Witch hunts have taken place all over the world throughout recorded history.

For our purposes, we focus mainly on the European and Colonial American witch hunts.

Many theories exists as to why the witch hunts ebbed and flowed in Europe throughout the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. One more recent theory attributes it to Europe experiencing what is now called “The Little Ice Age” between 1300s-1850. Changes in temperature and weather conditions would’ve caused many of the phenomena witchcraft was blamed for: Crops failing, the death of cattle and animals, severe and unpredictable weather, and of course, fatal illness. (For more information on that, check out work by Wolfgang Behringer.)

Witch pricking was real.

Professional witch hunting was real.

For more facts, check out our “Witch Not-So-Fun-Fact” with Siena D’Addario on our Instagram or YouTube channels!

To learn more history of the witch hunts, visit here.