In the shadowy valleys of the Western Alps during the 1430s, a terrifying new narrative emerged that would reshape European understanding of witchcraft forever. What began as isolated tales of individual maleficium transformed into something far more sinister—organized gatherings where witches supposedly flew through the night to renounce Christ, feast on children, and pledge allegiance to Satan himself.

Journey with us into the dark imagination of medieval Europe as we explore the birth of the witches' sabbath. These weren't just stories—they were detailed testimonies that religious authorities believed revealed an existential threat to Christendom itself. From the inlands of  Switzerland to the remote mountaintops of France, discover how ancient fears and folklore about nighttime spirits coalesced into a conspiracy theory so powerful it would color centuries of witch hunts.

But the sabbath's influence didn't end in medieval Europe. Follow its dark legacy across the Atlantic to the Salem witch trials, where Puritan New England became gripped by visions of devilish sacraments in village pastures. How did these European fantasies of organized devil worship take root in American soil, and what does their evolution tell us about the fears that drive societies to see enemies lurking in their midst?

Buy the book: Origins of the Witches Sabbath by Michael D. Bailey

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What happens when a society finally confronts one of its darkest chapters? In Scotland, a growing movement is demanding recognition for the thousands of women killed during the country's brutal witch hunts—a campaign that reveals how historical injustices continue to shape us today. Dr. Margaret Malloch from the University of Stirling joins us to discuss her project "Memorializing Injustice," examining different campaigns of remembrance and exploring why remembering these forgotten victims matters now more than ever, and what Scotland's reckoning can teach us about confronting uncomfortable truths. A thought-provoking conversation about memory, how we understand justice, and the stories society chooses to tell.

Formal Apology: Statement by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon opening the debate, International Women's Day 2022 in the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, on Tuesday 8 March 2022

Formal Apology: The Church of Scotland Apologising for Historic Wrongs

Remembering the Accused Witches of Scotland Campaign

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For our landmark 150th episode, we explore one of humanity's most enduring questions: What is a  witch? Far from being about broomsticks and cauldrons, the witch serves as a cultural mirror, reflecting society's deepest anxieties about power, gender, and the unknown.

A witch is a designation that reveals more about the society doing the naming than about the accused. Throughout history, this label has been weaponized against the vulnerable, marginalized, and powerless as a means of social control.

Yet in contemporary Western contexts, "witch" has become a self-claimed identity representing alternative spirituality, feminist empowerment, and connection to nature. This reclamation represents a deliberate rejection of patriarchal control and embrace of personal agency.

We'll examine how the witch has served as both society's scapegoat and its rebel. What does it mean when an identity once used to destroy women becomes a source of empowerment? Join us as we explore this complex figure that continues to captivate and challenge us today.

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Listen to the episode: Malcolm Gaskill on the Ruin of All Witches

Listen to the episode: Francis Young on Witchcraft and The Modern Roman Catholic Church

Listen to the episode: Legal Perceptions of Witch Hunting in India with Riya A Singh and Amit Anand

Witchcraft Accusations in Listen to the episode: Nigeria with Dr. Leo Igwe

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Come explore a forgotten witch panic that happened before Salem. This episode visits Springfield, Massachusetts to discuss a groundbreaking museum exhibit that brings the 1650-1652 Hugh and Mary Parsons witchcraft case to life. Curator Elizabeth Kapp explains how "Witch Panic: Massachusetts Before Salem" immerses visitors in this early witch panic through interactive elements that put visitors in the role of jury members. The exhibit reveals how this case influenced the more famous Salem trials and why understanding these historical moments remains crucial today.

Buy the book: The Ruin of All Witches

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Listen to the episode: Massachusetts Witch Trials 101 Part 2: Mary and Hugh Parsons of Springfield

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Dig into the Salem witch trials with playwright Matt Cox, whose play Witches?! In Salem!? offers a fresh perspective on one of history's most tragic episodes. This isn't your typical historical drama – Cox has crafted something that's both rigorously researched and surprisingly funny, managing to honor the victims while illuminating the very human motivations behind the 1692 tragedy.

