A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. In medieval Europe, witch-hunts often arose in connection to charges of heresy from Christianity. An intensive period of witch-hunts occurring in Early Modern Europe and to a smaller extent Colonial America, took place from about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 50,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in Saudi Arabia and Cameroon today.
Salem is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one of the most significant seaports trading commodities in early American history. Prior to the dissolution of county governments in Massachusetts in 1999, it served as one of two county seats for Essex County, alongside Lawrence.
Amy Madison is a fictional character on the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Elizabeth Anne Allen. The character appears in every season of Buffy except the fifth.
The cunning folk were professional or semi-professional practitioners of magic in Europe from the medieval period through the early 20th century. In Britain they were known by a variety of names in different regions of the country, including wise men and wise women, pellars, wizards, dyn hysbys, and sometimes white witches.
Owen Davies is a British historian who specialises in the history of magic, witchcraft, ghosts, and popular medicine. He is currently Professor in History at the University of Hertfordshire and has been described as Britain's "foremost academic expert on the history of magic".
Tituba was an enslaved Native American woman who was one of the first to be accused of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials of 1692–1693.
Bridget Bishop was the first person executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials in 1692. Nineteen were hanged, and one, Giles Corey, was pressed to death. Altogether, about 200 people were tried.
Agatha Harkness is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #94. Agatha Harkness is a powerful witch and one of the original witches from the Salem witch trials. The character debuted as the governess of Franklin Richards and as an ally of the Fantastic Four. She trained the Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff in the art of magic. She is the mother of the supervillain Nicholas Scratch. Agatha Harkness has also been a member of the Daughters of Liberty. Initially an elderly woman, she managed to become young again and increased her strength.
Sarah Good was one of the first three women to be accused of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials, which occurred in 1692 in colonial Massachusetts.
Goody Ann Glover was an Irish former indentured servant and the last person to be hanged in Boston as a witch, although the Salem witch trials in nearby Salem, Massachusetts, occurred mainly in 1692.
The Witches of Eastwick is a 1987 American supernatural comedy film directed by George Miller and starring Jack Nicholson as Daryl Van Horne, alongside Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer and Susan Sarandon as the titular witches. The film is based on John Updike's 1984 novel of the same name.
"Voodoo" is a song by American rock band Godsmack. It was released as the third single from their self-titled album. The song was written by the band's vocalist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. The song was used in the MTV television program Fear.
Lady Rhea has been a Wiccan high priestess in the Gardnerian tradition since 1973, and since 1982 runs an occult shop in New York, with Lady Miw. In 1992, she opened Magickal Realms in Greenwich Village, later relocating to The Bronx, where she co-operates the shop with Lady Zoradia.
The Roermond witch trial, which took place in and around the city of Roermond in the Spanish Netherlands in 1613, was the largest witch trial in present-day The Netherlands. It caused the death of sixty four people by burning.
Judika Illes is an American author of esoteric non-fiction books, aromatherapist and tarot reader.
Martha Carrier was a Puritan accused and convicted of being a witch during the 1692 Salem witch trials.
Louise Huebner was an American author of occult books, astrologer, and the only officially appointed Official Witch in the entire world. She was given the title of "Official Witch of Los Angeles County" from the supervisor of the third district of Los Angeles County in 1968 during a series of summer concerts sponsored by her at the Hollywood Bowl, in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Kate West is a British author and Wiccan High Priestess. West has held influential positions within the Pagan Federation and the Children of Artemis and has led her own coven, the Hearth of Hecate, since the 1990s. She has written thirteen books and is considered the most successful British author on witchcraft.
