EUROPEAN WITCHCRAFT

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, tens of thousands of people were accused, tried, and executed for witchcraft across Europe. Most were women. Their confessions were extracted through torture. Their trials were designed to produce convictions. Their deaths were meant to terrify.EUROPEAN WITCHCRAFT tells the true stories of those who died.This book examines documented cases across eight European regions-Germany, Scotland, France, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Scandinavia, and Eastern Europe. Each chapter presents the stories of real men and women whose names are preserved in historical records, whose trials are documented in archives, whose executions are recorded in church registers.These were healers and midwives, mothers and daughters, people who possessed traditional knowledge or simply lived in ways that made them vulnerable to accusations. They were tortured into confessing impossible crimes, condemned by legal procedures corrupted to serve persecution, and killed to satisfy communities' need for scapegoats during times of crisis.Drawing on extensive historical scholarship and archival research, this book examines why witch-hunting happened, how it worked, who the victims were, and what finally ended the persecution. It honors their memory by telling their stories with historical accuracy and respect.This is not fiction. Every person named in these pages was real. This book is their memorial.Includes Author's Note on historical accuracy and extensive bibliography.