From the Salem witch trials to McCarthyism and Charlie Kirk’s killing, an exaggerated fear of a particular group has resulted in repression from liberals and conservatives.
Articles on Salem witch trials
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Mass psychogenic illness has happened throughout history, but social media makes it more likely to spread.
President Trump’s politics of resentment recall the US colonial era, when grievances fueled rage and violence.
Dogs appeared several times during testimonies, typically because an accused witch was believed to have had a dog who would do her bidding, or because the devil appeared in the form of a dog.
Witch-hunts have not been consigned to the history books. An alarming number of witchcraft-related deaths are still happening each year across nearly every continent.
A raft of horror films remind us of the grip troubled sleep once had on our imaginations.
From ancient Greece to modern-day TikTok witchcraft, the world of witches has been a changing one.
Witch trials relied on a medieval text called the “Malleus Maleficarum” – a book this reference librarian can hold in her hands.
The idea of organized satanic witchcraft was invented in 15th-century Europe by church and state authorities, who at first had a hard time convincing regular folks it was real.
Powerful men often proclaim baseless accusations to be a ‘witch hunt.’ But American witch trials have always targeted a persecuted minority: women.
An antiquated Canadian law against magic and witchcraft is about to be repealed. A close look at its history reveals that it is far less superstitious than it appears.
So often used to condemn women through history, feminism is reclaiming the word ‘witch’ in the 21st century. Some men also want to get in on the act.
It is estimated that thousands of people are killed in witchcraft-related violence around the world each year. How can we tackle this problem today?
Sociologists know what conditions make it more likely a mass delusion will take hold and spread through a group – whether adherence to a fashion fad or belief in a doomsday cult.
Robert Eggers’ indie film The Witch brilliantly chronicles Puritan life in the 1630s. Horror soon ensues as children disappear into the woods and one girl, Thomasina, is accused of witchcraft.
A ‘witch hunt’ is what Trump called investigations into his campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election. An anthropologist explains the connection between witch hunts and social control.
Were evil witches really stealing children in the 17th century?
Top contributors
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Professor of English, UMass Lowell
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Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies, Lawrence University
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Journalist, University of Virginia
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Associate Professor of History, University of Saskatchewan
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Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures, University of Exeter
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Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University
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Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina
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UQ Research Fellow, The University of Queensland
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Lecturer in Creative Writing and 19th-Century Literature, Aberystwyth University
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Sessional Academic, The University of Queensland
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Professor of History, Iowa State University
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Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University
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Scholarly Communications Librarian, Excelsior University
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Lecturer in Children's Literature, Royal Holloway, University of London
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Distinguished Professor and Professor of the Humanities, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences