Thank you to Marion Gibson, Scribner, and NetGalley for an eARC of Witchcraft!

3.5/5 Stars

I don't usually read non-fiction, but I find the history of witchcraft absolutely fascinating. This book examines court cases from all over the world. It gives great background on the social and political climate during each case as well as background on the accused and accusers. It was so interesting to see parallels between how women are treated in the current day and how women were targeted during witch trials. While sometimes there were so many details that I found my mind wandering, the writing and subject matter kept me interested for the most part.

"GIRL WHAT?" Those were the words I repeated numerous times throughout reading this. I am fascinated by history and I knew that history around witchcraft could be pretty dark but WOW.

Marion Gibson's book Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials is an eye-opening account of infamous witch trials worldwide, from the Inquisition to modern times.

Thirteen Trials offers a modern lens on the social, cultural, and political contexts that shaped the fear and persecution of witchcraft throughout history.

Here's a brief overview of each of the thirteen trials discussed in the book:
1. Italy (1428-1447): The Valais witch trials followed some of Europe's first large-scale witch hunts.
2. Mexico (1574): A trial involving Indigenous women accused of witchcraft by Spanish colonial Inquisitors.
3. Scotland (1590-1591): Nobles and others accused of plots to kill King James VI were caught up in The North Berwick witch trials.
4. England (1612): Twelve people were accused of witchcraft during the Pendle witch trials, which led to 10 executions.
5. Vardo, Norway (1620s): This is regarding a nomadic indigenous Sami woman who was accused of murder and highlighted the dramatic differences between shamanistic spirituality and European beliefs.
6. Germany (1626-1631): The Würzburg and Bamberg witch trials were some of the largest and deadliest in history—with hundreds of people executed.
7. Salem Witch Trials (1692-1693): Leading to the execution of 20 people (primarily women) is probably the most famous witch trial in history that took place in colonial Massachusetts, USA.
8. France (1731): The country's last witch trial was when a young woman was pitted against her group leader and her confessor--being torn between allegiance and religion.
9. Russia (1656): The trial of a woman accused of using witchcraft to harm her neighbors.
10. Sweden (1668-1676): Scandinavia saw intense witch-hunting enthusiasm, resulting in 71 people being beheaded or burned after the Torsäker trials.
11. Pennsylvania (1929): A magical modern-day healer was labeled and persecuted as a "witch," illustrating how witchcraft accusations persisted into the 20th century.
12. Lesotho (1948): British South African authorities executed local leaders, showcasing the impact of colonial rule on indigenous practices and beliefs.
13. South Africa (1994): A modern trial where accusations of witchcraft led to violence and murder, demonstrating the ongoing relevance of witchcraft beliefs in contemporary society.

Now, let’s think of discrimination in all forms, not just witchcraft. It is genuinely frightening to believe that the hysterical mindsets that resulted in so many deaths during the “killing times” of the Witchcraft Trials discussed in Gibson’s book were still occurring in the 20th Century. This is a wake-up call to all of us with half a brain.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Marion Gibson, and Publisher Scribner for this advanced readers’ copy (ARC) for review.

An ambitious undertaking that spans 7 centuries and many continents, examining the history of witchcraft as it was used to oppress women and minorities in all sorts of contexts from colonial empire to the modern day. What I loved about this book's scope was the vast consideration of how witchcraft trials affected people of so many different intersectional identities, including indigenous women, poor single mothers, disabled women, queer men in positions of power, and more. It was well-researched and the author had very interesting things to say about witchcraft's evolving relationship with religion and the law. She was often able to explain complicated histories in an easy-to-understand way. Unfortunately though, the text was dry and dull. The writing style made intriguing subject matter seem colorless. But while the storytelling could have been refined, the book remained a worthwhile read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Witchcraft by Marion Gibson
3/5
ARC via Netgalley

I am fascinated by witchcraft trials. When I was in school, I used to find any opportunity to assert opinions on controversial topics wherever I could, and one was the Salem Witch Trials and how mass hysteria can be deadly. So seeing this, I was all in.
I’m struggling with this review because, though it started off decently talking about how people were persecuted for supposedly being witches, and the research was obviously extensive, as she goes on the situations of witchcraft that she speaks about seem more far-fetched. It went from a novel of situations of witchcraft persecution and turned to men controlling women in any way possible with a very weak idea that it can be similar to the references towards the beginning of the book. Maybe that was her point the entire time, however I was reading for the history of witchcraft and for me, that part was very much lacking. Another big issues is the style of writing. As stated before, she did her research and it shows, however it came across very dry a lot of times and was a struggle to focus and keep reading. It read more like I was given a school textbook to do homework from, and that’s a way of writing that I stay away from because I just don’t enjoy. I really wanted to like this book, and I did finish it, but after awhile it felt more like reading because I had to rather than reading because I wanted to.

