What do you think?
Rate this book
How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women
Goodreads Choice Award
Winner for Readers' Favorite History & Biography (2025)
'The Witches of Scotland... profile persecuted women from the burning times. Their tales are woven by archivists, historians and writers - and by Venditozzi and Mitchell themselves, two of Scotland's most vivid storytellers.' THE TIMES
As a woman, if you lived in Scotland in the 1500s, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch. Witch hunts ripped through the country for over 150 years, with at least 4,000 accused, and with many women's fates sealed by a grizzly execution of strangulation, followed by burning.
Inspired to correct this historic injustice, campaigners and writers Claire Mitchell, KC, and Zoe Venditozzi, have delved deeply into just why the trials exploded in Scotland to such a degree. In order to understand why it happened, they have broken down the entire horrifying process, step-by-step, from identification of individuals, to their accusation, 'pricking', torture, confessions, execution and beyond.
With characteristically sharp wit and a sense of outrage, they attempt to inhabit the minds of the persecutors, often men, revealing the inner workings of exactly why the Patriarchy went to such extraordinary lengths to silence women, and how this legally sanctioned victimisation proliferated in Scotland and around the world.
With testimony from a small army of experts, pen portraits of the women accused, trial transcripts, witness accounts and the documents that set the legal grounds for the hunts, How to Kill A Witch builds to form a rich patchwork of tragic stories, helping us comprehend the underlying reasons for this terrible injustice, and raises the serious question - could it ever happen again?
As a woman, if you lived in Scotland in the 1500s, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch. Witch hunts ripped through the country for over 150 years, with at least 4,000 accused, and with many women's fates sealed by a grizzly execution of strangulation, followed by burning.
Inspired to correct this historic injustice, campaigners and writers Claire Mitchell, KC, and Zoe Venditozzi, have delved deeply into just why the trials exploded in Scotland to such a degree. In order to understand why it happened, they have broken down the entire horrifying process, step-by-step, from identification of individuals, to their accusation, 'pricking', torture, confessions, execution and beyond.
With characteristically sharp wit and a sense of outrage, they attempt to inhabit the minds of the persecutors, often men, revealing the inner workings of exactly why the Patriarchy went to such extraordinary lengths to silence women, and how this legally sanctioned victimisation proliferated in Scotland and around the world.
With testimony from a small army of experts, pen portraits of the women accused, trial transcripts, witness accounts and the documents that set the legal grounds for the hunts, How to Kill A Witch builds to form a rich patchwork of tragic stories, helping us comprehend the underlying reasons for this terrible injustice, and raises the serious question - could it ever happen again?
1 pages, Audio CD
First published May 15, 2025
1535 people are currently reading
97932 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 607 reviews
January 5, 2026
if they do another witch trials i know i'm on the list.
(reading for a substack post)
(review to come)
(reading for a substack post)
(review to come)
June 22, 2025
This book is exactly what the blurb says it's going to be, with Zoe and Claire discussing the various Scottish witch trials and their forgotten victims (who were mostly women). It's a darkly humorous read with entertaining and witty commentary, but that doesn't mean that it isn't factual or well-researched. As an American, I never learned much about witch trials in school other than what happened in Salem in 1692-93 and the vague fact that others occurred in Europe around the same time. This book was incredibly eye-opening, as I had no idea that Scotland had even had their own witch trials, much less that they were as extensive as they were. And, according to the authors, apparently Scottish pupils don't learn much more about them than we do.
How to Kill a Witch is both captivating and infuriating in equal measures. It amazes me the things that happened — and are still happening in various places around the world — in the name of religion … and in order to punish and silence “quarrelsome” women. This book tells the stories of some of the individuals who were wrongfully accused, and it also gets into the details of the processes used for dealing with "witches," from accusation to execution. The authors speak to experts in the field and those working to exonerate and memorialize the convicted, and there is much about the historical figures who allowed — and even encouraged — these trials to happen. (James VI probably should have been punted out of an airplane without a parachute … or whatever the 1500/1600s equivalent of an airplane was. A really tall tower, maybe?)
This book is horrifying and fascinating and informative and sad, and it makes me want to go learn more about the witch trials — not just those that happened in Scotland and Salem, but also those that took place elsewhere around the world. And I'm definitely going to go check out Zoe and Claire's Witches of Scotland podcast now because it sounds amazing. If you're at all interested in the history of the witch trials (or in the reasons behind them), definitely consider giving How to Kill a Witch a read.
4.8 stars, rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is September 30, 2025.
How to Kill a Witch is both captivating and infuriating in equal measures. It amazes me the things that happened — and are still happening in various places around the world — in the name of religion … and in order to punish and silence “quarrelsome” women. This book tells the stories of some of the individuals who were wrongfully accused, and it also gets into the details of the processes used for dealing with "witches," from accusation to execution. The authors speak to experts in the field and those working to exonerate and memorialize the convicted, and there is much about the historical figures who allowed — and even encouraged — these trials to happen. (James VI probably should have been punted out of an airplane without a parachute … or whatever the 1500/1600s equivalent of an airplane was. A really tall tower, maybe?)
This book is horrifying and fascinating and informative and sad, and it makes me want to go learn more about the witch trials — not just those that happened in Scotland and Salem, but also those that took place elsewhere around the world. And I'm definitely going to go check out Zoe and Claire's Witches of Scotland podcast now because it sounds amazing. If you're at all interested in the history of the witch trials (or in the reasons behind them), definitely consider giving How to Kill a Witch a read.
4.8 stars, rounded up.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is September 30, 2025.
August 8, 2025
5 stars — for the witches, the women, and the ones who wouldn’t shut up.
How to Kill a Witch by Claire Mitchell and Zoë Venditozzi is a sharp, lyrical unearthing of Scotland’s dark history — a history where thousands of (mostly) women were accused, tortured, and executed as witches. Not for spells or broomsticks, but for being too loud, too quiet, too clever, too poor, too unmarried, too inconvenient.
This book balances righteous fury with dark humor, layering facts with feeling. It’s deeply researched, utterly readable, and quietly devastating.
The authors don’t just look backward; they draw a jagged line straight to the present. You’ll come away wondering how much has really changed. The witch hunts may be over, but the suspicion, control, and silencing of women? That’s alive and well.
Being a woman today is slightly less burny, sure — but still pretty witchy.
How to Kill a Witch by Claire Mitchell and Zoë Venditozzi is a sharp, lyrical unearthing of Scotland’s dark history — a history where thousands of (mostly) women were accused, tortured, and executed as witches. Not for spells or broomsticks, but for being too loud, too quiet, too clever, too poor, too unmarried, too inconvenient.
This book balances righteous fury with dark humor, layering facts with feeling. It’s deeply researched, utterly readable, and quietly devastating.
The authors don’t just look backward; they draw a jagged line straight to the present. You’ll come away wondering how much has really changed. The witch hunts may be over, but the suspicion, control, and silencing of women? That’s alive and well.
Being a woman today is slightly less burny, sure — but still pretty witchy.
December 16, 2025
Informative, funny, shocking, heartbreaking - a triumph.
May 18, 2025
I am LOVING all my witch reads lately, whether it be fiction or fact.
Accusations of witchcraft were hugely prevalent in the 1600s in the reign of King James I. But this book brings those witchcraft trials to the present day, highlighting the underlying misogyny through the centuries.
This is a hugely readable and fascinating book, and every feminist should read it and shake their heads in outrage and disbelief.
Brilliant, and incredibly relevant and important today.
Accusations of witchcraft were hugely prevalent in the 1600s in the reign of King James I. But this book brings those witchcraft trials to the present day, highlighting the underlying misogyny through the centuries.
This is a hugely readable and fascinating book, and every feminist should read it and shake their heads in outrage and disbelief.
Brilliant, and incredibly relevant and important today.
December 18, 2025
This is wonderfully expansive and fiercely dedicated to its topic. The writing is playful but informative, managing to cover a lot of historical ground without ever being dry. It is clear that this project started as a podcast, and I say that in the most complimentary of ways. The way it reads is smooth and inviting, and wonderfully descriptive. The research they have done is impressive and far-ranging, and yet never feels out of reach for someone who has little or no prior information about this period of Scottish history. To some extent there is something remarkably simple about this, which is patriarchy (and misogyny) use whatever tools are at their disposal to perpetuate a system of power and inequality. What I especially appreciate is how they take this as the starting point and then explore how it is filtered through religious beliefs, economic distress, political unrest, and other sociological factors to bring about something both specific and yet seemingly timeless and repeated across cultures. They have a commitment to the women who were wronged and the systems that failed them, with everything emerging from that. This keeps the narrative grounded and relevant.
