The Science of Monsters

The publication of Malleus Maleficarum, written in 1486, is credited with first spreading witch hysteria. Known as the Hammer of Witches, Malleus Maleficarum labeled witchcraft as heresy and served as a guide to identify, hunt, and interrogate witches. For more than one hundred years Malleus Maleficarum was the highest selling book in Europe other than the Bible. Perhaps the most well-known case of witch trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. More than 150 people were accused of witchcraft and eighteen were put to death. Numerous films and literature depict witch trials like the play The Crucible (1953) by Arthur Miller, the animated film ParaNorman (2012), and even the popular Disney film Hocus Pocus (1993).

What are some of the methods people used to “prove” someone was a witch? One method was called the “swimming test.” As suggested in the first season of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–present), a suspected witch was thrown into a body of water, tied to a rock, and left to sink or float. If the person floated, they were certainly a witch. If they sank and drowned, they were human. This was derived from the “trial by water,” an ancient practice where suspected criminals or sorcerers were thrown into rushing rivers to allow a higher power to decide their fate. This custom was banned in many European countries in the Middle Ages, only to reemerge in the seventeenth century as a witch trial that persisted in some locales well into the eighteenth century. Another variation of this test was the ducking stool. An accused witch would be strapped to a chair and ducked into a body of water as punishment or to prove she was a witch. Another test was to find the “witch’s mark.” As seen in The Scarlet Letter (1995) suspects were stripped and publicly examined for signs of a blemish that witches were thought to receive upon making their pact with Satan. It was believed that this “Devil’s Mark” could change shape and color, and was numb and insensitive to pain. It was easy for even the most minor physical imperfections, such as scars or birthmarks, to be labeled as signs of being a witch. By not being submissive enough, women were often accused of witchcraft. In the trial of Rachel Clinton, her accusers made the case against her with the following: “Did she not show the character of an embittered, meddlesome, demanding woman; perhaps in short, the character of a witch? Did she not scold, rail, threaten, and fight?” Even the way someone looked could doom them to being accused. Reverend John Gaule in the 1640s insisted that “every old woman with a wrinkled face, a furr’d brow, a hairy lip, a gobber tooth, a squint eye, a squeaking voice, or a scolding tongue is not only suspected, but pronounced for a witch.”

An example of a ducking stool.

What about modern witches? Those who practice witchcraft are considered pagans. The word pagan stems from the Latin pagini or paganus, meaning “hearth” or “home dweller.” In the 1450s the fear of witchcraft became more prevalent, and people began associating witchcraft and paganism with devil worship, evil hexes, and spells. Contemporary witches include those who identify as Wiccan and those who practice other forms of witchcraft. Wicca was introduced to the public in 1954 and became a recognized religion in the United States in 1986. What do Wiccans believe in regard to witchcraft? Many follow the belief that magic, as said by Aleister Crowley, is “the science and art of causing change to occur in conformity with will.” Wiccans cast spells for healing, protection, or to banish negative energy. A central theme of belief is of the five elements: air, water, fire, earth, and spirit. These elements are invoked in rituals and often represented by a pentagram shape. The ethic of the Wiccan Rede, which first appeared in 1974 as a poem in Earth Religion News, is followed by many Wiccans and summarized by the last two lines:

Bide the Wiccan Law Ye Must,

In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust,

Eight Words the Wiccan Rede Fulfill,

An it Harm None, Do What Ye Will.

There are an estimated three million Wiccans in the United States alone and it is considered the fastest growing religion in the country.