Read if you like: history of witchcraft, well researched studies

In Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials, Marion Gibson argues that witch trials from the late Medieval period to today were motivated not by the Bible but by demonology.

In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the 1641 Body of Liberties laws do draw from the Bible, including “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” (KJV, Exodus 22:18). But devils were destructive forces frequently mentioned in witch trials. Demonology mostly focused on women—the weaker sex—succumbing to the forked-tongue lies of Satan’s minions. Misogyny was rampant, especially in male-dominated arenas like religion and government. Over the last 700 years, in fact, the most common trait of a witch was being female (though not everyone was).

As Gibson discusses, German churchman and demonologist Heinrich Kramer (c. 1430-1505) failed in his first attempt to destroy the “witches” of Innsbruck, Austria. But afterwards, he wrote the exceptionally popular Malleus Maleficarum in 1487, also known as The Hammer of Witches. By 1600, about 45 demonology titles were published in Western Europe, including one by King James VI of Scotland (later James I of England). These books were widely circulated among churchmen, rulers, the upper classes, and scholars—including Judge William Stoughton and ministers Cotton Mather and Samuel Parris, all of whom influenced the Salem witch trials in 1692.

For the Salem story, Gibson focuses on “Tatabe,” Parris’ Indian servant who had a prominent but short-lived role early in the Salem witch trials. Under duress, Tituba (falsely) confessed to practicing witchcraft but was not executed, while the ones who claimed their innocence were. It’s odd that Gibson emphasizes the hypothetical Arawak birth story from Elaine Breslaw’s Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem, instead of the power of Tituba’s testimony and its many parallels to British witchcraft beliefs. Those parallels also debunk the voodoo stories wrongly told by some writers and tour guides about Tituba.

Thirteen Trials includes cases from Europe, Africa, and the Americas, covering a wide variety of situations, cultures, and time periods. It’s a fascinating read, with each history connected to the underlying premise of misogyny and violence against women.

Fortunately, “people who have redefined witchcraft and embraced the identity of ‘witch’” embody the medieval demonologists’ worst nightmares (ch. 13).

But the struggle continues.

Witchcraft was an informative, intriguing read that was engaging. I was pleasantly surprised that it's author is a professor in magical literature and truly enjoyed the book.

It was a little dry at times, but overall I enjoyed it! I was left wishing I could have more information and take a whole class from Gibson!

This was a unique exploration of the prevalence of witch trials and those affected by it across centuries and cultures. It'd be a unique text to include in world history courses or any literature study featuring witchcraft such as The Crucible to provide students with background.

Fascinating, informative - would be a perfect October book club pick. I imagine interesting conversation would spring up around a lot of the elements in this book.

I'm not sure why but I just find the stories of women (and some men) accused of witchcraft fascinating. Not that they were killed but just all the events that culminated to reach these points. At this time I am pretty well versed in the Salem trials, and while they were talked about, I enjoyed learning about ones I haven't heard of in the past. I found the way she brought it into the present day was seamless and showed how these witch hunts are still happening in other forms.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. Several of the cases I had never heard of before and I found it interesting how the idea of witchcraft has pervaded so many vastly different cultures and women have been tortured and executed for simply an idea. I recommend this one if you haven’t read an history in witchcraft and the persecution perpetrated its name. Thank you to @netgalley and @scribnerbooks for an e-arc of this book.

A great book that discusses the history of witches and witchcraft and outlines the historical aspects that took place. I love the cover art and how catchy this book is! A must read if you have any interest in the subject.

A readable and thought provoking history of witchcraft trials. Our history book club will really enjoy it. Will definitely be ordering for my library.

"Witchcraft" by Marion Gibson is well-researched. I would recommend this title to those readers who have a heavy interest in the history of 'witches' and whom want to extend their knowledge. I would not recommend this to someone as a casual-first-time-reader of witches due to the academic vibe it's got going on.

Thank you NetGalley for providing us readers with this title.

Unfortunately I did not finish this title. I only got about 5% in. It was so dry and boring it was quite literally putting me to sleep.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. It was interesting to read about the various trials in this book. I think when most people think of witches, they think of women; but men could also be accused of being one as well. I think many view witch trials as a thing of the past; but it’s still happening.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! It's well researched and well-written. I would recommend this to those who are interested. Thank you to Marion Gibson, Scribner and NetGalley for allowing me to read a completely copy in exchange for a honest review.