That said, there is a bit of repetition, as various specific cases they describe are all very similar, and they all seem to prove similar if not the same point. This again feels like a nod to their origins as a podcast, where bits of information are repeated across chapters in such a way as to make sure they stick with the audience. I was never bored, I was impressed with the research and finished the book knowing a lot more (about a very specific topic) than I did when I started. I think anyone who identifies as a feminist or who has studied any sort of feminist or gender theory will not be surprised at the larger forces at play, this does not reveal anything previously unknown about the patriarchy and its destructive role in shaping human history, but it still is an engaging bit of history that demonstrates the lived realities of those oppressive, usually unspoken systems. Importantly it does not simply remind us that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it but it shows how we have already started repeating it, here and there, and how we are not so far away from this flavor of travesty as we might like to believe.
The book is fun to read and more than sets out to achieve what it aims. Although a bit repetitive it manages to present a lot of history and theory in a way that is easily digestible and informative, and a quick read on top of that.
That said, there is a bit of repetition, as various specific cases they describe are all very similar, and they all seem to prove similar if not the same point. This again feels like a nod to their origins as a podcast, where bits of information are repeated across chapters in such a way as to make sure they stick with the audience. I was never bored, I was impressed with the research and finished the book knowing a lot more (about a very specific topic) than I did when I started. I think anyone who identifies as a feminist or who has studied any sort of feminist or gender theory will not be surprised at the larger forces at play, this does not reveal anything previously unknown about the patriarchy and its destructive role in shaping human history, but it still is an engaging bit of history that demonstrates the lived realities of those oppressive, usually unspoken systems. Importantly it does not simply remind us that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it but it shows how we have already started repeating it, here and there, and how we are not so far away from this flavor of travesty as we might like to believe.
The book is fun to read and more than sets out to achieve what it aims. Although a bit repetitive it manages to present a lot of history and theory in a way that is easily digestible and informative, and a quick read on top of that.
December 31, 2025
It was so interesting reading this so shortly after having read Shirley Jackson's The Witchcraft of Salem Village. Believe it or not, the Americans, as idiotic as they often were in their Puritan ways, were much better at acknowledging their own guilt and owning up to it! The relatively few victims of Salem's witch trial might have also been killed but their families saw justice and in the relatively near future of the trials themselves. The THOUSANDS of victims of the Scottish witch trials were only acknowledged in 2022!!! And only after an exhaustive campaign incl. the authors' podcast!
Highly interesting aside: Ireland and Wales had almost no witch trials because they knew how to combine the belief in fairies with catholicism while Scotland started believing in the devil - subsequently creating him / evil deeds themselves.
It is clear that the two (female) authors are done with men dictating life for everybody. I get why, considering what I see happening all around, but especially in Scotland. Thou shalt not suffer a woman to know her own mind and speak it! Or something like that.
Take also into consideration just how much femicide is on the rise once more, helped by at least two enormously contributing factors that I shall not name because I have no patience for bigots and idiots and will not get into a political discussion here.
Anyway, the authors make it clear that this is not a science book but I have to note that the work they have presented here is better than many scientific papers on this subject. Sure, sometimes the authors extrapolated to give a better idea of how this or that person felt during certain events (which is indeed unscientific), but they otherwise did a ton of research, and did it well (also no longer a matter of course if I look at far too many scientific papers). Thus, they debunked but also put into context some misconceptions / old beliefs of what happened during the witch trials and why (the famous "burning at the stake" that almost never actually happened, at least not while the "witch" was still alive - which doesn't make WHY the people were burnt any better once you know why it was done).
So yes, this is "another" examination of what can happen when life gets tough and people need someone to blame for their misfortune - and the rich and powerful want a new "sport" / need good propaganda material. We start with the later King James I (then still "only" James VI of Scotland), his return home after retrieving his wife, encountering bad weather and chalking it up to dark magic, resulting (ultimately) in him writing his famous book on demonology / witchcraft / devil worship. We then take a close look at what was done to the people accused of witchcraft, how many of the accused were female vs. how many were male, etc.
Allison was questioned and tortured for two days by the Earls's close associate, Henry Colville of Orphir, who was an ordained minister. The treatment Allison experienced was absolutely hideous. Not least, because after 48 hours with no result, her husband and small children were also brought in and brutally tortured in front of her. It's hard to imagine a man of the cloth instigating and directing these actions, ...
At this point I had to pause the audiobook because I was laughing and cackling so loudly, I couldn't hear the author reading to me anymore. He's a priest! Of course I have NO PROBLEM imagining this!!! Have you girls been paying attention?!
The descriptions of what was done to the people, even if the torture wasn't in any way sexual (which it often was), were absolutely horrific and a prime example of just how depraved supposedly good people can be. Urgh! However, it went beyond that. It was how meticulously fake news was spread, competition was eliminated, power shifted in someone's favor or away from them etc. And the bureaucracy! *bangs head against the wall*
Moreover, the writing style was wonderful! Mitchell and Venditozzi found a way to bring history to life. Sure, this topic is riveting (depending on your personal taste) but you could feel their passion for the subject in every line. And while some might call at least some of the footnotes "too frivolous" ... well, this isn't a scientific paper. *sticks out tongue* I, personally, LOVED the commentary the footnotes provided!
Anyway, a truly riveting book about a fascinating topic and fantastically written with just the right amount of modern-day "witchcraft". I liked it so much, I'll buy the print version!
Highly interesting aside: Ireland and Wales had almost no witch trials because they knew how to combine the belief in fairies with catholicism while Scotland started believing in the devil - subsequently creating him / evil deeds themselves.
It is clear that the two (female) authors are done with men dictating life for everybody. I get why, considering what I see happening all around, but especially in Scotland. Thou shalt not suffer a woman to know her own mind and speak it! Or something like that.
Take also into consideration just how much femicide is on the rise once more, helped by at least two enormously contributing factors that I shall not name because I have no patience for bigots and idiots and will not get into a political discussion here.
Anyway, the authors make it clear that this is not a science book but I have to note that the work they have presented here is better than many scientific papers on this subject. Sure, sometimes the authors extrapolated to give a better idea of how this or that person felt during certain events (which is indeed unscientific), but they otherwise did a ton of research, and did it well (also no longer a matter of course if I look at far too many scientific papers). Thus, they debunked but also put into context some misconceptions / old beliefs of what happened during the witch trials and why (the famous "burning at the stake" that almost never actually happened, at least not while the "witch" was still alive - which doesn't make WHY the people were burnt any better once you know why it was done).
So yes, this is "another" examination of what can happen when life gets tough and people need someone to blame for their misfortune - and the rich and powerful want a new "sport" / need good propaganda material. We start with the later King James I (then still "only" James VI of Scotland), his return home after retrieving his wife, encountering bad weather and chalking it up to dark magic, resulting (ultimately) in him writing his famous book on demonology / witchcraft / devil worship. We then take a close look at what was done to the people accused of witchcraft, how many of the accused were female vs. how many were male, etc.
Allison was questioned and tortured for two days by the Earls's close associate, Henry Colville of Orphir, who was an ordained minister. The treatment Allison experienced was absolutely hideous. Not least, because after 48 hours with no result, her husband and small children were also brought in and brutally tortured in front of her. It's hard to imagine a man of the cloth instigating and directing these actions, ...
At this point I had to pause the audiobook because I was laughing and cackling so loudly, I couldn't hear the author reading to me anymore. He's a priest! Of course I have NO PROBLEM imagining this!!! Have you girls been paying attention?!
The descriptions of what was done to the people, even if the torture wasn't in any way sexual (which it often was), were absolutely horrific and a prime example of just how depraved supposedly good people can be. Urgh! However, it went beyond that. It was how meticulously fake news was spread, competition was eliminated, power shifted in someone's favor or away from them etc. And the bureaucracy! *bangs head against the wall*
Moreover, the writing style was wonderful! Mitchell and Venditozzi found a way to bring history to life. Sure, this topic is riveting (depending on your personal taste) but you could feel their passion for the subject in every line. And while some might call at least some of the footnotes "too frivolous" ... well, this isn't a scientific paper. *sticks out tongue* I, personally, LOVED the commentary the footnotes provided!
Anyway, a truly riveting book about a fascinating topic and fantastically written with just the right amount of modern-day "witchcraft". I liked it so much, I'll buy the print version!
