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How to kill a witch : the patriarchy's guide to silencing women  Cover Image Book Book

How to kill a witch : the patriarchy's guide to silencing women / Zoe Venditozzi & Claire Mitchell.

Summary:

"Terrifying, fascinating, and important." -Sara Sheridan, author of Where Are the Women? and The Fair Botanists Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, and witches were the greatest enemy of all. Scotland, 1563: Crops failed. People starved. And the Devil's influence was stronger than ever-at least, that's what everyone believed. If you were a woman living in Scotland during this turbulent time, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch. During the chaos of the Reformation, violence against women was codified for the first time in the Witchcraft Act-a tool of theocratic control with one chilling goal: to root out witches and rid the land of evil. What followed was a dark and misogynistic chapter in history that fanned the flames of witch hunts across the globe, including in the United States and beyond. In How to Kill a Witch, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell, hosts of the popular Witches of Scotland podcast, unravel the grim yet absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying, and executing women as witches. With sharp wit and keen feminist insight, they reveal the inner workings of a patriarchal system designed to weaponize fear and oppress women. This captivating (and often infuriating) account, which weaves a rich tapestry of trial transcripts, witness accounts, and the documents that set the legal grounds for the witch hunts, exposes how this violent period of history mirrors today's struggles for justice and equality. How to Kill a Witch is a powerful, darkly humorous reminder of the dangers of superstition, bias, and ignorance, and a warning to never forget the past... while raising the question of whether it could ever happen again.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9781464241222
  • ISBN: 1464241228
  • Physical Description: 296 pages ; 23 cm.
  • Publisher: Naperville, Illinois : Sourcebooks, [2025]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Front Cover -- Front Flap -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Author's Note -- "In Memoriam" -- Introduction -- Part One: The Law of the Land -- 1: How to Believe in Magic -- 2: How to Start a Witch Hunt -- Portrait of the Accused: Euphame MacCalzean -- 3: Know Your Enemy, Part 1: Newes from Scotland -- Portrait of the Accused: Allison (or Margaret) Balfour -- 4: Know Your Enemy, Part 2: Daemonologie -- Portrait of the Accused: Janet Wishart -- 5: How to Believe in a Witch -- Portrait of the Accused: Margaret Aitken -- Part Two: Building a Case -- Portrait of the Accused: Agnes Finnie
6: How to Accuse a Witch -- 7: How to Prick a Witch -- Portrait of the Accused: Tituba -- 8: How to Kill a Witch the American Way -- 9: How to Gather Evidence Against a Witch -- Portrait of the Accused: The Paisley Witches -- 10: How to Try a Witch -- Portrait of the Accused: Janet Horne -- 11: How to Burn a Witch -- Portrait of the Accused: Katherine MacKinnon -- 12: How to Bury a Witch -- Part Three: A Thing of the Past? -- 13: How to Lose a Witch -- Portrait of the Accused: Helen Duncan -- 14: How to Accuse a Modern-Day Witch, Part 1: The Twentieth Century
15: How to Accuse a Modern-Day Witch, Part 2: The Twenty-First Century -- Portrait of the Accused: Miss B -- Afterword: How to Forget a Witch, Then Remember Her -- Acknowledgments -- Reading Group Guide -- About the Witches of Scotland Tartan -- Glossary of Scots Words -- Select Resources -- Image Credits -- About the Authors -- Back Flap -- Back Cover
Subject: Witches > Scotland > History > 16th century.
Witch hunting > Scotland > History > 16th century.
> History.
Trials (Witchcraft) > Scotland > History > 16th century.
Genre: History.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Town of Plymouth.

Holds

  • 1 current hold with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Pease Public Library 133.43 VENDITOZZI
Gift?: No
34598000914591 New Books Available -


Additional Resources