This was a love letter to old horror movies. I enjoyed this from start to finish. I kept track of all the movies mentioned and plan to watch them this fall.

When I heard about the book, I was intrigued. As I started reading, the book felt more like the authors' podcast episodes in written form. I actually skipped ahead and read the chapters about the accused. Those were the best chapters because it gave a voice to the victims.

I am not a podcast listener of authors Claire and Zoe but I should be. I’m sure being one makes How to Kill a Witch extra special ,but this is a fascinating and surprisingly dense look into witch trials of Scotland. It touches on the more famous ones all over the world ,but Scotland’s were much more violent. I had no idea about the quantity and ,as was covered in the book, lack of records has made it difficult to come to light. But these women did a fabulous job of doing just that and also giving humor and spark to a devastating history that if not studied will continue. Anytime fearful men are in power women suffer. Witches are real women who were tortured instead of protected by society. History repeats itself if not learned and this is no exception as we watch women’s rights being taken from us. Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. I highly recommend this read for women. “Call out misogyny, challenge the norm, be quarrelsome dames.”

This How to Kill a Witch is a deeply resonant and illuminating exploration of one of history’s darkest chapters, the witch trials of Reformation-era Scotland, told with razor-sharp wit and feminist insight that speaks profoundly to our present-day social consciousness.

Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi, known for their compelling Witches of Scotland podcast, guide us through the grim machinery of persecution with clarity and humanism. Drawing on actual trial transcripts, witness accounts, and legal documents, they reconstruct the systematic oppression of women under the Witchcraft Act of 1563—a tool of patriarchal fear and control that tragically echoes through time.

.The authors’ approach balances scholarly rigor with narrative drive. Their tone is both historically rich and darkly humorous, making the bureaucratic absurdities of witch-hunting both chilling and absurdly surreal. This blend makes the text both accessible and emotionally compelling. It’s rare to encounter history that educates and engages so powerfully.

Moreover, the book feels urgent and relevant. It isn’t merely an academic investigation of the past; it’s a cautionary tale. As the summary poignantly suggests, the systemic biases, paranoia, and misogyny that fueled witch-hunting are not relics of the past, they echo today’s struggles over justice and equality.
NetGalley
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Sara Sheridan’s endorsement—calling the book “terrifying, fascinating, and important”—captures its essence beautifully
NetGalley
. It’s a title that refuses to let this chapter of history remain forgotten and reminds readers that silence and fear have always been tools of oppression.

How to Kill A Witch covers mostly Witch hunts in Scotland. They were mutch more extensive than what happened in Salem even though when you think witch trials, you tend to think Salem (as stated in the book, this is pretty much global and not just because I read The Crucible in High School). This book is nonfiction and walks us through the methods of identifying a witch, collecting her confession, having a trial and carrying out a sentence. The main thread through all of this is that witches aren't real, but women who are easily targeted are. This was a pretty fast and enlightening read (there are still witchcraft accusations in some regions today.... I had no idea) and a good look at how systems can be used to target outsiders. Definitely worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

There’s just some books out there that make you want to maintain your rage, and this one of them. There’s so much that we still ascribe to women of the past (and, indeed, the present) in terms of propensity for witchcraft, not realising that these conditions are fully replicable today. This book draws attention to that in a masterful way, and makes many, many pit stops along the way.

While the tone of the writing can be a little juvenile and irritating at times, the book as a whole makes for an interesting read. You can tell that it is meticulously researched, and while it doesn’t cover every possible case and fact about witches and witchcraft, it gives a detail insight into a number of cases.

I really was riveted by this read, and it just drew attention to the fact that we still have so much to learn from the past. There’s a level of menace in the concept of modern day ‘witch hunting’, and it always pays to be aware of that.

When you hear the term "witch trials," most people immediately think about the famous witch trials that took place in Salem, MA. However, switch trials in Scotland and England took place over longer periods of time and were far deadlier. How to Kill a Witch by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi takes a look at witch trials as a whole providing facts about those times along with drawing parallels to present day issues.

My overall rating for How to Kill a Witch is 3.5 stars rounded up. The highlight of the book was the snapshots between chapters because it was a short summary of one of the accused story and what happened to them. I found the first half of the book to be really interesting, but eventually similar information starts popping up in later sections that made the second half of the book drag. Written almost like a textbook, each chapter has a theme with historical information to support the claim. This book is incredibly well researched, and that is evident from start to finish. If I went into it more as a reference book where I jumped around versus reading it front to back I may have enjoyed it more. Another aspect to this book is it makes you want to dig even further with just small snapshots of information which I think is a strength.

If Scottish history, the history of witch trials and the evolution of society is your thing then this hands down should be on your preorder list.

Thank you Sourcebooks for the gifted copy.

5.0 stars
Highly recommend

This is the most incredible and powerful book! I had no idea that Scotland had 4,000 accused victims in their witch trials; Salem had 200 or so, which was bad, but receives all the coverage.

Sadly, the work of the patriarchy of powerful and/or religious men, judging victims accused of witchcraft, primarily women. What an easy way to subjugate women or murder bothersome women. Not a shocker!

I will be thinking about this amazing book and the courageous authors for a VERY long time!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7601750018# - posted 8/12/2025
The StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/6273a051-99e3-4623-b25e-46f02bc33479?redirect=true - posted 8/12/2025
booksbydorothea Blog: https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/08/review-how-to-kill-witch-earcebook.html - posted 8/12/2025

Equally fascinating and disturbing!!

I will say that the beginning of the book took me a while to fully get into, but eventually I was sucked in and thoroughly enjoyed the true events mixed with some dark humour.

The Scottish witch trials, some of the most brutal and horrific events of the European witch craze, occurred from 1563-1736 (the years the Scottish witchcraft acts were in place). The targets of witch accusations were most often women. Contemporary historians have gathered a wide array of source materials and created a historiography of events that has in recent decades become more well-known. Many communities have since issued public statements on the injustices done to the women (and men) who lost their lives over 200 years ago in witch trials.

Rating: 3/5 stars.

This book makes the Scottish trials accessible to a wider audience in a narrative format. It reads like a podcast sounds. I think readers who are unfamiliar with Scottish witch trial history or other witch trial history will find this to be a perfect introduction to the topic. It is thoroughly researched and analyzes key primary sources related to the Scottish trials. The highlighted women in the book are both well-known and more obscure occurrences in Scottish trial history. The writing is good, but I did not love a few uses of noun phrases in lieu of complete sentences. The authors do a good job of explaining the core elements of the Scottish trials and highlighting stories of several accused women. The authors aim to draw parallels between Scottish witch trial history and modern-day witch accusations. The authors did excellent work in explaining how modern events are tied to the history of the Scottish trials. I would recommend this book to armchair historians who want to learn about the Scottish witch craze and patriarchy haters.

There are a few reasons this isn't 4 or 5 stars, for me - all of which are fine, but it's just why I didn't love the book as much as I was hoping to. This book is much more of a commentary piece by the authors than an academic analysis. I was rather surprised that the footnotes do not include in-text citations. The footnotes are more often than not the author's comments on the content being discussed, not a further explanatory note. Sometimes the footnotes are useful in expanding upon the noted topic, but most do not include sources. I am not opposed to some commentary-type footnotes, but it is used excessively. The authors reference academic studies but do not provide specific source information to the reader to cross-reference. There are selected resources cited by chapter. However, there were several instances where I did not find a source for interesting points I would have liked to explore further. There is a point being made (which is obvious in the title) with a lot of tongue-and-cheek humor used throughout. To me, it feels forced and starts to get repetitive. There was a lot of time devoted to the modern political agenda that I, personally, wish was devoted to telling more stories of the accused. I would not recommend this book to people who avoid political discussions, nor academic students looking for source material for a research paper.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Sourcebooks, for providing a copy of this book. Despite my critiques, I am very excited about this book hitting shelves. As a history major who wrote my thesis on the Scottish trials, I love any new book on the topic, but especially one that is aimed at mainstream bookshelves.

A fascinating and necessary, if horrific, topic! I strive to be the utmost quarrelsome dame! I did find the book read a bit like a textbook and could be hard to follow. I was not aware of the Witches of Scotland podcast before reading this book, I will definitely be tuning in to a few episodes.

“How to Kill a Witch: the Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women” by Venditozzi and Mitchell, definitely had both a title and a cover that captured my attention and intrigued me to read more. The book starts by going into belief systems and Christian theology of God, fallen angels, and Judgment Day that was woven into stories of the Otherworld (basically, Hell). And it talks about different historical periods in Europe, like the Reformation, especially in the 1500s, and how this was a precursor to things like the Salem Witch Trials. The book is enjoyable because it is told in a tongue-in-cheek way and does distill a lot of the background information in mostly a clearer-to-understand way, such as about Martin Luther, who founded ‘the Protestant faith’ and then in 1559, you got the Protestant Scottish guy John Knox and this is at a time when Catholic priests’ homes were attacked, and Catholic statues were broken down. The Queen of Scotland of the time deciding to remain Catholic caused some problems (Mary, Queen of Scots). But then you got Scotland having a Catholic queen and a Protestant parliament. That’s the background that’s kind of at the bedrock of this book. And THEN, you get the Witchcraft Act of 1563 in Scotland that was passed, and … things go kind of sideways. Even though the reading is a bit dry at some parts, or interesting in some parts but not so much others, it’s a very comprehensive way to start for anyone who has always wondered “where do I start” with this topic. It’s a good place to start for sure. It’s not my favourite book on the topic and I didn’t find it as engaging as I had hoped, but it’s a good text.