January 7, 2026
The patriarchy should be glad that women want equality and not revenge.
The church and christians are responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering -- particularly in regards to women. You know because of Eve, and the original sin. Fairy tales can be very dangerous. Even more so when condoned by a king. James I/VI (yes, THAT King James) wrote a book about witches and with that, the fate of thousands of women in Scotland was sealed. Some were executed because of the travesty of giving pain relief to women in labor. That is what women must suffer because of Eve.
So little is known about the horrific end of any quarrelsome, opinionated or simply unlucky woman in Scotland that many think of Salem in the United States when they hear "witch trials". In fact, only 20 people were executed in Salem as witches, and the community quite quickly realized the error of their ways. Europe killed witches for hundreds of years, the mid 1600's being the worst. Most witches in Scotland were not burned alive. However, they were tortured and then strangled and their corpses were burned so that the devil would not reanimate them.
You gasp and think that "those were the old days" and that "could never happen again". Really? In every time of hardship vulnerable groups are targeted. A false enemy is created as a scapegoat so that people don't rise against the true oppressors (the rich and powerful). The world is fraught with this and women's voices are being culled worse than ever.
It's more than ten years since I blocked comments by non-friends on Goodreads although this site is not as plagued by trolls and keyboard warriors as others. I am a woman, I have opinions, and thus my credibility must be destroyed. For now, we're not being killed for them, but certainly some parts of the Western world is moving rapidly in a direction where the majority opinion cannot be criticized or opposed without serious ramifications.
We need to remember history, and learn from it so that we do not repeat mistakes of the past. Humans have not advanced as much in our natures as the technology we use has.
The church and christians are responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering -- particularly in regards to women. You know because of Eve, and the original sin. Fairy tales can be very dangerous. Even more so when condoned by a king. James I/VI (yes, THAT King James) wrote a book about witches and with that, the fate of thousands of women in Scotland was sealed. Some were executed because of the travesty of giving pain relief to women in labor. That is what women must suffer because of Eve.
So little is known about the horrific end of any quarrelsome, opinionated or simply unlucky woman in Scotland that many think of Salem in the United States when they hear "witch trials". In fact, only 20 people were executed in Salem as witches, and the community quite quickly realized the error of their ways. Europe killed witches for hundreds of years, the mid 1600's being the worst. Most witches in Scotland were not burned alive. However, they were tortured and then strangled and their corpses were burned so that the devil would not reanimate them.
You gasp and think that "those were the old days" and that "could never happen again". Really? In every time of hardship vulnerable groups are targeted. A false enemy is created as a scapegoat so that people don't rise against the true oppressors (the rich and powerful). The world is fraught with this and women's voices are being culled worse than ever.
It's more than ten years since I blocked comments by non-friends on Goodreads although this site is not as plagued by trolls and keyboard warriors as others. I am a woman, I have opinions, and thus my credibility must be destroyed. For now, we're not being killed for them, but certainly some parts of the Western world is moving rapidly in a direction where the majority opinion cannot be criticized or opposed without serious ramifications.
We need to remember history, and learn from it so that we do not repeat mistakes of the past. Humans have not advanced as much in our natures as the technology we use has.
January 1, 2026
How to Kill a Witch by Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi is a gripping true-crime book that delves into the history and mystery of witchcraft accusations in Scotland. The authors follow real cases which include the trial of Issobell Pringle and use them to explore how fear, superstition, and power worked together to destroy lives. It’s well-researched but doesn’t feel dry, and it really brings the past to life. If you like history with real human stories and a bit of mystery, this book is a good one.
July 15, 2025
I love the subject and I love the authors. However, the book felt disorganized and didn't flow as well as I expected, and I thought the use of an AI-generated artwork to accompany one of the accused women's stories was just bizarre.
I do really appreciate the campaign to get the accused people's names out and to remember them as victims of an oppressive system.
I do really appreciate the campaign to get the accused people's names out and to remember them as victims of an oppressive system.
January 17, 2026
Split opinion on this one…
Easily one of the more accessible nonfiction history books I’ve read, this book had a keen focus on Scottish witch trial history that included details I had yet to read in another. Structured as a satirical guide, it was an interesting approach displaying the full extent of the witch trial process. I enjoyed the tour it took us on, and it’s fuelled a need to research all the more.
But I couldn’t help feel that by the end, the point was lost a little- or rather, a point was forced in order to wrap it up. I also found the satire a touch on the nose at times, with unnecessary footnotes either with snarky comments that didn’t land or over-explaining concepts in a somewhat condescending way. And as a random aside, nothing was quite so jarring as the inclusion of AI art not only used but enthusiastically praised - this was pretty disappointing to see right towards the end, especially given there is an abundance of material that could’ve been used instead.
Easily one of the more accessible nonfiction history books I’ve read, this book had a keen focus on Scottish witch trial history that included details I had yet to read in another. Structured as a satirical guide, it was an interesting approach displaying the full extent of the witch trial process. I enjoyed the tour it took us on, and it’s fuelled a need to research all the more.
But I couldn’t help feel that by the end, the point was lost a little- or rather, a point was forced in order to wrap it up. I also found the satire a touch on the nose at times, with unnecessary footnotes either with snarky comments that didn’t land or over-explaining concepts in a somewhat condescending way. And as a random aside, nothing was quite so jarring as the inclusion of AI art not only used but enthusiastically praised - this was pretty disappointing to see right towards the end, especially given there is an abundance of material that could’ve been used instead.
December 14, 2025
Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell’s “How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women” is a fascinating book that looks at how women were (and continue to be) used as scapegoats by society. I especially love their tongue-in-cheek comments included in footnotes.
This is a well-written book based on facts and one that everyone needs to pay attention to. Even the details on how women were executed—and what they experienced during the execution and preceding torture were included, not just for gory reasons but as lessons for the present day and future..
People in the past, in the present, and will no doubt do so in the future, level accusations of witchcraft against someone in the same manner that accusations against diaspora Jews are also made. Why? Because people are **always** looking for a scapegoat for their own (mis)behaviors and misfortunes, and organized religion is a convenient vehicle for this.
It seems that the authors unwittingly allowed one of their resources, Leo, to do the same in this book—and without pushback—when he claimed that “…Western anthropologists…” (p. 241) were responsible for the modern-day scourge of witchcraft trials in Africa.
Despite being an anthropologist myself, I have absolutely no affinity with the vast majority of other professionals in my field. The field itself has had (and still has) numerous problems—no different than any other academic field. That said, when something smells like bullshit, I have to call it out.
It appeared that the authors were clearly aware of Leo’s scapegoating because they included an African billboard featuring an evangelical pastor’s revival titled, “That Witch Must Die” (p. 239). I only wish that the authors would have included a **textual** refutal in addition to a pictorial one. Yet when discussing the crimes, including murder, against albinos in Africa, the authors state that,
“…Superstition, hatred, and crime around albinism are live issues in twenty-seven countries across sub-Saharan Africa…” (p. 247).
And just after this example, they highlight the abuse of children in the UK, claiming that,
“…Certain churches perpetuate beliefs around witchcraft. They wouldn’t necessarily term it ‘witchcraft,’ but perhaps they would call it ‘ritual cleansing’ because they consider people to be cursed.” These churches, much like in Scotland during the witch trials, think they are doing God’s work, but we know their actions lead to harm when vulnerable people can’t defend themselves…” (p. 248).
So even though I’m not a cheerleader for anthropology, I wish that the authors had addressed Leo’s comments more forcefully and analyzed them more critically. This very minor detail is the only mishap that I could find. I absolutely recommend this book to everyone!
This is a well-written book based on facts and one that everyone needs to pay attention to. Even the details on how women were executed—and what they experienced during the execution and preceding torture were included, not just for gory reasons but as lessons for the present day and future..
People in the past, in the present, and will no doubt do so in the future, level accusations of witchcraft against someone in the same manner that accusations against diaspora Jews are also made. Why? Because people are **always** looking for a scapegoat for their own (mis)behaviors and misfortunes, and organized religion is a convenient vehicle for this.
It seems that the authors unwittingly allowed one of their resources, Leo, to do the same in this book—and without pushback—when he claimed that “…Western anthropologists…” (p. 241) were responsible for the modern-day scourge of witchcraft trials in Africa.
Despite being an anthropologist myself, I have absolutely no affinity with the vast majority of other professionals in my field. The field itself has had (and still has) numerous problems—no different than any other academic field. That said, when something smells like bullshit, I have to call it out.
