-Hunt by
The European Witch-Hunt seeks to explain why thousands of people, mostly lower-class women, were deliberately tortured and killed in the name of religion and morality during three centuries of intermittent witch-hunting throughout Europe and North America. Combining perspectives from history, sociology, psychology and other disciplines, this book provides a comprehensive account of witch-hunting in early modern Europe. Julian Goodare sets out an original interpretation of witch-hunting as an episode of ideologically-driven persecution by the 'godly state' in the era of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Full weight is also given to the context of village social relationships, and there is a detailed analysis of gender issues. Witch-hunting was a legal operation, and the courts' rationale for interrogation under torture is explained. Panicking local elites, rather than central governments, were at the forefront of witch-hunting. Further chapters explore folk beliefs about legendary witches, and intellectuals' beliefs about a secret conspiracy of witches in league with the Devil. Witch-hunting eventually declined when the ideological pressure to combat the Devil's allies slackened. A final chapter sets witch-hunting in the context of other episodes of modern persecution. This book is the ideal resource for students exploring the history of witch-hunting. Its level of detail and use of social theory also make it important for scholars and researchers.
Lewd Women and Wicked Witches by
This book focuses on the development of revolutionary feminist theory of male sexual violence in the present day, and the witch hunts of early modern Europe, in an analysis of male power over women.
Holmes, C. (1993) ‘Women: Witnesses and Witches’, Past & Present, 140(1) (August 1993), pp. 45-78.
Jackson, L. (1995) ‘Witches, Wives, and Mothers: Witchcraft Persecution and Women’s Confessions in Seventeenth-Century England’, Women’s History Review, 4(1), pp. 63-84.
The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, 4th edn by Millar, C-R. (2021) 'Diabolical Men: Reintegrating Male Witches into English Witchcraft', The Seventeenth Century, 36, pp. 693-713.
Monter, E. W. (1997) ‘Toads and Eucharists: The male witches of Normandy, 1564–1660', French Historical Studies, 20(4), pp. 563-595.
The Witchcraft Reader by 
Man As Witch by
Witch-hunts in Central Europe were by no means focused only on women; one in four alleged witches was male. This study analyzes and describes the witch trials of men in French and German-speaking regions, opening up a little known chapter of early modern times, and revealing the conflicts from which witch-hunts of men evolved.
Malleus Malificarum and the Construction of Witchcraft by de Blecourt, W. (1994) ‘Witch doctors, soothsayers and priests: On cunning folk in European historiography and tradition’, Social History, 19(3), pp. 285-303.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic by
This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The Witch by
Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history "Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history."--Los Angeles Times The witch came to prominence--and often a painful death--in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early-modern stake. This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective and traces the major historiographical developments of witchcraft. Hutton, a renowned expert on ancient, medieval, and modern paganism and witchcraft beliefs, combines Anglo-American and continental scholarly approaches to examine attitudes on witchcraft and the treatment of suspected witches across the world, including in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Australia, and North and South America, and from ancient pagan times to current interpretations. His fresh anthropological and ethnographical approach focuses on cultural inheritance and change while considering shamanism, folk religion, the range of witch trials, and how the fear of witchcraft might be eradicated.
Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Palgrave Advances in Witchcraft Historiography by The Witchcraft Reader, 2nd edn by 
The Devil in Early Modern England by The Extraordinary and the Everyday in Early Modern England by The Politics of Demonology by
An examination of those periods in history when the resources of the state were used to generate mass persecutions. The impact of different types of legal systems on the production of witches is examined as well as the political circumstances, strikingly consistent, that set the stage for the witch panics that fueled the witchcraze. Successive chapters discuss the Red Scare, World War I, the McCarthy era, etc. as a single class of events causing the mass production of deviance.
Women, Crime and the Courts in Early Modern England by Religion and the Decline of Magic by Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe by The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America by 
Gender, Culture and Politics in England, 1560-1640 by
Gender, Culture and Politics in England, 1560-1640 integrates social history, politics and literary culture as part of a ground-breaking study that provides revealing insights into early modern English society. Susan D. Amussen and David E. Underdown examine political scandals and familiar characters--including scolds, cuckolds and witches--to show how their behaviour turned the ordered world around them upside down in very specific, gendered ways. Using case studies from theatre, civic ritual and witchcraft, the book demonstrates how ideas of gendered inversion, failed patriarchs, and disorderly women permeate the mental world of early modern England. Amussen and Underdown show both how these ideas were central to understanding society and politics as well as the ways in which both women and men were disciplined formally and informally for inverting the gender order. In doing so, they give a glimpse of how we can connect different dimensions of early modern society. This is a vital study for anyone interested in understanding the connections between social practice, culture, and politics in 16th- and 17th-century England.
