The Penguin Book of Witches by Katherine Howe

On attitudes towards women during the era of the witch trials the other one was Elizabeth Proctor who was supposed to be condemned to death but fortunately her sentence was commuted because she was expecting a baby.'īook Reviews This 'Book Of Witches' Casts A Fascinating, Sobering Spell 'One of them was Elizabeth Howe, who has the same last name as me, she was actually put to death at the beginning of the Salem crisis. 'There are a couple of witches hiding on the family tree,' she tells NPR's Rachel Martin. But witches - well, that part of her fascination is personal. She's long been intrigued with colonial America. Howe is the editor of The Penguin Book of Witches, a new compilation of writings from the 16th and 17th centuries that looks at how accusations of witchcraft grew and spread. But historian Katherine Howe's new book recalls a time when witchcraft wasn't just a crime, it was enough to get you killed.

Or as endearing characters in pop culture (cue the Bewitched theme song). Throughout history, witches have taken on many forms: As women with a mystical relationship to the natural world. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Bringing to life stories like that of Eunice Cole, tried for attacking a teenage girl with a rock and buried with a stake through her heart Jane Jacobs, a Bostonian so often accused of witchcraft that she took her tormentors to court on charges of slander and Increase Mather, an exorcism-performing minister famed for his knowledge of witches, this volume provides a unique tour through the darkest history of English and North American witchcraft.Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Penguin Book of Witches Author Katherine Howe From a manual for witch hunters written by King James himself in 1597, to court documents from the Salem witch trials of 1692, to newspaper coverage of a woman stoned to death on the streets of Philadelphia while the Continental Congress met, The Penguin Book of Witches is a treasury of historical accounts of accused witches that sheds light on the reality behind the legends.

This is a chilling, truly authoritative anthology of real-life accounts of witches, from medieval Europe through colonial America. New Books | Classics & Mythology | Occult

The Penguin Book of Witches by Katherine Howe