It appeared that the authors were clearly aware of Leo’s scapegoating because they included an African billboard featuring an evangelical pastor’s revival titled, “That Witch Must Die” (p. 239). I only wish that the authors would have included a **textual** refutal in addition to a pictorial one. Yet when discussing the crimes, including murder, against albinos in Africa, the authors state that,
“…Superstition, hatred, and crime around albinism are live issues in twenty-seven countries across sub-Saharan Africa…” (p. 247).
And just after this example, they highlight the abuse of children in the UK, claiming that,
“…Certain churches perpetuate beliefs around witchcraft. They wouldn’t necessarily term it ‘witchcraft,’ but perhaps they would call it ‘ritual cleansing’ because they consider people to be cursed.” These churches, much like in Scotland during the witch trials, think they are doing God’s work, but we know their actions lead to harm when vulnerable people can’t defend themselves…” (p. 248).
So even though I’m not a cheerleader for anthropology, I wish that the authors had addressed Leo’s comments more forcefully and analyzed them more critically. This very minor detail is the only mishap that I could find. I absolutely recommend this book to everyone!
December 28, 2025
When I saw this, I knew I had to read it. So I borrowed it from Libby, downloaded it to my kindle… and started drowning in unnecessary and overused footnotes. To the point where I dreaded picking this book back up so much that I had to renew my loan, and the excessive amount of footnotes ended up being what I remember most from the book. And that’s not ideal.
And look, I love a well-used footnote. A sporadically used humorous quip, or relevant fact, or statistic, or additional context, all of those things definitely have their place in footnotes. When used sparingly. But these were not used sparingly. These were used excessively, unnecessarily, and incessantly. Most of them could have easily been, and SHOULD have been, incorporated into the main text. If the context of your footnote is necessary for the understanding of the point being made, it should be in the text. If it is supplemental, then you must ask yourself if it is actually necessary to include it, and again, can it be included IN THE TEXT, or does it really need to be a footnote?
Footnotes interrupt the flow of reading. They barge in, all “LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW!” and it’s unpleasant. On the kindle, at least it’s relatively easy to click the number, read it, close the box, resume reading. But in a print book, I’d have to find the end of the chapter, or the section of footnotes, find the relevant one, read it, and then go back to my reading. You can’t trust to leave footnotes to the end, because if it’s directly pertaining to the text where it is, it won’t make sense to read it separate from that. (I KNOW THIS. I TRIED.)
Some of them were footnotes of things like “Yeah. Sorry.”
IS THAT NECESSARY? IS THAT NECESSARY TO FOOTNOTE?? You couldn’t throw in a parenthetical?
So many examples were just… pointless. I click the number, read the inane comment that added nothing, have to close the footnote box, and then FUME at the pointlessness of that note interrupting the flow of the paragraph that I was previously enjoying, and now have to try to recover my previous zone to get back to. With a bit more irritability because I know it will happen again almost immediately, and I know that THIS time, it might be useful info, so I’ll click the damn thing AGAIN.
I am not familiar with these authors or their podcast - maybe if I had been, the constant asides and commentary wouldn’t have felt so jarring and invasive. Maybe this is their style. But no thank you.
By the end, hundreds of footnotes deep, I had become convinced that footnotes are a tool of the devil, and proof of witchcraft. KILL IT WITH FIRE!
I wish I had as much to say about the rest of the book. I took hundreds of notes (though most were, admittedly, of the “WHY IS THIS A FOOTNOTE??” variety), but some were about the actual content of the book. I recall there being a few claims or assumptions or statements that they made that I felt were not supported by the evidence they’d presented, but I don’t remember specifically what they were at this point, and for some reason, the notes export that I emailed myself from Kindle won’t open, so it’ll just be a mystery, I guess.
I did learn some surprising facts from this, namely that there was more actual official due process (of a sort) than I thought that there was, and that far fewer women were tried as witches than I’d have thought. I mean, any amount is still too many, but I would have guessed the number to be much, much higher than they represent.
I also liked the modern day sections, and the section pertaining to witchcraft in Africa. I found that to be interesting and frightening at the same time, but I did like that there are people trying to do something to help counter superstition and fear.
Overall, had this not been a minefield of footnotes, I probably would be rating this higher. But the reading experience was just really unpleasant, and I just can’t justify giving it more stars. Even 3 feels generous, but I don’t think it’d be fair to rate it THAT low because of footnotes.
THIS TIME. >_>
And look, I love a well-used footnote. A sporadically used humorous quip, or relevant fact, or statistic, or additional context, all of those things definitely have their place in footnotes. When used sparingly. But these were not used sparingly. These were used excessively, unnecessarily, and incessantly. Most of them could have easily been, and SHOULD have been, incorporated into the main text. If the context of your footnote is necessary for the understanding of the point being made, it should be in the text. If it is supplemental, then you must ask yourself if it is actually necessary to include it, and again, can it be included IN THE TEXT, or does it really need to be a footnote?
Footnotes interrupt the flow of reading. They barge in, all “LOOK AT ME RIGHT NOW!” and it’s unpleasant. On the kindle, at least it’s relatively easy to click the number, read it, close the box, resume reading. But in a print book, I’d have to find the end of the chapter, or the section of footnotes, find the relevant one, read it, and then go back to my reading. You can’t trust to leave footnotes to the end, because if it’s directly pertaining to the text where it is, it won’t make sense to read it separate from that. (I KNOW THIS. I TRIED.)
Some of them were footnotes of things like “Yeah. Sorry.”
IS THAT NECESSARY? IS THAT NECESSARY TO FOOTNOTE?? You couldn’t throw in a parenthetical?
So many examples were just… pointless. I click the number, read the inane comment that added nothing, have to close the footnote box, and then FUME at the pointlessness of that note interrupting the flow of the paragraph that I was previously enjoying, and now have to try to recover my previous zone to get back to. With a bit more irritability because I know it will happen again almost immediately, and I know that THIS time, it might be useful info, so I’ll click the damn thing AGAIN.
I am not familiar with these authors or their podcast - maybe if I had been, the constant asides and commentary wouldn’t have felt so jarring and invasive. Maybe this is their style. But no thank you.
By the end, hundreds of footnotes deep, I had become convinced that footnotes are a tool of the devil, and proof of witchcraft. KILL IT WITH FIRE!
I wish I had as much to say about the rest of the book. I took hundreds of notes (though most were, admittedly, of the “WHY IS THIS A FOOTNOTE??” variety), but some were about the actual content of the book. I recall there being a few claims or assumptions or statements that they made that I felt were not supported by the evidence they’d presented, but I don’t remember specifically what they were at this point, and for some reason, the notes export that I emailed myself from Kindle won’t open, so it’ll just be a mystery, I guess.
I did learn some surprising facts from this, namely that there was more actual official due process (of a sort) than I thought that there was, and that far fewer women were tried as witches than I’d have thought. I mean, any amount is still too many, but I would have guessed the number to be much, much higher than they represent.
I also liked the modern day sections, and the section pertaining to witchcraft in Africa. I found that to be interesting and frightening at the same time, but I did like that there are people trying to do something to help counter superstition and fear.
Overall, had this not been a minefield of footnotes, I probably would be rating this higher. But the reading experience was just really unpleasant, and I just can’t justify giving it more stars. Even 3 feels generous, but I don’t think it’d be fair to rate it THAT low because of footnotes.
THIS TIME. >_>
January 3, 2026
4.5 Stars
As much as I hate our current timeline, I suppose I am grateful to not have been alive during the witch trials in England (where my father's family is from), Scotland (where my mother's family is from), or the US. As I happen to be opinionated, independent, occasionally mouthy, and I have no love for religion, I imagine my fate would not have been a death of old age. Perhaps 16th/17th century me would have been different? Honestly I hope not. But I digress.
For so much of history, women have been scapegoated for all sorts of things - men not feeling enough lust, men feeling too much lust, people falling ill, people that were ill feeling better, crops doing well, crops doing poorly, storms, drought, etc. Even now, women are still far too often blamed for the actions of men. It's almost as if it wasn't about the events, but about punishing women and keeping them in line. And yes, there were some men that were tried and executed as witches or sympathizers, but the vast majority of victims were - and still are - women.
Those in power - even today - be it in religion or politics, too often use the most vulnerable as a scapegoat to gain or keep power and to keep everyone else in line so that they don't look too hard at the real reasons life is difficult. We still see it today in the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and immigrants. We see it in the weaponized beliefs of conservative religious congregations - that also bleed into conservative politics. The powerful seem to always need an enemy and people are often easily manipulated when pointed toward one.
