The History of Witchcraft in Europe

Witchcraft in Europe was believed to be a combination of sorcery and heresy. While sorcery attempts to produce negative supernatural effects through formulas and rituals, heresy is the Christian contribution to witchcraft in which an individual makes a pact with the Devil. In addition, heresy denies witches the recognition of important Christian values such as baptism, salvation, Christ and sacraments. In Early Modern European tradition, witches were stereotypically, though not exclusively, women. European pagan belief in witchcraft was associated with the goddess Diana and dismissed as “diabolical fantasies” by medieval Christian authors. Witch-hunts first appeared in large numbers during the 14th and 15th centuries. It was commonly believed that individuals with power and prestige were involved in acts of witchcraft and even cannibalism.
Table of Contents:
The Superstitions of Witchcraft by Howard Williams
The Devil in Britain and America by John Ashton
Lives of the Necromancers by William Godwin
Witch, Warlock, and Magician by W. H. Davenport Adams
The Witch Mania by Charles Mackay
Magic and Witchcraft by George Moir
Witchcraft & Second Sight in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland by John G. Campbell
Witchcraft and Superstitious Record in the South-Western District of Scotland by John Maxwell Wood
Practitioners of Magic & Witchcraft and Clairvoyance by Bram Stoker
Witch Stories by E. Lynn Linton
Mary Schweidler, the Amber Witch by Wilhelm Meinhold
Sidonia, the Sorceress by Wilhelm Meinhold
Glimpses of the Supernatural — Witchcraft and Necromancy by Frederick George Lee Letters On Demonology And Witchcraft by Sir Walter Scott
La Sorcière: The Witch of the Middle Ages by Jules Michelet
Modern Magic by M. Schele de Vere