Witchcraft and Demonology in South-West England, 1640-1789 by 
The Magical Imagination by Witchcraft and Its Transformations, C. 1650-C. 1750 by 
The Last Witches of England by
On the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came rasping, rapping and tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Frightened by its appearance, his servants and members of his family had, within a matter of hours, convinced themselves that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy the fabric of their lives. As the result of these allegations, three women of Bideford came to be forever defined as witches. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to the gallows; to hang as the last group of women to be executed in England for the crime. Yet, the hatred of their neighbours endured. For Bideford, it was said, was a place of witches. Though 'pretty much worn away' the belief in witchcraft still lingered on for more than a century after their deaths. In turn, ignored, reviled, and extinguished but never more than half-forgotten, it seems that the memory of these three women - and of their deeds and sufferings, both real and imagined - was transformed from canker to regret, and from regret into celebration in our own age. Indeed, their example was cited during the final Parliamentary debates, in 1951, that saw the last of the witchcraft acts repealed, and their names were chanted, as both inspiration and incantation, by the women beyond the wire at Greenham Common. In this book, John Callow explores this remarkable reversal of fate, and the remarkable tale of the Bideford Witches.
Marks of an Absolute Witch by
This work explores the social foundation of evidence law in a specific historical social and cultural context - the debate concerning the proof of the crime of witchcraft in early modern England. In this period the question of how to prove the crime of witchcraft was the centre of a public debate and even those who strongly believed in the reality of witchcraft had considerable concerns regarding its proof. In a typical witchcraft crime there were no eyewitnesses, and since torture was not a standard measure in English criminal trials, confessions could not be easily obtained. The scarcity of evidence left the fact-finders with a pressing dilemma. On the one hand, using the standard evidentiary methods might have jeopardized any chance of prosecuting and convicting extremely dangerous criminals. On the other hand, lowering the evidentiary standards might have led to the conviction of innocent people. Based on the analysis of 157 primary sources, the book presents a picture of a diverse society whose members tried to influence evidentiary techniques to achieve their distinct goals and to bolster their social standing. In so doing this book further uncovers the interplay between the struggle with the evidentiary dilemma and social characteristics (such as class, position along the centre/periphery axis and the professional affiliation) of the participants in the debate. In particular, attention is focused on the professions of law, clergy and medicine. This book finds clear affinity between the professional affiliation and the evidentiary positions of the participants in the debate, demonstrating how the diverse social players and groups employed evidentiary strategies as a resource, to mobilize their interests. The witchcraft debate took place within the formative era of modern evidence law, and the book highlights the mutual influences between the witch trials and major legal developments.
The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic by Garrett, J. M. (2013) ‘Witchcraft and Sexual Knowledge in Early Modern England’, Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies, 13(1), 32-72.
Gaskill, M. (2008) ‘Witchcraft and Evidence in Early Modern England’, Past and Present, 198, 33-70.
Crime and Mentalities in Early Modern England by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Women, Crime and the Courts in Early Modern England by Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe by Hunter, M. (2012) ‘The decline of magic: challenge and response in early Enlightenment England’, The Historical Journal, 55(2), 399-425.
Hutton, R. (2010) ‘The Changing Faces of Manx Witchcraft’, in Social and Cultural History, 7(2), 153-69.
The Devil and Demonism in Early Modern England by The Devil in Early Modern England by 
The Supernatural in Tudor and Stuart England by
The Supernatural in Tudor and Stuart England reflects upon the boundaries between the natural and the otherworldly in early modern England as they were understood by the people of the time. The book places supernatural beliefs and events in the context of the English Reformation to show how early modern people reacted to the world of unseen spirits and magical influences. It sets out the conceptual foundations of early modern encounters with the supernatural, and shows how occult beliefs penetrated almost every aspect of life. Darren Oldridge considers many of the spiritual forces that pervaded early modern England: an immanent God who sometimes expressed Himself through 'signs and wonders' and the various lesser inhabitants of the world of spirits including ghosts, goblins, demons and angels. He explores human attempts to comprehend, harness or accommodate these powers through magic and witchcraft, and the role of the supernatural in early modern science. This book presents a concise and accessible up-to-date synthesis of the scholarship of the supernatural in Tudor and Stuart England. It will be essential reading for students of early modern England, religion, witchcraft and the supernatural.
Law and Order in Historical Perspective: The Case of Elizabethan Essex by Sharpe, J. A. (2007) ‘Witchcraft in the Early Modern Isle of Man’, Social and Cultural History, 4(1), 11-28.
Witchcraft in Early Modern England by Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe by 
A Popular History of Witchcraft by
This is a comprehensive guide to the practices of witchcraft from their inception to the present day. Summers argues that all witchcraft is essentially the same, regardless of geographical location. He examines the practices of the cult in great detail, and its historical progression, within the context of the 1736 Repeal Act of George II.
