I’m looking for books that explore the origins of witchcraft, the occult, and how these ideas were understood and treated in history. Ive always been super interested in the Salem witch trials, the history of “witches” in general, and the cultural origins and perceptions of the occult/witches!
by Longjumping_Wish1449
2 Comments
the salem trials are just the tip of the iceberg mate – theres this whole rabbit hole of how different cultures basically created their own version of the “witch” archetype to explain whatever they couldnt understand or control
look into stuff about the malleus maleficarum if you want to see how paranoia becomes institutionalized, or dig into european folk magic traditions before christianity steamrolled everything. the real story is how fear of the unknown gets weaponized against people who dont fit the mold – usually women who knew too much about herbs or just existed wrong in there society
How To Kill a Witch is really good. I did the audiobook and it was interesting and entertaining.