Matt spent eight years developing this play, transforming it from a simple comedy about fantasy witches into a nuanced exploration of actual history and human nature. The result is a work that includes real fantasy witches who ironically never get blamed, while the innocent townspeople fall victim to fear, social pressure, and petty grievances that spiral devastatingly out of control.

As a descendant of Rebecca Nurse and Mary Esty – two of the Salem victims – Sarah brings a personal perspective to this conversation about how historical trauma can be transformed into meaningful art. We'll explore how Matt incorporated real historical research, why he made specific creative choices, and how the play has evolved through different versions and productions.

At its heart, Witches?! In Salem!? reminds us that the people involved in Salem weren't monsters – they were humans like us, making it both a sobering reminder of our capacity for harm and, surprisingly, a source of hope for learning to do better. Join us as we discuss finding truth and even humor in one of history's darkest chapters.

Links

Read the Script: Witches!? in Salem?! 

Matt Cox Website: Check out all his plays!

Buy the book: A Delusion of Satan by Francis Hill

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Why does a 72-year-old play about 333-year-old witch trials still feel urgently relevant today? Arthur Miller's The Crucible has become theater's ultimate evergreen story, because it captures something timeless and terrifying about human nature—our willingness to destroy each other when fear takes hold.

When Miller's play premiered on January 10, 1953, audiences immediately understood it wasn't really about Salem. This was Miller's bold response to McCarthyism, a thinly veiled critique of Senator Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunts that were tearing through American society. Miller had taken the Salem witch trials and transformed them into a mirror, forcing 1950s America to confront its own capacity for panic and persecution.

But here's what makes The Crucible truly remarkable: it didn't stop being relevant when McCarthyism ended. In our current era, when we're so quick to label people as enemies and deny their humanity, Miller's allegory feels more essential than ever. The play's central question—what happens when a community turns against itself in search of hidden enemies—remains one of the most important questions we can ask.

Whether you know the play from school, the stage, or the screen, whether you have family who lived through the Red Scare or ancestors who witnessed Salem's trials, The Crucible speaks to something universal about the human condition. It reminds us that in times of crisis, we all face the same choice: Will we stand with the mob, or will we find the courage to stand for justice?

Buy the book: The Red Scare by Clay Risen

Buy the Play: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Buy the book: The Enemy Within by John Demos

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Join Josh and Sarah as they explore one of Scotland's most notorious witch trials - the Paisley Witch Trials of 1697 (also known as the Bargarran or Renfrewshire Witch Trials). This case represents a major witch hunt and mass execution in late 17th century Europe, where seven people lost their lives in Paisley after being accused by eleven-year-old Christian Shaw.

What You'll Learn: • How eleven-year-old Christian Shaw's accusations against 35 people spiraled into Scotland's last major witch hunt • The story behind the seven executions that took place in Paisley on June 10, 1697 • How fear and superstition transformed a Scottish community into a site of tragedy • The connection between the Paisley trials and other witch hunts across Europe and America • Insights from someone who has walked the very streets where these events unfolded

The Seven Executed on June 10, 1697: • Margaret Lang • John Lindsay • James Lindsay • John Lindsay of Barloch • Katherine Campbell • Margaret Fulton • Agnes Naismith

Our guest, Gayle Pollock, brings a unique perspective to this dark history. Gayle doesn't just study these events - she lives and breathes them. Walking the same streets where the accusations were made and lives were lost has given her an intimate understanding of how this tragedy actually unfolded. Her immersion in the landscape and the story provides insights you simply can't get from books alone.

As we remember the accused in Paisley in 1697 and honor Bridget Bishop, who was hanged in Salem on June 10, 1692, we're reminded of the importance of questioning fear and superstition wherever it may lead.

Don't forget to check out this week's episode of The Thing About Salem podcast, and join us next time as we continue to examine the dark corners of history.