As someone with a great love and interest in books about the history of witchcraft, this may be one of my favorites - it does a great job highlighting the women at the center of it all, explaining the process, giving the reader an understanding of the structures of power (laws, government, etc) that allowed for this to happen (one of the authors is a lawyer) and then also wrapped it up by illustrating how things like this aren’t distant history but relevant to today. Highly recommend!

**How to Kill a Witch** by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi is a fascinating, empowering read that blends history, social commentary, and a touch of dark humor. It shines a light on Scotland’s witch trials in a fresh, accessible way, inviting readers to think deeply while still keeping the tone engaging and energetic. The authors balance serious topics with wit and warmth, making it both informative and surprisingly uplifting. If you love books that make you think and feel inspired at the same time, this is a must-read.

At first, it was hard for me to engage with the story, but it hooked me later on. Very interesting stories with an easy writing style that make it accessible to everyone.
I don’t really like the fact that the book negates almost completely the actual existence of pagan religions, but aside from that, it was a nice book.

3⭐️ I think this book is an incredibly important read and it gave me a completely different perspective of the witch accusations throughout the centuries. Growing up in the US, I only really heard about the Salem Witch Trials, which the authors touched on. It was nice to get a more global perspective, as well as to learn about more current witch allegations. I think we largely believe that these are a thing of the past and this is simply not true. I would have liked to see more case studies into the individuals who were tried and more detail about the trials, though I understand documentation is certainly an issue. Overall, I felt that it was well written and I enjoyed the author’s commentary, I just felt like it was a bit repetitive at times.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks, Zoe Venditozzi, and Claire Mitchell for the opportunity to read this book!

*review posted on goodreads*

A new way of talking about a topic that has been discussed before. I plan to recommend this book in my American history classes. Its one thing to just discuss witch trials but another thing to discuss this topic as this book did.

4 stars


This book is historical nonfiction that looks at the women of Scotland, who were accused of witchcraft. It includes several well-known women and their trials, the numerous instances of the patriarchy that lead to the horrific events of witch hunts and the treatment of women. It was very fascinating learning about these women's stories, how the political, social, religious climates were used and essentially weaponized against mainly women, especially those that stood out and dared to talk back. Also comparing the use of these terms and ideas in Scotland, with those in the USA and Nigeria both past and current. This book touched on a number of compelling topics, some I would not have even thought of that would be a factor in these events, not to mention the number of experts interviewed, was adding even more depth and understanding to what happened during this time period. While I did enjoy reading this book some things were a bit long and repetitive at times, but ultimately an excellent read. I would recommend it if you had any interest in history, witches, and Patriarchy, it is a very captivating read.
I received an ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

This was an incredibly informative and moving look at the history of the witch trials, particularly in Scotland. I was immediately captivated by how the book presents both well-researched history and emotional storytelling. As a woman, I found it especially empowering. The parallels to modern-day “witch hunts” are striking and unsettling, and the book made those connections clear in a way that felt personal and urgent.

How to Kill a Witch balances historical depth with storytelling that never loses its momentum. The authors weave in testimonies, expert interviews, and contemporary efforts to exonerate and memorialize victims. I was especially drawn to the focus on how these women—often labeled as “quarrelsome” or difficult—were targeted not just by individuals but by systems that used religion and fear as tools of control.

This book is both captivating and infuriating. It shines a light on a dark part of history that still echoes today. The stories it tells are heartbreaking, but the way they’re told is powerful and necessary. If you’re at all interested in history, justice, or feminism, this book is absolutely worth your time.

How to Kill a Witch is a compelling and thought-provoking exploration of Scotland’s dark history of witch trials written with passion, wit, and an urgent sense of justice. Venditozzi and Mitchell strike a powerful balance between accessible storytelling and rigorous research making this both an engaging read and an important work of public history.

The book blends historical fact, contemporary commentary, and personal reflection to illuminate how thousands of mostly women were accused, tortured, and executed as witches and how these injustices continue to echo in today’s attitudes toward gender, power, and belief. What makes this book stand out is its clear-eyed focus on the human cost of these persecutions and its refusal to treat the witch hunts as some distant irrelevant past.

Venditozzi and Mitchell are deeply connected to the modern campaign for official pardon and memorialization for Scotland’s witch trial victims and their activism shines through. They ask the reader not only to understand this history but to act to think critically about whose stories get told and whose suffering gets erased.

The tone is fresh and often darkly humorous even while addressing grim subject matter. This approach keeps the book from being overly heavy while underscoring the absurdity and cruelty of the historical events it examines.

If there’s a minor critique it’s that the conversational style might feel informal to readers looking for a purely academic account but that is also its strength. How to Kill a Witch invites everyone in whether you’re a history buff, a feminist, or simply someone curious about Scotland’s past and what it means for our present.

In short this is an essential fiercely intelligent and deeply humane book. It ensures that the women and men who were labeled witches are no longer silent and challenges us all to remember them and do better.