I wish I could look around and say that events like the witch trials couldn't happen in modern times, but not only are (still mostly) women murdered after being accused of witchcraft in some places in the world even today, but I remember all too well the Satanic panic of the 1980's and 1990's, here in the US. People might not have been burned at the stake, but too many lives were ruined by unsubstantiated accusations based on nothing more than supposedly recovered "repressed memories". How is that any different than using "spectral evidence" to determine the guilt of those accused of witchcraft (Salem, MA)?
Times have changed, and yet...
I found How to Kill a Witch interesting, thought provoking, and still too relevant for comfort.
And when will men figure out that the patriarchy hurts them, too?
"No matter how terrible, history must be learned from and remembered."
As much as I hate our current timeline, I suppose I am grateful to not have been alive during the witch trials in England (where my father's family is from), Scotland (where my mother's family is from), or the US. As I happen to be opinionated, independent, occasionally mouthy, and I have no love for religion, I imagine my fate would not have been a death of old age. Perhaps 16th/17th century me would have been different? Honestly I hope not. But I digress.
For so much of history, women have been scapegoated for all sorts of things - men not feeling enough lust, men feeling too much lust, people falling ill, people that were ill feeling better, crops doing well, crops doing poorly, storms, drought, etc. Even now, women are still far too often blamed for the actions of men. It's almost as if it wasn't about the events, but about punishing women and keeping them in line. And yes, there were some men that were tried and executed as witches or sympathizers, but the vast majority of victims were - and still are - women.
Those in power - even today - be it in religion or politics, too often use the most vulnerable as a scapegoat to gain or keep power and to keep everyone else in line so that they don't look too hard at the real reasons life is difficult. We still see it today in the treatment of women, LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and immigrants. We see it in the weaponized beliefs of conservative religious congregations - that also bleed into conservative politics. The powerful seem to always need an enemy and people are often easily manipulated when pointed toward one.
I wish I could look around and say that events like the witch trials couldn't happen in modern times, but not only are (still mostly) women murdered after being accused of witchcraft in some places in the world even today, but I remember all too well the Satanic panic of the 1980's and 1990's, here in the US. People might not have been burned at the stake, but too many lives were ruined by unsubstantiated accusations based on nothing more than supposedly recovered "repressed memories". How is that any different than using "spectral evidence" to determine the guilt of those accused of witchcraft (Salem, MA)?
Times have changed, and yet...
I found How to Kill a Witch interesting, thought provoking, and still too relevant for comfort.
And when will men figure out that the patriarchy hurts them, too?
July 29, 2025
This is such an important project and book. The intentions and the already achieved results (for example the public and official apology, the gathering of information, etc.) are commendable and impressive. It's also lovely that this edition has the cover with their tartan.
However, for me personally, the writing style greatly undermines the overall quality of the content. I’ve learned that it’s possible to hold somebody in very high esteem, have great respect for their work but still not like the work itself.
The writing is, to my taste, often rather unsophisticated and very immature, riddled with childish things likecrossings out and correcting them, writing (we jest) after a sentence or footnotes that don't give information but are only a joke. Three examples of those ‘funny’ footnotes:
- ‘It appears that the patriarchy is doing well in hell, what with the only man getting the desk job.’
- Under a text about attaching each part of a cat to the chieftest part of a dead man: ‘If the chieftest part of a man is what we are imagining it is, that must have been pretty hard to attach.’
- After describing that the version of Daemonology intended for London was a little fancier, saying ‘no doubt to suit the more refined tastes of a metropolitan London audience’, there’s the footnote: ‘Plus ça change, eh?’ Not so not unnecessary and immature, but also untrue. The second edition was published when James, the author, became king, and after the first edition already has success. A slightly fancier version suited the occasion and success. Also, why, if you want to make that joke, does it need to be a footnote? You can just put that as a new sentence.
There are many like that, and they’re all unnecessary and often unfunny.
There are many footnotes in general. Even if they do contain helpful information, nine out of ten times they could have just been added to the main text. This many footnotes makes the pages look messy, in my opinion.
The writing style is very informal, which I sometimes found off-putting and amateuristic. I'm not talking about a bit of humour being inappropriate for the subject; I love me some dark humour and I don't see that as disrespectful. It wasn't that. It's more that feeling that they write how they talk and that sometimes and partially works, but not always. And also that it's a bit over the top, a bit of a 'look how funny we are' vibe with the reader going 'o.k., boomer...' (they're not boomers, I know, and I am their age, but I'm just describing that cringy feeling. Hard to explain. As an example, here are the four last sentences of the chapter in which it is explained that magic in those days was considered fact. ‘The belief in magic, then, real as it was, did not cause the bloody horror of the witchcraft trials. The causes of those? Oh, they were very much man-made. Let us explain…’ I find this style, with the question, the oh and the three dots almost physically irksome. Something similar is the last sentence of a paragraph explaining how king James argues that witches exist. ‘OK, witches are real. What next?’ is the sentence before the next chapter. It’s a style that strikes me as what a 15-year-old aspiring writer would do in their naive enthusiasm, not two women even slightly older than I am.
I think one aspect of an editor’s job is to see if the writer uses the same words or phrases too often. Clearly, this editor was fine with them writing that somebody ‘had no truck with’ something seemingly every other page.
We are already informed in the introduction that there are short fiction chapters in the book, written to set the mood. The book doesn’t need those. The facts are already more than enough to set the mood and to use fiction undermines the factual narrative, even though the fiction passages are clearly marked as such. I tried reading two and stopped reading them after that, unless it said that it was mostly actual quotes. For me, making things up to set the mood doesn't go with trying to uncover as many facts as we can.
Truly rude I found how they describe the Bodlean and National Library of Scotland, writing in a derogatory way about how they couldn’t enjoy the view because of blinds protecting the book from ‘dangerous sunshine’ and how the air conditioning was checked by the librarian ‘presumably so the books didn’t spontaneously overheat and burst into flames.’ Why this disrespectful, derogatory nastiness? And so utterly ignorant too.
The build-up of chapters, the structure, somehow doesn't flow. I see what they tried to do - go through every step of the process chronologically. In theory, that should work well but in this case, it really doesn't.
The chosen font, the main one but especially the chapter headers, adds to the book feeling very unserious and gimmicky.
There are many possible illustrations for this topic. But if you want to raise awareness about the facts, then stick to the facts, and don't use ai-created imagery!
Overall, I think that even though the subject matter appeals to a very broad demographic, as it should, and even though many different kinds of people will buy it, only the swooning Outlander crowd will stick around after reading. You can see that in many comments on social media. People messing up facts, idealising the times, etc. People claiming they have not one, but two witches in their ancestry, completely missing the whole point of witches not existing and seemingly too thick to realise that ancestry cannot be traced in any of the known cases. People talking about what lovely dresses witches must've had or that they'd love to have the same herb gardens as 'those healers'. People thinking the Witches of Scotland tartan originated in that time... I even stopped following the Instagram account after too much eyerolling. You even see some of those kinds of things in some of the reviews here. Anyway, my point is - that seems almost the sole demographic they appeal to and, unfortunately, I get that, given how the authors come across in their writing and media. Unfortunately too, I think hardly any man will read it; as a woman, these women make me go "Ah no, don't be like that, you're actually perpetuating the stereotype that most women want to be rid of", so I would fully understand most men rolling their eyes and/or being miffed that even though the authors say they stick to the facts, they're also maintaining the 'all men are tw*ts' vibe.
It happens sometimes, with great causes, that I think: “I wish somebody else was fronting this organisation/talk/march/press conference, as this person, even though I agree with every word, is the type of person that will only annoy rather than engage the intended demographic, or confirm their prejudice or dislike.” That’s what I feel here too.
However, for me personally, the writing style greatly undermines the overall quality of the content. I’ve learned that it’s possible to hold somebody in very high esteem, have great respect for their work but still not like the work itself.
The writing is, to my taste, often rather unsophisticated and very immature, riddled with childish things like
- ‘It appears that the patriarchy is doing well in hell, what with the only man getting the desk job.’
- Under a text about attaching each part of a cat to the chieftest part of a dead man: ‘If the chieftest part of a man is what we are imagining it is, that must have been pretty hard to attach.’