The Black Legend of Prince Rupert's Dog by Witchcraft, Magic and Superstition in England, 1640-70 by The Extraordinary and the Everyday in Early Modern England by 
English Society, 1580-1680 by 
Magic As a Political Crime in Medieval and Early Modern England by
Treason and magic were first linked together during the reign of Edward II. Theories of occult conspiracy then regularly led to major political scandals, such as the trial of Eleanor Cobham Duchess of Gloucester in 1441. While accusations of magical treason against high-ranking figures were indeed a staple of late medieval English power politics, they acquired new significance at the Reformation when the 'superstition' embodied by magic came to be associated with proscribed Catholic belief. Francis Young here offers the first concerted historical analysis of allegations of the use of magic either to harm or kill the monarch, or else manipulate the course of political events in England, between the fourteenth century and the dawn of the Enlightenment. His book addresses a subject usually either passed over or elided with witchcraft: a quite different historical phenomenon. He argues that while charges of treasonable magic certainly were used to destroy reputations or to ensure the convictions of undesirables, magic was also perceived as a genuine threat by English governments into the Civil War era and beyond.
Witchcraft and Its Transformations, C. 1650-C. 1750 by ‘Witchcraft and Power in Early Modern England’, in Women, Crime and the Courts in Early Modern England, 125-145 by ‘Masculinity and witchcraft in seventeenth-century England’, in Witchcraft and Masculinities in Early Modern Europe, pp. 171-190 by
Men - as accused witches, witch-hunters, werewolves and the demonically possessed - are the focus of analysis in this collection of essays by leading scholars of early modern European witchcraft. The gendering of witch persecution and witchcraft belief is explored through original case-studies from England, Scotland, Italy, Germany and France.
Gaskill, Malcolm (1998) ‘The Devil in the Shape of a Man: Witchcraft, Conflict and Belief in Jacobean England’, Historical Research, 71(175),142–171
Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft by
Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft is an exploration of witchcraft in the literature of Britain and America from the 16th and 17th centuries through to the present day. As well as the themes of history and literature (politics and war, genre and intertextuality), the book considers issues of national identity, gender and sexuality, race and empire, and more. The complex fascination with witchcraft through the ages is investigated, and the importance of witches in the real world and in fiction is analysed.　　 The book begins with a chapter dedicated to the stories and records of witchcraft in the Renaissance and up until the English Civil War, such as the North Berwick witches and the work of the 'Witch Finder Generall' Matthew Hopkins. The significance of these accounts in shaping future literature is then presented through the examination of extracts from key texts, such as Shakespeare's Macbeth and Middleton's The Witch, among others. In the second half of the book, the focus shifts to a consideration of the Romantic rediscovery of Renaissance witchcraft in the eighteenth century, and its further reinvention and continued presence throughout the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries, including the establishment of witchcraft studies as a subject in its own right, the impact of the First World War and end of the British Empire on witchcraft fiction, the legacy of the North Berwick, Hopkins and Salem witch trials, and the position of witchcraft in culture, including filmic and televisual culture, today. Equipped with an extensive list of primary and secondary sources, Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft is essential reading for all students of witchcraft in modern British and American culture and early modern history and literature.
‘French Demonology in an English Village: The St Osyth experiment of 1582’, in Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe, pp. 107-126 by
Demonology - the intellectual study of demons and their powers - contributed to the prosecution of thousands of witches. But how exactly did intellectual ideas relate to prosecutions? Recent scholarship has shown that some of the demonologists' concerns remained at an abstract intellectual level, while some of the judges' concerns reflected popular culture. This book brings demonology and witch-hunting back together, while placing both topics in their specific regional cultures. The book's chapters, each written by a leading scholar, cover most regions of Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain through to Germany, France and Switzerland, and Italy and Spain. By focusing on various intellectual levels of demonology, from sophisticated demonological thought to the development of specific demonological ideas and ideas within the witch trial environment, the book offers a thorough examination of the relationship between demonology and witch-hunting. Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of demonology, witch-hunting and early modern Europe.
The Devil in Early Modern England by Witchcraft in Early Modern England by 
‘Women, Witchcraft and the Legal process’, in Women, Crime, and the Courts in Early Modern England, pp. 106-124 by
Recent years have witnessed a considerable body of published research on both crime and women in the early modern period. There have been few attempts, however, to synthesize such studies and to examine in detail the relationship between the law and women's lives. This collection of seven original essays explores that relationship by examining the nature and extent of women's criminal activity and surveying the connections between women, their legal position, and their involvement in legal processes. The words, actions, and treatment of women who came before the courts as plaintiffs, defendants, and witnesses are examined here in a variety of contexts, ranging from the assertion of a variety of rights to scolding, thieving, and witchcraft. The contributors demonstrate that women were far from passive victims in a male-dominated legal system. As both breakers of the law and important agents of its enforcement, women were far more assertive than their formal legal positions would suggest. The contributors are Garthine Walker, Jenny Kermode, Laura Gowing, Martin Ingram, Jim Sharpe, Malcolm Gaskill, Geoffrey L. Hudson, and Tim Stretton.
