In this ground-breaking book, Professor Norman Cohn traces popular beliefs about witches to their origins. He examines the fantasies that inspired the great European witch-hunt of the 16th and 17th centuries when thousands of innocent people were tortured and burned alive. It is a fascinating history of the need to imagine antihuman conspiracies and an investigation of how those fantasies made the great European witch-hunt possible. In addition, Professor Cohn's discovery that some influential sources on witch trials were forgeries has revolutionized the field of witchcraft studies, making this one of the most essential books ever written on the subject.
- ISBN10 0712657576
- ISBN13 9780712657570
- Publish Date 7 October 1993 (first published 25 November 1976)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 8 June 2021
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Vintage Publishing
- Imprint Pimlico
- Format Paperback (UK Trade)
- Pages 288
- Language English