- After describing that the version of Daemonology intended for London was a little fancier, saying ‘no doubt to suit the more refined tastes of a metropolitan London audience’, there’s the footnote: ‘Plus ça change, eh?’ Not so not unnecessary and immature, but also untrue. The second edition was published when James, the author, became king, and after the first edition already has success. A slightly fancier version suited the occasion and success. Also, why, if you want to make that joke, does it need to be a footnote? You can just put that as a new sentence.
There are many like that, and they’re all unnecessary and often unfunny.
There are many footnotes in general. Even if they do contain helpful information, nine out of ten times they could have just been added to the main text. This many footnotes makes the pages look messy, in my opinion.
The writing style is very informal, which I sometimes found off-putting and amateuristic. I'm not talking about a bit of humour being inappropriate for the subject; I love me some dark humour and I don't see that as disrespectful. It wasn't that. It's more that feeling that they write how they talk and that sometimes and partially works, but not always. And also that it's a bit over the top, a bit of a 'look how funny we are' vibe with the reader going 'o.k., boomer...' (they're not boomers, I know, and I am their age, but I'm just describing that cringy feeling. Hard to explain. As an example, here are the four last sentences of the chapter in which it is explained that magic in those days was considered fact. ‘The belief in magic, then, real as it was, did not cause the bloody horror of the witchcraft trials. The causes of those? Oh, they were very much man-made. Let us explain…’ I find this style, with the question, the oh and the three dots almost physically irksome. Something similar is the last sentence of a paragraph explaining how king James argues that witches exist. ‘OK, witches are real. What next?’ is the sentence before the next chapter. It’s a style that strikes me as what a 15-year-old aspiring writer would do in their naive enthusiasm, not two women even slightly older than I am.
I think one aspect of an editor’s job is to see if the writer uses the same words or phrases too often. Clearly, this editor was fine with them writing that somebody ‘had no truck with’ something seemingly every other page.
We are already informed in the introduction that there are short fiction chapters in the book, written to set the mood. The book doesn’t need those. The facts are already more than enough to set the mood and to use fiction undermines the factual narrative, even though the fiction passages are clearly marked as such. I tried reading two and stopped reading them after that, unless it said that it was mostly actual quotes. For me, making things up to set the mood doesn't go with trying to uncover as many facts as we can.
Truly rude I found how they describe the Bodlean and National Library of Scotland, writing in a derogatory way about how they couldn’t enjoy the view because of blinds protecting the book from ‘dangerous sunshine’ and how the air conditioning was checked by the librarian ‘presumably so the books didn’t spontaneously overheat and burst into flames.’ Why this disrespectful, derogatory nastiness? And so utterly ignorant too.
The build-up of chapters, the structure, somehow doesn't flow. I see what they tried to do - go through every step of the process chronologically. In theory, that should work well but in this case, it really doesn't.
The chosen font, the main one but especially the chapter headers, adds to the book feeling very unserious and gimmicky.
There are many possible illustrations for this topic. But if you want to raise awareness about the facts, then stick to the facts, and don't use ai-created imagery!
Overall, I think that even though the subject matter appeals to a very broad demographic, as it should, and even though many different kinds of people will buy it, only the swooning Outlander crowd will stick around after reading. You can see that in many comments on social media. People messing up facts, idealising the times, etc. People claiming they have not one, but two witches in their ancestry, completely missing the whole point of witches not existing and seemingly too thick to realise that ancestry cannot be traced in any of the known cases. People talking about what lovely dresses witches must've had or that they'd love to have the same herb gardens as 'those healers'. People thinking the Witches of Scotland tartan originated in that time... I even stopped following the Instagram account after too much eyerolling. You even see some of those kinds of things in some of the reviews here. Anyway, my point is - that seems almost the sole demographic they appeal to and, unfortunately, I get that, given how the authors come across in their writing and media. Unfortunately too, I think hardly any man will read it; as a woman, these women make me go "Ah no, don't be like that, you're actually perpetuating the stereotype that most women want to be rid of", so I would fully understand most men rolling their eyes and/or being miffed that even though the authors say they stick to the facts, they're also maintaining the 'all men are tw*ts' vibe.
It happens sometimes, with great causes, that I think: “I wish somebody else was fronting this organisation/talk/march/press conference, as this person, even though I agree with every word, is the type of person that will only annoy rather than engage the intended demographic, or confirm their prejudice or dislike.” That’s what I feel here too.
December 16, 2025
*audiobook
October 19, 2025
I wanted to like this more, but it’s pretty obviously written by podcasters, and the writing suffers for it. For example, over half of the footnotes were their own snarky comments, which I think should’ve been inserted parenthetically. To have a non-fiction book have annotations that are not somehow clarifying the material is weird and jarring and feels more like a high school senior thesis paper than a thoughtful non-fiction dissection of an important topic. There were three or four things like this that were recurrent, and it was jarring enough to detract from the experience.
The material is good. The organization is not. The chapter headings are virtually meaningless, really it’s just story after story of people accused of witchcraft. And that part is awesome! Their whole argument for women being treated poorly by men is very thoughtfully organized and I appreciated that. The book structure itself though was weird and offputting. I often got to the end of the chapter and wondered why they hadn’t addressed the titular piece of material. Weird. Editor oh editor, where have you been?
They conclude with an argument about how things are not better for women than they were then. Really? Is that the conclusion? I won’t bother to give examples, I imagine people who disagree with me on this point will disagree no matter what I say. Let me just say this: I have a beautiful wife of 20 years and eight beautiful daughters. Of the myriad generations in which they could have been born, I am so grateful it is now. They have goals, aspirations, potential, and opportunities. Although I think there are huge disadvantages to being female in our society, I do think it’s better than it’s ever been, and continues to improve.
The material is good. The organization is not. The chapter headings are virtually meaningless, really it’s just story after story of people accused of witchcraft. And that part is awesome! Their whole argument for women being treated poorly by men is very thoughtfully organized and I appreciated that. The book structure itself though was weird and offputting. I often got to the end of the chapter and wondered why they hadn’t addressed the titular piece of material. Weird. Editor oh editor, where have you been?
They conclude with an argument about how things are not better for women than they were then. Really? Is that the conclusion? I won’t bother to give examples, I imagine people who disagree with me on this point will disagree no matter what I say. Let me just say this: I have a beautiful wife of 20 years and eight beautiful daughters. Of the myriad generations in which they could have been born, I am so grateful it is now. They have goals, aspirations, potential, and opportunities. Although I think there are huge disadvantages to being female in our society, I do think it’s better than it’s ever been, and continues to improve.
December 21, 2025
Most people, myself included, especially in the United States, know about the Salem witch trials, but far fewer are aware that Scotland carried out witch hunts on a much larger scale. From the late 1500s through the 1600s, Scottish law treated witchcraft as a capital crime, and thousands, mostly women, were accused and executed. Backed by King James VI after cases like the North Berwick trials, these persecutions lasted far longer and were deadlier than the brief outbreak at Salem, Massachusetts.
I enjoyed How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women because it refuses to treat the witch hunts in Scotland as superstition and instead exposes them as a deliberate system of control. The book is at its strongest when it shows how manuals like the Malleus Maleficarum didn’t just justify violence but taught authorities how to manufacture guilt. Then turning midwives, outspoken women, and the socially inconvenient into “witches.” The author(s) make a convincing case that accusations were less about magic and more about policing behavior, sexuality, and independence.
Although repetitive at times and that it read more like a podcast than a book - the book stands as a memorial to the victims of witch hunts, honoring their lives by ensuring they are remembered with empathy rather than fear.
"The Salem witch trials were very important, but they're a tiny, tiny blip in the history of witchcraft," said Rachel Christ-Doane, the director of education for the Salem Witch Museum. "It's really surprising how there's a lack of historical interpretation of these events. There's a lack of memorialization, really, across Europe. There are some places, but it doesn't seem to be memorialized the way it should be, which is really fascinating, especially in an area like Scotland, where so many people were executed. It was so much more violent than Salem. There should be memorials all over the place. The names should be recognized. This is something that's so relevant today. It's very much important for us to learn about now."
I enjoyed How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women because it refuses to treat the witch hunts in Scotland as superstition and instead exposes them as a deliberate system of control. The book is at its strongest when it shows how manuals like the Malleus Maleficarum didn’t just justify violence but taught authorities how to manufacture guilt. Then turning midwives, outspoken women, and the socially inconvenient into “witches.” The author(s) make a convincing case that accusations were less about magic and more about policing behavior, sexuality, and independence.