#WitchTrials #ScottishHistory #PaisleyWitches #RenfrewshireWitches #SalemWitchTrials #HistoryPodcast

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Hosts Josh and Sarah welcome back author Beth Caruso to discuss Alice Young, New England's first documented witch trial victim, executed in Hartford, Connecticut in 1647. Beth shares her groundbreaking research that led to Alice's official exoneration by the Connecticut legislature in May 2023, after centuries of her story being nearly lost to history. The conversation explores how Beth pieced together Alice's life through limited historical records, neighborhood land documents, and epidemiological patterns from a 1647 flu outbreak that may have contributed to the accusations against her. They discuss Alice's lasting legacy through her descendants, connections to broader New England witch trial history, and what still needs to be done to honor her memory through exhibits and memorials.

Episode Highlights:

• Alice Young's Story - New England's first documented alleged witch hanging, executed in Connecticut in 1647 (June 5th by modern calendar)

• Historic Exoneration - Connecticut's bipartisan legislative vote in May 2023 officially cleared Alice Young's name after centuries

• Research Challenges - How limited historical records have been  pieced together to share Alice's life 

• The 1647 Flu Epidemic - How neighborhood deaths and epidemiological patterns may have led to Alice's accusation

• Historical Connections - Links between Alice Young's case and broader New England witch trial history, including connections to the Mather family

• Governor Winthrop Jr.'s Role - His alchemical views and connections to people in Alice Young's life

• Alice's Legacy - Her descendants and lasting impact on Connecticut heritage and colonial history

• Ongoing Memorial Efforts - What still needs to be done through exhibits, memorials, and continued awareness

• Beth's Work - Her Connecticut Witch Trial Exoneration Project, CT Witch Memorial Facebook page, and Connecticut Witch Trials Trilogy

• Podcast Promotion - Launch announcement for "The Thing About Salem" podcast and its first episode about TitubaBuy the book One of Windsor by Beth Caruso

Author Beth Caruso's Website 

Article: Between God and Satan  by Katherine A. Hermes; Beth M. Caruso

Buy the book: Prospero's America: John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture, 1606-1676  by Walter W. Woodward

ConnecticutWitchTrials.org

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Welcome back to the Witch Hunt Podcast. This is the final episode in the four part series: The Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft Belief.  If you're just joining us, we recommend checking out the previous series episodes first, though this episode can certainly stand on its own.

This completes our Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft conversation with Professor Richard Raiswell of the University of Prince Edward Island, expert on Devil lore. 

In Part 1, we began examining the critical relationship that developed between demons and witchcraft specifically in the 15th century. In Part 2, we delved deeper into how this connection became the driving force behind the witch hunts that devastated communities across Europe. In parts 3 and 4 we reveal shocking and informing details on the Malleus Maleficarum and its authors Heinrich Kramer, aka Institoris, and Jacob Sprenger. Thank you for joining us as we conclude this chilling and fascinating exploration of how demonology fueled witch persecution.

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Today we conclude our series: The Evolution of Diabolical Witchcraft Belief with Professor Raiswell of the University of Prince Edward Island, an expert in medieval devil lore, with another double episode release. If you're just joining us, we recommend checking out the previous series episodes first, though this episode can certainly stand on its own.

In this episode, part 3 of the series, Dr. Raiswell takes us into the minds and lives of Heinrich Kramer, aka Institoris, and Jacob Sprenger, the authors of the 15th century witch-hunting book, the Hammer of Witches, formally known as the Malleus Maleficarum.

This Dr. Raiswell series is essential for understanding how theological concepts about Satan evolved into specific witchcraft accusations and largely gendered persecution mechanisms that still influence witch hunting today.

The full series, in four parts, is available now wherever you get your podcasts.

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Richard Raiswell

Shop our Nonprofit Bookshop for: The Routledge History of the Devil in the Western Tradition

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Build Your Witch Trial History Library with a Purchase from our Bookshop!

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