"Dr. Caro Baroja is well known as the author of the ethnography of the Basques, whose activities in witchcraft inspired this book. Beginning with an analysis of the basic aspects of the mentality of those who have believed in magic or practised the magic arts, he launches into a study of witchcraft which upsets many popular theories about the nature and history of the subject."

A fully illustrated guide to Deborah Harkness's #1 New York Times bestselling All Souls series—“an irresistible . . . wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy” (People). Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, Shudder, and Max! A Discovery of Witches introduced Diana Bishop, Oxford scholar and reluctant witch, and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont. Shadow of Night and The Book of Life carried Deborah Harkness's series to its spellbinding conclusion. In The World of All Souls, Harkness shares the rich sources of inspiration behind her bewitching novels. She draws together synopses, character bios, maps, recipes, and even the science behind creatures, magic, and alchemy—all with her signature historian's touch. Bursting with fascinating facts and dazzling artwork, this essential handbook is a must-have for longtime fans and eager newcomers alike.

Today people have the freedom to practice their religions, and this has been extended to modern witches, who are free to practice Wicca, which they regard as their religion, without persecution, while television shows, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, have become to be accepted as entertainment, almost without comment. For those who practiced witchcraft in the past, however, it would have meant immediate arrest, torture and trial, followed by a gruesome and agonizing death. Every misfortune visited on humankind was laid at the door of so called witches, and could be a stillborn child, a deformed calf or a failed crop. Many were executed because they fitted the accepted stereotype, or merely because of the presence of a common blemish on their skin. For Christians, witchcraft came to be equated with heresy. It was believed that witches used evil spirits to help them in their service of the Devil, and bizarre tests were devised to ensure that they were identified. Yet witchcraft could be seen merely as vestiges of old pagan religions, by which man once sought to understand and control nature, and which were largely swept aside by the more formal and developed monotheistic religions. But today, elements of paganism have survived by a belief in good and evil magic, fertility rituals, and the efficacy of curses and charms.

Breslaw (history, U. of Tennessee) has created a fascinating reader--for undergraduate classes in history, anthropology, religious studies, or women's studies--surveying the subject of witches, witch hunts, and the larger political context of both. The sections, which cover Christian perspectives, non-Christian beliefs, diabolical possession, issues of gender, and a lengthy section on the Salem witch trials, each include an introduction by Breslaw, primary sources, then secondary commentaries on the sources. The latter are excerpts from books and articles. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra, the #1 national bestseller, unpacks the mystery of the Salem Witch Trials. It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister's daughter began to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before 19 men and women had been hanged and an elderly man crushed to death. The panic spread quickly, involving the most educated men and prominent politicians in the colony. Neighbors accused neighbors, parents and children each other. Aside from suffrage, the Salem Witch Trials represent the only moment when women played the central role in American history. In curious ways, the trials would shape the future republic. As psychologically thrilling as it is historically seminal, THE WITCHES is Stacy Schiff's account of this fantastical story-the first great American mystery unveiled fully for the first time by one of our most acclaimed historians.