Although repetitive at times and that it read more like a podcast than a book - the book stands as a memorial to the victims of witch hunts, honoring their lives by ensuring they are remembered with empathy rather than fear.
"The Salem witch trials were very important, but they're a tiny, tiny blip in the history of witchcraft," said Rachel Christ-Doane, the director of education for the Salem Witch Museum. "It's really surprising how there's a lack of historical interpretation of these events. There's a lack of memorialization, really, across Europe. There are some places, but it doesn't seem to be memorialized the way it should be, which is really fascinating, especially in an area like Scotland, where so many people were executed. It was so much more violent than Salem. There should be memorials all over the place. The names should be recognized. This is something that's so relevant today. It's very much important for us to learn about now."
January 12, 2026
Clare and Zoe wrote this book based on their podcast Witches of Scotland, and the audiobook is also narrated by the authors — which, in my opinion, is really worth it.
I wasn’t familiar with the topic of witch hunting in 16th‑century Scotland. Salem is so much more widely known, yet as the authors point out, it doesn’t begin to compare with what happened in Scotland. It’s astonishing to realise the scale of this atrocity: how many women — around 85% of those convicted, according to the authors — suffered, confessed, and were executed for something we now know was not real.
I’ve enjoyed this book so much that I’m now re‑listening to some chapters. And as coincidences go, my local book club’s January read (The Burning) also seems to explore how these themes echo in the present day. Plus, I got a recommendation of another book (on a different genre) on this topic: A Kind of Spark.
As a side note, I’d be interested to understand how this period in European history parallels the Inquisition (which, despite common belief, wasn’t limited to Spain).
I wasn’t familiar with the topic of witch hunting in 16th‑century Scotland. Salem is so much more widely known, yet as the authors point out, it doesn’t begin to compare with what happened in Scotland. It’s astonishing to realise the scale of this atrocity: how many women — around 85% of those convicted, according to the authors — suffered, confessed, and were executed for something we now know was not real.
I’ve enjoyed this book so much that I’m now re‑listening to some chapters. And as coincidences go, my local book club’s January read (The Burning) also seems to explore how these themes echo in the present day. Plus, I got a recommendation of another book (on a different genre) on this topic: A Kind of Spark.
As a side note, I’d be interested to understand how this period in European history parallels the Inquisition (which, despite common belief, wasn’t limited to Spain).
December 11, 2025
Men will always find an excuse to oppress women 🤦🏻♀️.
How is believing witches are responsible for a bad sea voyage more realistic than blaming Poseidon?
The worst thing is that it is 2025, and people are still being killed for witchcraft.
How is believing witches are responsible for a bad sea voyage more realistic than blaming Poseidon?
The worst thing is that it is 2025, and people are still being killed for witchcraft.
December 15, 2025
Audiobook (8 hours) narrated by the authors Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi
Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
The authors do a nice job narrating this book. A times a little droning and bland, but always clear in tone and background.
The author is flawless.
This is a nonfiction read about Scotland witch trials, which unsurprisingly sound like someone jumped on a plane, switched the names and accents from the Salem witch trials and printed it up. I'm not actually suggesting that is what happened, but if not identical, it is so close, which is eerie given the lack of travel and long distance communication at the time.
This rating might just be me. I am pretty well versed in the Salem stories, having grown up by Salem's back door. It's interesting in a eerie way, not just the basic similarities but the tools! Even given that, at times I felt bored and as if the narration was droning on and bland, which I could attribute to either the writing or the narration. Funnily enough, the authors are the narrators, so, same/same.
If witches are your thing and you're curious, sure pick it up! Maybe pick up the print, if you are pretty well versed in witch trials so you can easily pop around. If non-fiction witchery is new to you, this may be a good pick. It certainly is thorough in the procedures, as well as the reasons behind them.
2 - 3 stars. I really didn't like like it, it was just OK, so I am rating it a 2 based on my personal enjoyment, but with my reasons above. Others, especially those not familiar may love it. I feel a little bad about this one as it seems so well researched. These are the odd instances where I'm not sure if I should even rate it as I have conflicting feelings about it.
Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
The authors do a nice job narrating this book. A times a little droning and bland, but always clear in tone and background.
The author is flawless.
This is a nonfiction read about Scotland witch trials, which unsurprisingly sound like someone jumped on a plane, switched the names and accents from the Salem witch trials and printed it up. I'm not actually suggesting that is what happened, but if not identical, it is so close, which is eerie given the lack of travel and long distance communication at the time.
This rating might just be me. I am pretty well versed in the Salem stories, having grown up by Salem's back door. It's interesting in a eerie way, not just the basic similarities but the tools! Even given that, at times I felt bored and as if the narration was droning on and bland, which I could attribute to either the writing or the narration. Funnily enough, the authors are the narrators, so, same/same.
If witches are your thing and you're curious, sure pick it up! Maybe pick up the print, if you are pretty well versed in witch trials so you can easily pop around. If non-fiction witchery is new to you, this may be a good pick. It certainly is thorough in the procedures, as well as the reasons behind them.
2 - 3 stars. I really didn't like like it, it was just OK, so I am rating it a 2 based on my personal enjoyment, but with my reasons above. Others, especially those not familiar may love it. I feel a little bad about this one as it seems so well researched. These are the odd instances where I'm not sure if I should even rate it as I have conflicting feelings about it.
Read
December 7, 2025Well-written, easy to read and (obviously) makes a great point: Scotland’s witches, and witches in general, should be remembered and lessons have to be learned from the witch trails. That being said, this book lacked nuance in many areas. To name one example: around the 80-90 page mark, the authors cite a historian they’ve spoken to about John Knox. She mentions research isn’t clear about how ‘sexist’ he really was; from a modern day standpoint he is, but back then he expressed opinions many had, and was good friends with a few women as well. But the authors write ‘despite [her] take on Knox, his sexism, to us, runs very deeply’, followed by cherry picking The First Blast of the Trumpet ánd claiming only Mary Queen of Scots was affected by this (multiple women were!). His story is far more nuanced than the authors claim, but they decide to sidestep historians to make this segment fit their overall point. To top it all off, Knox gets his own fictional mini chapter in this book, where he performs a truly villanous speech. And the authors don’t just do this with Knox either: this cherry picking also goes for James I’s writings, how women were perceived, witch hunts outside of Scotland (why mention the US, mention Ireland and Norway briefly but then claim Scotland is in this aspect completely different from every other country?), … and that’s only the stuff I’ve had lectures on and/or written 2 thesis’ about.
Midway through explaining historic events, the authors also put in ‘funny’ things that are meant to take us back to reality, like comparing past events with the present, and frequently writing down things along the lines of ‘ugh, men, right’ or ‘wow people those days’. That’s just… not necessary. I do appreciate that they’re bringing POC into this, and their anger and call for action is justified. But when they mention how someone wanted to burn Harry Potter books, they happen to completely gloss over JKR’s statements recently. I’m sorry, but you can’t keep bringing little sidenotes and links to the present into the mix, raising your voice for all women, and then casually mention the Harry Potter books without raising your voice for trans women, too.
This nuance also lacked in how the authors view popular culture surrounding witches. You’d think the authors would be pleased with people coming to see witches’ scales or visiting Salem, but according to them this can only be ‘dark tourism’. And yeah, if someone goes to Salem to ‘enjoy’ this history and get a kick out of it, then that’s not ethical. But if people visit to learn more about this history, to have it make an impact on them by being there and realising it’s not a fictional place… why wouldn’t we want that? They mention visiting battlefields, cemeteries and castles counts as dark tourism too, because obviously you can’t simply be interested in the history of these places.
I’ve found that popular books about witches often lack nuance. They’re written from a point of (totally justified!) activism, but then obscure some of the nuances. That’s the case here too. The authors speak to historians and researchers who support their work and whom they’re on good terms with, but if someone else contradicts this view that’s not worth investigating further. This book’s activism, however justified this is, seems one-sided, and to top it all off, one of the later chapters features an AI artwork (made by someone else, but still, whyy??). If you’re unfamiliar with this timeperiod or witch trials in general you’ll probably really enjoy this, but I found this lacking.
Midway through explaining historic events, the authors also put in ‘funny’ things that are meant to take us back to reality, like comparing past events with the present, and frequently writing down things along the lines of ‘ugh, men, right’ or ‘wow people those days’. That’s just… not necessary. I do appreciate that they’re bringing POC into this, and their anger and call for action is justified. But when they mention how someone wanted to burn Harry Potter books, they happen to completely gloss over JKR’s statements recently. I’m sorry, but you can’t keep bringing little sidenotes and links to the present into the mix, raising your voice for all women, and then casually mention the Harry Potter books without raising your voice for trans women, too.