This was a really interesting book that provides a fascinating history of witchcraft. I like how the author followed timelines of historical witch trials and how they were affected by political and social expectations at the time. I think this is a great book for anyone who wants to dive deeper into the specific history of witchcraft. 4.5/5 Stars

This book tackles the plight of witchcraft accusations throughout history, as it pertains to controlling women and forcing them into subservient roles. I found the first 5 trials to be extremely interesting, but unfortunately once we left the typical “witch burning” times I was significantly less invested. This is not the fault of the author, I just am not as interested in this section of history, unfortunately. I did find the narrative of this book interesting, as we focus on the women in these specific trials, and how they relate to one another (one woman being powerful enough to shake off and chase away the accusations, to other women being too poor and underprivileged to do so), but I felt some of this book seemed to jump around too much between timelines and locations.

Thank you Scribner for the opportunity to read this book.

3.5 stars

Author Marion Gibson, a historian of witchcraft and magic, writes about ancient and modern witches and witch-trials. In this book, Gibson hones in on thirteen trials that span Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

In modern times people often associate witches with characters in television shows like Bewitched, Charmed, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Mayfair Witches, etc., where the witches are funny or helpful or heroic....protagonists we root for. In the real world, however, witches have generally been thought of as evil beings who use magic to do harm. In the Bible, witch stories extend back hundreds of years BCE, but witch hunts really took off during the medieval period, with the study of demonology by Christian clergymen. According to Gibson, clerics believed witches were committed to wickedness, and "the imaginative world of the 15th to 18th centuries was crammed with curses and blessings, angels, devils, ghosts, sprits that could invade bodies, fairies, and elves."

Witches, thought to be empowered by Satan, caused fear and terror, and had to be rooted out of society. Gibson writes that most witches were thought to be female, and many of them were poor and uneducated. Gibson goes on to say, "Christian priests were all male....[and some] were obsessed with the regulation of women: their sexuality, conduct, and thought." Often, women (and a few men) accused of witchcraft were perceived as wanting revenge for some slight, so that something happened to the offender: their cow died, their wife couldn't conceive, their ship sank, their crops failed, their business lost money, their child took sick, and so on.

Gibson discusses thirteen witch trials, expanding on the lives of the accused as well as the accusers, and she provides background details of the time, place, atmosphere, laws, religious beliefs, witnesses, verdicts, etc. Many 'witches' were tortured into 'confessing', and the tales are shocking and sad.

I'll mention a few examples of witch trials, to give you a glimpse of the book.

Helena Scheuberin (1485) in Austria. Helena was accused of poisoning a knight named Jörg Spiess, who had wanted 'more than friendship' with married Helena. Helena was tried by inquisitor Heinrich Kramer who believed witches were devil-worshippers who had given their souls to Satan; prayed to the devil; killed animals and people; and performed every evil they could imagine.

Tatabe (1692) in Salem, Massachusetts. Native American Tatabe grew up in Barbados and was brought to Salem as a slave. Tatabe was unfortunate enough to be enslaved in the household of a Puritan minister named Samuel Parris when young girls in the home claimed to be bewitched.

Helen Duncan (1941) in Barham, England. Helen was a spiritualist/medium who announced that a British ship, the HMS Barham was lost BEFORE this information was public knowledge. This 'foreknowledge', as well as Helen channeling dead people, materializing ectoplasm, and so on led to accusations of witchcraft.

Stormy Daniels (2020) in Columbus, Ohio. Stormy (perhaps best known for her liaisons with Donald Trump) is an adult film star, tarot-reader, ghost-hunter, medium, and believer in a non-traditional religion. When Stormy sued her lawyer Michael Avenattii for defrauding her, she found herself accused of being 'a witch who practices witchcraft.'

The libeling of Stormy Daniels shows that accusations of 'witch' still occur in modern times. Gibson notes, "Witchcraft is still criminalized in multiple nations and quasi-states." The author observes that in Guatemala, traditional healers were killed for being witches in 2021; during Nepal's civil war (1996-2006), suspected witches were beaten or burned to death; in Britain in 2000, a 'child witch' of African descent was tied up in a bath, beaten with hammers and chains, burned, and cut. And more.

The author has done an immense amount of research for the book, which has extensive notes and an index. The narrative is interesting but dry and repetitive, and the author tries too hard to connect incidents in disparate places. What comes across very clearly is that men have felt compelled to control women from time immemorial, and an accusation of witchcraft is one tool in their arsenal. Historically, this has been a powerful tool, and it continues in some places today.

The book is well worth reading for readers interested in the subject matter.

Thanks to Netgalley, Marion Gibson, and Scribner for a copy of the book.