A witch hunter is an individual who actively seeks out, identifies, and persecutes people who are believed to be practicing witchcraft. Witch hunting has a long history dating back to ancient civilizations, but it reached its peak during the late medieval and early modern periods in Europe, particularly during the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries. Witch hunters were often driven by a strong belief in the existence of witches and their association with the Devil. They sought to eradicate witchcraft as they believed it posed a significant threat to society and the Church. Witch hunters were typically appointed by religious or secular authorities and were granted the power to investigate, interrogate, and prosecute individuals accused of witchcraft. The methods employed by witch hunters varied but often involved the use of torture to extract confessions from the accused.
It's sometimes suggested that witch-hunting was a more or less conscious male device for repressing women. In fact, although there is a relationship between women and witch-hunting, it's a complex one. Witch-hunters didn't target women as such, they targeted witches – and about 25% of witches were men. Witch-hunting certainly functioned as an encouragement to conform to patriarchal values, but witch-hunting wasn't a cynical male conspiracy.
The Witch Hunter article uses material from the Supernatural Hunter article from the Vampire Diaires wiki at FANDOM and is licensed under the Commons Attribution-Share Alike License. One woman, Margaret Brown, implored God to give some sign of her innocence and, at her execution, Gardiner recorded, as soon as ever she was turned off the ladder her blood gushed out upon the people to the admiration of the beholders.
The methods employed by witch hunters varied but often involved the use of torture to extract confessions from the accused. Common forms of torture included the ducking stool, pricking with needles, and the infamous water test. Once a confession was obtained, the accused would be tried and, if found guilty, executed.
The Last Witch Hunter: why modern visions of witches don’t conjure up reality
Claire Nally does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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Northumbria University, Newcastle provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.
The Newcastle Witch Hunt (1650), from Ralph Gardiner’s account (1655).Witches have long been an international obsession. From King James I’s book [Demonologie](http://arcticbeacon.com/books/King_James_VI-DAEMONOLOGIE(1597) (1597) and the famous Pendle witch trials in Lancaster (1612), to Shakespeare’s Macbeth (first performed 1611) and Matthew Hopkins’ The Discovery of Witches (1647), there are countless factual and fictional tales of witchcraft. The recent release of the film, The Last Witch Hunter, is yet another example of this cultural fascination.
But the colourful, fictional yarns often are far removed from the reality of witchfinders and the trials that the accused – mostly women – faced. And, in some cases, are much more a reflection of contemporary anxieties.
The 17th century witch trials staged in Newcastle upon Tyne, for example, offer a stark glimpse of the reality, complicating our received understanding of history as represented in film and fiction. The simple paradigm of the self-interested mercenary (witchfinder) in pursuit of the disenfranchised victim (witch) is rendered more complex by the social, political, gender, and economic contexts of the age.
In 1650, towards the end of the English Civil War and within memory of a 1636 outbreak of plague, Newcastle upon Tyne’s Puritan magistrates invited in an unnamed Scottish witchfinder. Known as the “bell-man”, he asked “all people that would bring in any complaint against any woman for a witch, they should be sent for and tried by the person appointed”.
There was also an implicit financial motive in his endeavours – for each successful prosecution, the Scottish witchfinder would receive 30 shillings, about ten times the average daily wage.
Burning at the stake was a common method of execution for convicted witches. Witch hunts were characterized by mass hysteria, scapegoating, and the belief in supernatural phenomena. The accused were often individuals who fell outside the norms of society, such as widows, the elderly, or those with unconventional beliefs or practices. Additionally, women were disproportionately targeted, reflecting the prevailing gender bias of the time. The Salem witch trials in late 17th-century Massachusetts are perhaps the most well-known examples of witch hunts in America. The mass hysteria and persecution that occurred during this time resulted in the execution of 20 individuals, primarily women, on charges of witchcraft. While witch hunting eventually declined as societies became more rational and skeptical, its legacy continues to shape our perceptions of witchcraft and the occult. The term "witch hunt" is still used today to describe unjustified persecution or the targeting of individuals based on unfounded accusations. The impact of witch hunts on communities and individuals was often devastating, leading to the loss of innocent lives and the perpetuation of fear and paranoia..
Reviews for "The Science of Witch Hunting: Examining the Beliefs and Superstitions"
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