Witches didn't exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.
All content for The History of Witchcraft is the property of Samuel Hume and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Witches didn't exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.
In today's episode, the infamous Witch-Finder General begins his campaign through south-eastern England, as we discuss the opening accusations of the greatest and deadliest witch hunt in English history.
This episode primarily makes use of the following texts:
- Gaskill, Malcolm, Witchfinders: A Seventeenth Century English Tragedy, (2005)
- Levack, Brian, ‘State-Building and Witch-Hunting’, in Oldridge, Darren (ed.), The Witchcraft Reader, 2002
- Purkiss, DIane, The English Civil War: A People's History, (2007)
- Jackson, Louise, ‘Witches, Wives and Mothers: Witchcraft Persecution and Women’s Confessions in Seventeenth-Century England’, in Oldridge, Darren (ed.), The Witchcraft Reader, 2002
For a full bibliography, please see the website: https://thehistoryofwitchcraft.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/historyofwitchcraft/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HistofWitch
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HistoryofWitchcraft
The Recorded History Podcast Network: www.recordedhistory.net
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The History of Witchcraft
Witches didn't exist, and yet thousands of people were executed for the crime of witchcraft. Why? The belief in magic and witchcraft has existed in every recorded human culture; this podcast looks at how people explained the inexplicable, turned random acts of nature into conscious acts of mortal or supernatural beings, and how desperate communities took revenge against the suspected perpetrators.
