{"product_id":"9781780279527","title":"Witches","description":"Author: Steven Veerapen\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781780279527\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Birlinn\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 01 Jan 2026\u003cbr\u003ePages: 336\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eWitches  whether broomstick-riding spell-casters or Wiccan earth-worshippers  have been culturally relevant for centuries. For centuries, too, belief in the potency of witchcraft has been debated, accused witches have been hunted and punished, and film and TV productions have brought the witch and the witch-hunter to big and small screens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut where did our perception of witches  good and bad  come from? What motivated wide-scale panics about witchcraft during certain periods? How were alleged witches identified, accused, and variously tortured and punished?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteven Veerapen traces witches, witchcraft, and witch-hunters from the explosion of mass-trials under King James VI and I in the late sixteenth century to the death of the witch-hunting phenomenon in the early eighteenth century. Based on documents and the latest historical research, he explores what motivated widespread belief in demonic witchcraft throughout Britain as well as in continental Europe, what caused mass panics about alleged witches, and what led, ultimately, to the relegation of the witch  and the witch-hunter  to the realm of fantasy and the fringes of society.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47845889048734,"sku":"ADS-9781780279527","price":39.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781780279527.jpg?v=1781224133","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781780279527","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}