Witchcraft: The history and mythology

by Richard Marshall

Of course you know who Merlin was. And you know about Cinderella's fairy godmother. But did you know that Merlin was enchanted by a witch named Vivian and that Cinderlla's godmother is a red calf in the story's Scottish version? Along with these legendary characters, we have certified real witches such as Margaret Pearson, convicted of killing a horse and sentenced to four days in the pillory; and less-fortunate Elizabeth Clark, who, accused by Witch Finder General Matthew Hopkins of being visited by "familiars," was hanged. The famous Salem trials are here, along with Australia's aboriginal bone-pointing that causes the quarry to sicken and waste away. What about witches of today? We have England's Violet Firth, who battled psychical tomcats in the 1920s...King Faria, the water witch who helped people during the 1977 drought in California's Marin County...Vera Stringer, whose poltergeist burned her young son's teddy bear. Altogether, it's a scholarly and exhilarating potpourri of fact and fiction, abetted by some of the most far out photos and illustrations (many in color) you'll ever see in a book on this wild subject. Bibliography and index.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology

155 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Joeri Dassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooie plaatjes bij de teksten

[Douglas Kinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly researched and wide range of information.

[Delphina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book digressed off topic quite a bit but still found it interesting. Not a primer on witchcraft per se but mostly traces how witchcraft was viewed in Europe and America.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is so interesting to read about history and how some people believed in certain ways it was well written