Witchcraft: 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 legal proceedings alongside the lives of those accused. Helena Scheuberin, Anny Sampson and Joan Wright appear among the women whose experiences have often been overshadowed by powerful men, including James I and Matthew Hopkins.

The account also follows witchcraft beyond the familiar history of European persecution. It considers the reimagining of witchcraft by French lawyers and radical historians, murder linked to suspicions of sorcery in Jazz Age Pennsylvania, and the effects of colonialism and Christian missionary activity on accused people in Africa. The book concludes by examining how witch trials continue in modern forms.