Religion and the Decline of Magic by Witchcraft Magic and Superstition in England, 1640-70 by 
‘Chapter 7: King James’s Daemonologie: Witchcraft and Kingship’, in The Damned Art, pp. 156-181 by The Renaissance and Reformation in Scotland by Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft by The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context by ‘Witches’ Flight in Scottish Demonology’, in Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe, pp. 147-167 by
Demonology - the intellectual study of demons and their powers - contributed to the prosecution of thousands of witches. But how exactly did intellectual ideas relate to prosecutions? Recent scholarship has shown that some of the demonologists' concerns remained at an abstract intellectual level, while some of the judges' concerns reflected popular culture. This book brings demonology and witch-hunting back together, while placing both topics in their specific regional cultures. The book's chapters, each written by a leading scholar, cover most regions of Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain through to Germany, France and Switzerland, and Italy and Spain. By focusing on various intellectual levels of demonology, from sophisticated demonological thought to the development of specific demonological ideas and ideas within the witch trial environment, the book offers a thorough examination of the relationship between demonology and witch-hunting. Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of demonology, witch-hunting and early modern Europe.
The Witch by 
Daemonologie by
Excerpt: ...it will doubtleslie tend to the vtter perdition of the patient, both in bodie and soule. Chap. VI. ARGVMENT. What sorte of folkes are least or most subiect to receiue harme by Witchcraft. What power they haue to harme the Magistrate, and vpon what respectes they haue any power in prison: And to what end may or will the Deuill appeare to them therein. Vpon what respectes the Deuill appeires in sundry shapes to sundry of them at any time. Philomathes. Bvt who dare take vpon him to punish them, if no man can be sure to be free from their vnnaturall inuasiones? Epi. We ought not the more of that restraine from vertue, that the way wherby we climbe thereunto be straight and perrilous. But besides that, as there is no kinde of persones so subject to receiue harme of them, as these that are of infirme and weake faith (which is the best buckler against such inuasiones: ) so haue they so smal power ouer none, as ouer such as zealouslie and earnestlie persewes pg 050 them, without sparing for anie worldlie respect. Phi. Then they are like the Pest, which smites these sickarest, that flies it farthest, and apprehends deepliest the perrell thereof. Epi. It is euen so with them: For neither is it able to them to vse anie false cure vpon a patient, except the patient first beleeue in their power, and so hazard the tinsell of his owne soule, nor yet can they haue lesse power to hurte anie, nor such as contemnes most their doinges, so being it comes of faith, and not of anie vaine arrogancie in themselues. Phi. But what is their power against the Magistrate? Epi. Lesse or greater, according as he deales with them. For if he be slouthfull towardes them, God is verie able to make them instrumentes to waken & punish his slouth. But if he be the contrarie, he according to the iust law of God, and allowable law of all Nationes, will be diligent in examining and punishing of them: GOD will not permit their master to trouble or hinder so good a woorke. Phi. But fra..
‘Chapter 10: Spooks and spooks: black magic and bogeymen in Northern Ireland, 1973–74’, in Witchcraft Continued, pp. 191-212 by
An important collection of essays that use a variety of different approaches and sources to uncover the continued relevance of witchcraft and magic in nineteenth and twentieth-century Europe
A Source-Book of Scottish Witchcraft by
First published in 1977 and now reprinted in its original form, A Source-book of Scottish Witchcraft has been the most authoritative reference book on Scottish Witchcraft for almost thirty years. It has been invaluable to the specialist scholar and of interest to the general reader. It provides, but provides much more than, a series of lists of the 'names and addresses' of long-dead witches. However, although it is widely quoted and held in high esteem, few copies were ever printed and most are owned by libraries or similar institutions. Until now, it has been difficult to obtain and even more difficult to buy. In 1938, George F. Black, a Scotsman who was in charge of New York Public Library, published A Calendar of Cases of Witchcraft in Scotland 1510-1727. This was a fairly comprehensive compilation of brief accounts of references, in printed sources, to Scottish witchcraft cases. The Source-book built upon this study but went beyond it by including, through an examination of actual ancient manuscripts, information on previously unpublished cases. It also presented the material in a more systematic way in relation, where known, to the names of the accused witches, their sex, their fate, the place of the case, its date and the type of court that dealt with it. Some such information is presented in the form of tables. Transcriptions of documents pertaining to witchcraft trials- such as examples of the evidence of supposed witnesses, and other salient legal documents - including, for instance, an ancient account of when and why the testimony of female witnesses might be legally acceptable in Scottish courts - are also presented.
'Chapter 4: State-building and witch hunting in early modern Europe', in Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe, pp. 96-118 by 'Chapter 12: The fear of the King is death: James VI and the witches of East Lothian', in Fear in Early Modern Society, pp. 209-225 by 
Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland by 
'Sounds of silence: fairies and incest in Scottish witchcraft stories', in Languages of Witchcraft, pp. 81-98 by 
Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland by
This is the first academic overview of witchcraft and popular magic in Ireland and spans the medieval to the modern period. Based on a wide range of un-used and under-used primary source material, and taking account of denominational difference between Catholic and Protestant, it provides a detailed account of witchcraft trials and accusation.
