Explore books about witchcraft in the UK and Ireland, including witch trials, accusations, folk magic, historical belief and supernatural tradition. The collection ranges from local histories to wider studies of witchcraft and its place in British and Irish culture.
16 books found
Cover unavailableWitch Hunters
Witch Hunters examines the people who claimed to identify, investigate and expose witches during the Renaissance and the great witch-hunting era. P. G. Maxwell-Stuart follows the careers and methods of figures including the Jesuit Martin…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft
Witchcraft traces changing ideas about witches from the remnants of early religious beliefs through Christian reinterpretation, deliberate diabolism and accusations dismissed by Hughes as cruel nonsense. The book considers how magical practices and beliefs developed,…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland
John Gregorson Campbell records Highland and Island traditions concerning witchcraft, charms, second sight and warnings of death. The collection includes stories of witches affecting milk, raising storms, causing drownings and taking the forms of animals…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment: Scotland, 1670–1740
Lizanne Henderson examines Scottish witchcraft and witch belief from 1670 to 1740, a period often associated with the decline of prosecutions and the emergence of the Scottish Enlightenment. Rather than treating the end of the…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft Continued: Popular Magic in Modern Europe
Witchcraft Continued examines the persistence of witchcraft beliefs and popular magic in Europe after the decline of the formal witch trials. Edited essays cover England, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Finland, Transylvania and Northern…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft in England
Christina Hole’s illustrated history surveys English beliefs and practices associated with witchcraft, from ancient rites and sorcery to later forms of popular magic. Its subjects include maleficium, familiars, methods used to identify suspected witches, alleged…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft in the Thames Valley
Witchcraft in the Thames Valley gathers traditional witchcraft tales associated with the Thames Valley, presenting local stories where folklore, reported marvels and historical memory overlap. Tony Barham’s short regional study centres on traditions attached to…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft in Wales
Witchcraft in Wales gathers Welsh traditions concerning witches, curses, magical practices and feared supernatural influence. Its material derives from the folklore collected by Elias Owen, whose investigations preserved stories and beliefs gathered from older inhabitants,…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft Today
Witchcraft Today presents Gerald Gardner’s account of witchcraft as a living religion, based on his claims to have encountered practising covens in England. He describes beliefs, ritual practices, initiation and meetings, while considering the roles…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736–1951
Owen Davies examines witchcraft and magic in England and Wales after the 1736 Witchcraft Act, tracing how older beliefs survived alongside growing scepticism. The book considers educated attitudes, popular justice and the changing image of…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft: A History
Witchcraft: A History traces changing ideas about magic and witchcraft from ancient Greece and Rome through medieval demonology, early modern prosecutions and twentieth-century paganism. P. G. Maxwell-Stuart shows how the meaning of witchcraft shifted across…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials
Marion Gibson traces the changing meaning of witchcraft through 13 trials, spanning the 15th century to the present day. The book moves from the origins of European witch-hunts to cases in America and Africa, placing…
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Cover unavailableWitchcraft: The Basics
Witchcraft: The Basics examines how witchcraft was defined, debated and represented from the Middle Ages to the modern world. Marion Gibson considers the language used to describe witches, the laws and treatises directed against them,…
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Witches: A King’s Obsession
Steven Veerapen traces witchcraft accusations and witch-hunting from the reign of King James VI and I. He examines how beliefs about demonic magic shaped investigations, trials and punishment. The history considers Britain alongside continental Europe,…
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Cover unavailableWitchfinders: A Seventeenth-Century English Tragedy
Malcolm Gaskill reconstructs the English witch-hunt of 1645–47, when civil-war upheaval, disease, poverty and religious division intensified fears of hidden evil. The book centres on Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, two men who began investigating…
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Cover unavailableWizards
Wizards traces the changing figure of the wizard from the ancient world to the present, asking what people have meant by the term across different periods. P G Maxwell-Stuart distinguishes the wizard from the simple…
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