| Description |
1 online resource (viii, 289 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates) : illustrations |
| Contents |
1. Aftermath : Salem: never again? ; The witchcraft of others ; Reporting witchcraft ; Where to find witchcraft ; A five points witch -- 2. Magic of a new land : Snakes and roots ; Witch balls ; What happened to the fairies? ; They shoot witches don't they? -- 3. The law : The squire ; Fiasco in Fentress ; Delaware witches beware ; What's in a name? ; Dealing with slander German-style ; Popular understanding -- 4. Witches : Three sorts of witch ; Doing witchcraft: lizards, bags, and dolls ; Witchcraft fantasies ; Skin shedding and shape-shifting ; The new witches -- 5. Dealing with witches : Pillow talk ; Confronting the witch ; The witch must die ; Attacking from a distance ; Warding off witchery ; Written charms ; Catholic armoury ; Bringing in the experts -- 6. Dealing with witch believers : The other Salem witch trials ; Alaska: of barbers and gunboats ; The Pennsylvania problem -- 7. Insanity : Putting it to the test ; Blame it on the roots ; Paranoia in the heat ; A danger to the public: incarcerating witch believers -- 8. Witch killings up close : Beard-stroking and friendly words: witchcraft in Sullivan County ; Big trouble at Booger Hole ; Solomon Hotema: Choctaw witch killer -- 9. Times a-changing : Reinventing witchcraft ; Finding an American heritage ; And so back to Salem |
| Summary |
Reveals how witchcraft in post-Salem America was not just a matter of scary fireside tales, Halloween legends, and superstitions: it continued to be a matter of life and death. If anything, witchcraft disputes multiplied as hundreds of thousands of immigrants poured into North America, people for whom witchcraft was still a heinous crime. Tells the story of countless murders and many other personal tragedies that resulted from accusations of witchcraft among European Americans--as well as in Native American and African American communities. For instance, the impact of this belief on Native Americans, as colonists--from Anglo-American settlers to Spanish missionaries--saw Indian medicine men as the Devil's agents, potent workers of malign magic. But also reveals that seventeenth-century Iroquois--faced with decimating, mysterious diseases--accused Jesuits of being plague-spreading witches. The book shows how different American groups shaped each other's languages and beliefs, sharing not only our positive cultural traits, but our fears and weaknesses as well |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-271) and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Witchcraft -- United States -- History -- 18th century
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Witchcraft -- United States -- History -- 19th century
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Witchcraft -- United States -- History -- 20th century
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Witch hunting -- United States -- History -- 18th century
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Witch hunting -- United States -- History -- 19th century
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Witch hunting -- United States -- History -- 20th century
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BODY, MIND & SPIRIT -- Parapsychology -- General.
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Witch hunting
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Witchcraft
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Hexenglaube
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Hexenverfolgung
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Häxor -- historia.
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Häxprocesser -- historia.
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United States
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USA
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Salem, Mass.
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| Genre/Form |
History
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dissertations.
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Academic theses.
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Thèses et écrits académiques.
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9780191625145 |
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0191625140 |
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9781299940796 |
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129994079X |
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