James VI and I (1566-1625), King of Scotland and England, was deeply interested in witchcraft and demonology. He authored Daemonologie (1597), a treatise arguing for the reality of witchcraft and the necessity of persecuting witches. James personally oversaw witch trials, including the North Berwick Witch Trials (1590-1591), where he interrogated accused witches. His fascination with … Read more
Hornock was a Swedish doctor who, on August 25th, 1672, presided over the execution of sixty-two women and fifteen children accused of witchcraft and attending a Witches’ Sabbath. He described the event, where the accused were said to have cared for the Devil while he was ill, as a ‘superb spectacle.’ Hornock’s actions are representative … Read more
Matthew Hopkins (died 1647), known as the ‘Witchfinder General,’ was a notorious figure in 17th-century England. He rose to prominence during the English Civil War, exploiting the widespread fear of witchcraft to persecute and execute hundreds of individuals, mostly women, accused of sorcery. Hopkins employed various methods of torture and ‘tests’ to extract confessions, including … Read more