Possessed by the Devil by
In 1711, in County Antrim, eight women were put on trial accused of orchestrating the demonic possession of young Mary Dunbar, and the haunting and supernatural murder of a local clergyman's wife. Mary Dunbar was the star witness in this trial, and the women were, by the standards of the time, believable witches - they smoked, they drank, they just did not look right.With echoes of Arthur Miller's The Crucible and the Salem witch-hunt, this is a story of murder, of hysteria, and of how the 'witch craze' that claimed over 40,000 lives in Europe played out on Irish shores.
Malevolent Nurture by 
Witches of the North by 
Witchcraft Persecutions in Bavaria by Fearless Wives and Frightened Shrews by 
"Evil People" by
Inspired by recent efforts to understand the dynamics of the early modern witch hunt, Johannes Dillinger has produced a powerful synthesis based on careful comparisons. Narrowing his focus to two specific regions--Swabian Austria and the Electorate of Trier--he provides a nuanced explanation of how the tensions between state power and communalism determined the course of witch hunts that claimed over 1,300 lives in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Germany. Dillinger finds that, far from representing the centralizing aggression of emerging early states against local cultures, witch hunts were almost always driven by members of the middling and lower classes in cities and villages, and they were stopped only when early modern states acquired the power to control their localities. Situating his study in the context of a pervasive magical worldview that embraced both orthodox Christianity and folk belief, Dillinger shows that, in some cases, witch trials themselves were used as magical instruments, designed to avert threats of impending divine wrath. "Evil People" describes a two-century evolution in which witch hunters who liberally bestowed the label "evil people" on others turned into modern images of evil themselves. In the original German, "Evil People" won the Friedrich Spee Award as an outstanding contribution to the history of witchcraft.
Witchcraft, Gender, and Society in Early Modern Germany by Midelfort, E. C. H. (1981) ‘Heartland of the Witchcraze: Central and Northern Europe’, History Today, 27-31. (Hardcopy held in L1.05 Quiet Study room)
Witch Hunting in Southwestern Germany, 1562-1684 by 
The Trial of Tempel Anneke: Records of a Witchcraft Trial in Brunswick, Germany 1663 by
The Trial of Tempel Anneke examines documents from an early modern European witchcraft trial with the pedagogical goal of allowing students to interact directly with primary sources.
‘The German Witch Trials’, in The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, pp. 179-198 by
The essays in this Handbook, written by leading scholars working in the rapidly developing field of witchcraft studies, explore the historical literature regarding witch beliefs and witch trials in Europe and colonial America between the early fifteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Duringthese years witches were thought to be evil people who used magical power to inflict physical harm or misfortune on their neighbours. Witches were also believed to have made pacts with the devil and sometimes to have worshipped him at nocturnal assemblies known as sabbaths. These beliefs providedthe basis for defining witchcraft as a secular and ecclesiastical crime and prosecuting tens of thousands of women and men for this offence. The trials resulted in as many as fifty thousand executions.These essays study the rise and fall of witchcraft prosecutions in the various kingdoms and territories of Europe and in English, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies in the Americas. They also relate these prosecutions to the Catholic and Protestant reformations, the introduction of new forms ofcriminal procedure, medical and scientific thought, the process of state-building, profound social and economic change, early modern patterns of gender relations, and the wave of demonic possessions that occurred in Europe at the same time. The essays survey the current state of knowledge in thefield, explore the academic controversies that have arisen regarding witch beliefs and witch trials, propose new ways of studying the subject, and identify areas for future research.
The Last Witch of Langenburg by
On the night of the festive holiday of Shrove Tuesday in 1672 Anna Fessler died after eating one of her neighbor's buttery cakes. Could it have been poisoned? Drawing on vivid court documents, eyewitness accounts, and an early autopsy report, historian Thomas Robisheaux brings the story to life. Exploring one of Europe's last witch panics, he unravels why neighbors and the court magistrates became convinced that Fessler's neighbor Anna Schmieg was a witch--one of several in the area--ensnared by the devil. Once arrested, Schmieg, the wife of the local miller, and her daughter were caught up in a high-stakes drama that led to charges of sorcery and witchcraft against the entire family. Robisheaux shows how ordinary events became diabolical ones, leading magistrates to torture and turn a daughter against her mother. In so doing he portrays an entire world caught between superstition and modernity.
Witchcraft Narratives in Germany by
This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Looks at why witch-trials failed to gain momentum and escalate into 'witch-crazes' in certain parts of early modern Europe. Exames the rich legal records of the German city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a city which experienced a very restrained pattern of witch-trials and just one execution for witchcraft between 1561 and 1652. Explores the social and psychological conflicts that lay behind the making of accusations and confessions of witchcraft. Offers insights into other areas of early modern life, such as experiences of and beliefs about communal conflict, magic, motherhood, childhood and illness. Offers a critique of existing explanations for the gender bias of witch-trials, and a new explanation as to why most witches were women.