This nuance also lacked in how the authors view popular culture surrounding witches. You’d think the authors would be pleased with people coming to see witches’ scales or visiting Salem, but according to them this can only be ‘dark tourism’. And yeah, if someone goes to Salem to ‘enjoy’ this history and get a kick out of it, then that’s not ethical. But if people visit to learn more about this history, to have it make an impact on them by being there and realising it’s not a fictional place… why wouldn’t we want that? They mention visiting battlefields, cemeteries and castles counts as dark tourism too, because obviously you can’t simply be interested in the history of these places.
I’ve found that popular books about witches often lack nuance. They’re written from a point of (totally justified!) activism, but then obscure some of the nuances. That’s the case here too. The authors speak to historians and researchers who support their work and whom they’re on good terms with, but if someone else contradicts this view that’s not worth investigating further. This book’s activism, however justified this is, seems one-sided, and to top it all off, one of the later chapters features an AI artwork (made by someone else, but still, whyy??). If you’re unfamiliar with this timeperiod or witch trials in general you’ll probably really enjoy this, but I found this lacking.
October 12, 2025
Lots of great stuff in here. The campaign is admirable — nay, vital — and the stories and facts fascinating. It breaks things down in easily digestible ways that avoid it getting too lost in the weeds of history. But it’s a bit scattershot at times, the structure doesn’t entirely work, the copy errors are distracting, and the irreverence that works in the podcast doesn’t translate well to text. At once both too wide-ranging and not detailed enough, I really, really wish I got more from this expansion.
July 24, 2025
It took me a couple of months to finish this one—not because it was slow or boring or overly dense, but because I kept pausing to Google people, places, and events mentioned throughout. That’s how engaging and educational this book is.
How to Kill a Witch explores witch hunts and trials through a global lens but focuses heavily on Scotland’s dark and often overlooked history. One of the most striking revelations? Even many Scots are more familiar with the Salem witch trials than with their own country’s tragic past. That says a lot.
Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi clearly poured their hearts into this work. You can feel their passion and dedication to honoring the victims by bringing their stories into the light. The emotional weight of this book hit me often. I found myself tearing up while reading these accounts.
What makes the book stand out is how it seamlessly blends historical facts with fictional vignettes, giving us a more vivid sense of what these women may have experienced. These fictional passages are clearly marked (thank you, font change!), so there’s no confusion between what’s real and what’s imagined.
But what really hit me was how the authors connect the past to the present, showing how the same patterns of injustice, misogyny, and fear-driven violence still exist today. It’s a powerful and necessary reading.
If you’re even remotely interested in women’s history, Scottish history, or the ongoing fight for justice and recognition, this book belongs on your shelf.
How to Kill a Witch explores witch hunts and trials through a global lens but focuses heavily on Scotland’s dark and often overlooked history. One of the most striking revelations? Even many Scots are more familiar with the Salem witch trials than with their own country’s tragic past. That says a lot.
Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi clearly poured their hearts into this work. You can feel their passion and dedication to honoring the victims by bringing their stories into the light. The emotional weight of this book hit me often. I found myself tearing up while reading these accounts.
What makes the book stand out is how it seamlessly blends historical facts with fictional vignettes, giving us a more vivid sense of what these women may have experienced. These fictional passages are clearly marked (thank you, font change!), so there’s no confusion between what’s real and what’s imagined.
But what really hit me was how the authors connect the past to the present, showing how the same patterns of injustice, misogyny, and fear-driven violence still exist today. It’s a powerful and necessary reading.
If you’re even remotely interested in women’s history, Scottish history, or the ongoing fight for justice and recognition, this book belongs on your shelf.
May 29, 2025
I was umming and ahhing between 3 and 4 stars for this, but ultimately it is incredibly well researched and its relevance today is still as important as ever. I listened to the audiobook but think it would work better as a physical book as I personally found it difficult to keep track of who was who, and the old Scottish accent and dialect used was hard to make sense of without seeing it in writing. Nevertheless, a worthwhile read and a fascinating history lesson.
January 10, 2026
I’ve been to the Witches’ Well in Edinburgh, I’ve carted a Witches of Scotland tartan, I’d been looking forward to this for so long, had even planned on going to a discussion about it. But the writing style and organization are too disorganized, intrusive, and distracting, with endless asides/footnotes that should’ve been incorporated into the text or skipped altogether. Some of it was just pointless, non-witty snark! The pitfalls of transferring a podcast into a book, I think. This needed a lot more editing and additional research before publication; the POV (mission to raise awareness, repetitive and unvaried feminist commentary, and style) wasn’t enough to look past that.
DNF at 62%, 5 hours into the audiobook. I kept pushing through and trying to finish it, especially as it’s not very long. But I wasn’t getting enough out of it and was forcing myself, so I’m giving up. Life’s too short, especially with other library holds queued up.
3 stars for subject/some of the content. Tried to give the writing the benefit of doubt, but just can’t look past that any longer.
DNF at 62%, 5 hours into the audiobook. I kept pushing through and trying to finish it, especially as it’s not very long. But I wasn’t getting enough out of it and was forcing myself, so I’m giving up. Life’s too short, especially with other library holds queued up.
3 stars for subject/some of the content. Tried to give the writing the benefit of doubt, but just can’t look past that any longer.
January 14, 2026
"Women were not safe then and are not safe now. [...]. humans don't change quickly enough."
"Do not let the patriarchy silence you. [...] Fuck living, laughing, loving. Try shouting, swearing, fighting. Call out misogyny, challenge the norm, be a quarrelsome dame."
"Do not let the patriarchy silence you. [...] Fuck living, laughing, loving. Try shouting, swearing, fighting. Call out misogyny, challenge the norm, be a quarrelsome dame."
January 4, 2026
A fascinating start to my reading year.
If you’re at all interested in the Salem Witch Trials, this will hit. Side note: human history has such horrific and embarrassing moments. We can be the change in the world we wish to see by paying attention to details and acknowledging the facts so that we can strive for improvement and to honor those who (suffered,) were erased and forgotten.
If you’re at all interested in the Salem Witch Trials, this will hit. Side note: human history has such horrific and embarrassing moments. We can be the change in the world we wish to see by paying attention to details and acknowledging the facts so that we can strive for improvement and to honor those who (suffered,) were erased and forgotten.
July 9, 2025
4 stars
This book is historical nonfiction that looks at the women of Scotland, who were accused of witchcraft. It includes several well-known women and their trials, the numerous instances of the patriarchy that lead to the horrific events of witch hunts and the treatment of women. It was very fascinating learning about these women's stories, how the political, social, religious climates were used and essentially weaponized against mainly women, especially those that stood out and dared to talk back. Also comparing the use of these terms and ideas in Scotland, with those in the USA and Nigeria both past and current. This book touched on a number of compelling topics, some I would not have even thought of that would be a factor in these events, not to mention the number of experts interviewed, was adding even more depth and understanding to what happened during this time period. While I did enjoy reading this book some things were a bit long and repetitive at times, but ultimately an excellent read. I would recommend it if you had any interest in history, witches, and Patriarchy, it is a very captivating read.
I received an ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.
This book is historical nonfiction that looks at the women of Scotland, who were accused of witchcraft. It includes several well-known women and their trials, the numerous instances of the patriarchy that lead to the horrific events of witch hunts and the treatment of women. It was very fascinating learning about these women's stories, how the political, social, religious climates were used and essentially weaponized against mainly women, especially those that stood out and dared to talk back. Also comparing the use of these terms and ideas in Scotland, with those in the USA and Nigeria both past and current. This book touched on a number of compelling topics, some I would not have even thought of that would be a factor in these events, not to mention the number of experts interviewed, was adding even more depth and understanding to what happened during this time period. While I did enjoy reading this book some things were a bit long and repetitive at times, but ultimately an excellent read. I would recommend it if you had any interest in history, witches, and Patriarchy, it is a very captivating read.
I received an ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.
June 6, 2025
I’ve been following the Witches of Scotland for a wee while and have been waiting for the release of this book! I was excited to listen to it as an audiobook and hear Claire and Zoe’s passion through their reading. Overall an excellent non-fiction piece that has been thoroughly researched. If you’re going to read any book on the Scottish witch trials this should be the one!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 607 reviews