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.
The iconic image of a witch on a broomstick has apocryphal origins. But whether they could actually fly didn’t stop Christian society from persecuting them.
A teenage domestic servant showed signs of possession, and a miller was accused of witchcraft. Considering records of these events helps clarify what we can and cannot know about the past.
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.
Associate Professor, Department of Historical Studies and Institute for the Study of University Pedagogy, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Toronto