‘Demonological Texts, Judicial Procedure, and the Spread of Ideas about Witchcraft in Early Modern Rothenburg ob der Tauber’, in Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe, pp. 127-146 by
Demonology - the intellectual study of demons and their powers - contributed to the prosecution of thousands of witches. But how exactly did intellectual ideas relate to prosecutions? Recent scholarship has shown that some of the demonologists' concerns remained at an abstract intellectual level, while some of the judges' concerns reflected popular culture. This book brings demonology and witch-hunting back together, while placing both topics in their specific regional cultures. The book's chapters, each written by a leading scholar, cover most regions of Europe, from Scandinavia and Britain through to Germany, France and Switzerland, and Italy and Spain. By focusing on various intellectual levels of demonology, from sophisticated demonological thought to the development of specific demonological ideas and ideas within the witch trial environment, the book offers a thorough examination of the relationship between demonology and witch-hunting. Demonology and Witch-Hunting in Early Modern Europe is essential reading for all students and researchers of the history of demonology, witch-hunting and early modern Europe.
The Astronomer and the Witch: Johannes Kepler’s Fight for His Mother by
Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) was one of the most admired astronomers who ever lived and a key figure in the scientific revolution. A defender of Copernicuśs sun-centred universe, he famously discovered that planets move in ellipses, and defined the three laws of planetary motion. Perhaps less well known is that in 1615, when Kepler was at the height of his career, his widowed mother Katharina was accused of witchcraft. The proceedings led to a criminal trial that lasted six years, with Kepler conducting his mother's defence. In The Astronomer and the Witch, Ulinka Rublack pieces together the tale of this extraordinary episode in Kepler's life, one which takes us to the heart of his changing world. First and foremost an intense family drama, the story brings to life the world of a small Lutheran community in the centre of Europe at a time of deep religious and political turmoil - a century after the Reformation, and on the threshold of the Thirty Years' War. Kepler's defence of his mother also offers us a fascinating glimpse into the great astronomer's world view, on the cusp between Reformation and scientific revolution.
Religion and Culture in Germany, 1400-1800 by Scribner, B. (1990) ‘Witchcraft and judgement in Reformation Germany’, History Today, 40(4), pp.12-19. This article is in our print journals in our journals room in a hardcopy format
Ways of Knowing in Early Modern Germany by 
Man As Witch by
Witch-hunts in Central Europe were by no means focused only on women; one in four alleged witches was male. This study analyzes and describes the witch trials of men in French and German-speaking regions, opening up a little known chapter of early modern times, and revealing the conflicts from which witch-hunts of men evolved.
Reading Week - no classes
A Storm of Witchcraft by
Beginning in January 1692, Salem Village in colonial Massachusetts witnessed the largest and most lethal outbreak of witchcraft in early America. Villagers - mainly young women - suffered from unseen torments that caused them to writhe, shriek, and contort their bodies, complaining of pinsstuck into their flesh and of being haunted by specters. Believing that they suffered from assaults by an invisible spirit, the community began a hunt to track down those responsible for the demonic work. The resulting Salem Witch Trials, culminating in the execution of 19 villagers, persists as oneof the most mysterious and fascinating events in American history.Historians have speculated on a web of possible causes for the witchcraft that stated in Salem and spread across the region-religious crisis, ergot poisoning, an encephalitis outbreak, frontier war hysteria - but most agree that there was no single factor. Rather, as Emerson Baker illustrates inthis seminal new work, Salem was "a perfect storm": a unique convergence of conditions and events that produced something extraordinary throughout New England in 1692 and the following years, and which has haunted us ever since.Baker shows how a range of factors in the Bay colony in the 1690s, including a new charter and government, a lethal frontier war, and religious and political conflicts, set the stage for the dramatic events in Salem. Engaging a range of perspectives, he looks at the key players in the outbreak - theaccused witches and the people they allegedly bewitched, as well as the judges and government officials who prosecuted them - and wrestles with questions about why the Salem tragedy unfolded as it did, and why it has become an enduring legacy.Salem in 1692 was a critical moment for the fading Puritan government of Massachusetts Bay, whose attempts to suppress the story of the trials and erase them from memory only fueled the popular imagination. Baker argues that the trials marked a turning point in colonial history from Puritancommunalism to Yankee independence, from faith in collective conscience to skepticism toward moral governance. A brilliantly told tale, A Storm of Witchcraft also puts Salem's storm into its broader context as a part of the ongoing narrative of American history and the history of the AtlanticWorld.
Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem by 
A Fever in Salem by
In the late winter and early spring of 1692, residents of Salem Village, Massachusetts, began to suffer from strange physical and mental maladies. The randomness of the victims, and unusual symptoms that were seldom duplicated, led residents to suspect an otherworldly menace. Their suspicions and fears eventually prompted the infamous Salem Witch Trials. While most historians have concentrated their efforts on the accused, Laurie Winn Carlson, A Fever in Salem focuses on the afflicted. What were the characteristics of a typical victim? Why did the symptoms occur when and where they did? What natural explanation could be given for symptoms that included hallucinations, convulsions, and psychosis, often resulting in death? Ms. Carlson offers an innovative, well-grounded explanation of witchcraft's link to organic illness. Systematically comparing the symptoms recorded in colonial diaries and court records to those of the encephalitis epidemic in the early twentieth century, she argues convincingly that the victims suffered from the same disease, and she offers persuasive evidence for organic explanations of other witchcraft victims throughout New England as well as in Europe. A Fever in Salem is a provocative reinterpretation of one of America's strangest moments, and a refreshing departure from widely accepted Freudian explanations of witchcraft persecution.
America Bewitched by
America Bewtiched is the first major history of witchcraft in America - from the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the present day.The infamous Salem trials are etched into the consciousness of modern America, the human toll a reminder of the dangers of intolerance and persecution. The refrain 'Remember Salem!' was invoked frequently over the ensuing centuries. As time passed, the trials became a milepost measuring the distanceAmerica had progressed from its colonial past, its victims now the righteous and their persecutors the shamed. Yet the story of witchcraft did not end as the American Enlightenment dawned - a new, long, and chilling chapter was about to begin.Witchcraft after Salem was not just a story of fire-side tales, legends, and superstitions: it continued to be a matter of life and death, souring the American dream for many. We know of more people killed as witches between 1692 and the 1950s than were executed before it. Witches were part of thestory of the decimation of the Native Americans, the experience of slavery and emancipation, and the immigrant experience; they were embedded in the religious and social history of the country. Yet the history of American witchcraft between the eighteenth and the twentieth century also tells a lesstraumatic story, one that shows how different cultures interacted and shaped each other's languages and beliefs.This is therefore much more than the tale of one persecuted community: it opens a fascinating window on the fears, prejudices, hopes, and dreams of the American people as their country rose from colony to superpower.
Switching Sides by
Why have so many recent scholars of colonial witchcraft written sympathetically about the accusers while ignoring their victims? For most historians living through the fascist and communist tyrannies that culminated in World War II and the Cold War, the Salem witch trials signified the threat to truth and individual integrity posed by mass ideological movements. Work on the trials produced in this era, including Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Marion L. Starkey's The Devil in Massachusetts: A Modern Enquiry into the Salem Witch Trials, left little doubt that most intellectuals' sympathies lay with the twenty innocent victims who stood up to Puritan intolerance by choosing to go to their deaths rather than confess to crimes they had never committed. In Switching Sides, Tony Fels traces a remarkable shift in scholarly interpretations of the Salem witch hunt from the post-World War II era up through the present. Fels explains that for a new generation of historians influenced by the radicalism of the New Left in the 1960s and early 1970s, the Salem panic acquired a startlingly different meaning. Determined to champion the common people of colonial New England, dismissive toward liberal values, and no longer instinctively wary of utopian belief systems, the leading works on the subject to emerge from 1969 through the early 2000s highlighted economic changes, social tensions, racial conflicts, and political developments that served to unsettle the accusers in the witchcraft proceedings. These interpretations, still dominant in the academic world, encourage readers to sympathize with the perpetrators of the witch hunt, while at the same time showing indifference or even hostility toward the accused. Switching Sides is meticulously documented, but its comparatively short text aims broadly at an educated American public, for whom the Salem witch hunt has long occupied an iconic place in the nation's conscience. Readers will come away from the book with a sound knowledge of what is currently known about the Salem witch hunt--and pondering the relationship between works of history and the ideological influences on the historians who write them.
Witchcraft in Early North America by
Witchcraft in Early North America investigates European, African, and Indian witchcraft beliefs and their expression in colonial America. Alison Games's engaging book takes us beyond the infamous outbreak at Salem, Massachusetts, to look at how witchcraft was a central feature of colonial societies in North America. Her substantial and lively introduction orients readers to the subject and to the rich selection of documents that follows. The documents begin with first encounters between European missionaries and Native Americans in New France and New Mexico, and they conclude with witch hunts among Native Americans in the years of the early American republic. The documents--some of which have never been published previously--include excerpts from trials in Virginia, New Mexico, and Massachusetts; accounts of outbreaks in Salem, Abiquiu (New Mexico), and among the Delaware Indians; descriptions of possession; legal codes; and allegations of poisoning by slaves. The documents raise issues central to legal, cultural, social, religious, and gender history. This fascinating topic and the book's broad geographic and chronological coverage make this book ideally suited for readers interested in new approaches to colonial history and the history of witchcraft.
'Popery, Purity and Providence: deciphering the New England experiment', Religion, Culture and Society in Early Modern Britain, pp. 257-259 by The Decline of Magic: Britain in the Enlightenment by 
The Devil in the Shape of a Woman by 
Before Salem by
Decades before the Salem Witch trials, 11 people were hanged as witches in the Connecticut River Valley. The advent of witch hunting in New England was directly influenced by the English Civil War and the witch trials in England led by Matthew Hopkins, who pioneered "techniques" for examining witches. This history examines the outbreak of witch hysteria in the Valley, focusing on accusations of demonic possession, apotropaic magic and the role of the clergy. Although the hysteria was eventually quelled by a progressive magistrate unwilling to try witches, accounts of the trials later influenced contemporary writers during the Salem witch hunts. The source of the document "Grounds for Examination of a Witch" is identified.
The Magical Imagination by ‘Chapter 13: On the Continuation of Witchcraft’, in Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe, pp. 3350352 by 
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Twentieth Century by Witchcraft and Its Transformations, C. 1650-C. 1750 by 
Popular Magic: Cunning Folk in English History by Witch Hunting, Magic and the New Philosophy by Witchcraft, Witch-Hunting, and Politics in Early Modern England by 
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 5 by
The end of the eighteenth century saw the end of the witch trials everywhere. This volume charts the processes and reasons for the decriminalisation of witchcraft but also challenges the widespread assumption that Europe has been 'disenchanted'. For the first time surveys are given of the social role of witchcraft in European communities down to the end of the nineteenth century and of the continued importance of witchcraft and magic as topics of debate among intellectuals and other writers
The Scottish Witch-Hunt in Context by ‘Decline and Survival in Scottish Witch-Hunting 1701-27’, in Scottish Witches and Witch-Hunters, pp. 215-233 by 
The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe by Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England by The Witchcraft Reader, 2nd edn by Witchcraft, nostalgia and the rural idyll in 18th-century Germany’, in The Art of Survival, pp. 139-58 by Instruments of Darkness by 
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries by Witches and Witch-Hunts by The Magical Imagination: Magic and Modernity in Urban England 1780-1914 by 
Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Twentieth Century by
Witchcraft continues to play a role in the modern European imagination and in its cultures. This book brings together studies of its most important modern manifestations. The volume includes a major new history of the origins and development of English 'Wicca', an account of satanic abuse mythology in the Twentieth Century and a survey of the continued existence of traditional witchcraft.
‘Witches on Screen’, in The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic, pp. 276-303 by
This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The Dancer Defects by ‘Protestant demonology: sin, superstition and society’, in Early Modern European Witchcraft, pp. 45-82 by ‘The Rise of Modern Magic’, in The Oxford Illustrated History of Witchcraft and Magic, pp. 218-247 by
This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic. Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch. The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Popular Magic: Cunning Folk in English History by A Supernatural War by
It was a commonly expressed view during the First World War that the conflict had seen a major revival of "superstitious" beliefs and practices.Churches expressed concerns about the wearing of talismans and amulets, the international press paid considerable interest to the pronouncements of astrologers and prophets, and the authorities in several countries periodically clamped down on fortune tellers and mediums due to concerns over theireffect on public morale. Out on the battlefields, soldiers of all nations sought to protect themselves through magical and religious rituals, and, on the home front, people sought out psychics and occult practitioners for news of the fate of their distant loved ones or communication with theirspirits. Even away from concerns about the war, suspected witches continued to be abused and people continued to resort to magic and magical practitioners for personal protection, love, and success.Uncovering and examining beliefs, practices, and contemporary opinions regarding the role of the supernatural in the war years, Owen Davies explores the broader issues regarding early twentieth-century society in the West, the psychology of the supernatural during wartime, and the extent to whichthe war cast a spotlight on the widespread continuation of popular belief in magic. A Supernatural War reveals the surprising stories of extraordinary people in a world caught up with the promise of occult powers.
‘Spooks and spooks: black magic and bogeymen in Northern Ireland, 1973–74’, in Witchcraft Continued, pp. 191-212 by
An important collection of essays that use a variety of different approaches and sources to uncover the continued relevance of witchcraft and magic in nineteenth and twentieth-century Europe
‘Witchcraft, nostalgia and the rural idyll in 18th-century Germany’, in The Art of Survival, pp. 139-58 by 
‘The Cinematic Treatment of Early Modern Witch Trials’, in Filming and Performing Renaissance History, pp. 83-98 by
Over the last century, many 16th- and 17th-century events and personalities have been brought before home, cinema, exhibition, festival and theatrical audiences. This collection examines these representations, looking at recent television series, documentaries, pageantry, theatre and popular culture in various cultural and linguistic guises.
Instruments of Darkness by Early Modern European Witchcraft by Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe by Witchcraft and Society in England and America, 1550-1750 by A Source-Book of Scottish Witchcraft by Witchcraft in Early Modern England by 
