100 books like The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic in Early Modern Europe

By E. Bever,

Here are 100 books that The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic in Early Modern Europe fans have personally recommended if you like The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic in Early Modern Europe. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft

Julian Goodare Author Of The European Witch-Hunt

From my list on the history of European witchcraft and witch-hunting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a historian who wants to know: Why did people burn other people at the stake for what we think was an impossible crime? It seems so unjust; indeed it was unjust. I mention Amnesty International in my book; as well as being a professional historian, I’ve been writing letters for Amnesty for many years, trying to rectify injustice. Yet witch-hunting made sense to the perpetrators; they weren’t simply ‘wicked’ or ‘crazed’ or ‘ignorant’. We need to understand them on many levels, from the most erudite demonology, all the way down to psychological processes by which we identify enemies. The five books I’ve chosen move gradually downwards, in order, from the highest to the deepest level.

Julian's book list on the history of European witchcraft and witch-hunting

Julian Goodare Why did Julian love this book?

As well as the fears of godly states, early modern villagers had their own fears.

This book shows ‘witches’ being created in a process of everyday village rivalries between neighbours. Two villagers quarrel; either or both of them may utter insults, threats, or curses. You witch! You will regret this! May the Devil drag your soul through hell! And so on.

Insults (even ‘You witch!’) were relatively harmless, but threats and curses could get you into trouble. If your opponent then experienced some misfortune, neighbours might explain this as your curse taking effect.

This was particularly likely if you were female: people feared men’s physical violence, but they feared women’s curses. This book brings early modern villages to life.

By Robin Briggs,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Witches and Neighbours as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Witches and Neighbours is a highly original and unconventional analysis of a fascinating historical phenomenon. Unlike other studies of the subject which focus on the mechanisms of persecution, this book presents a rich picture of witchcraft as an all-pervasive aspect of life in early modern Europe. Robin Briggs combines recent research with his own investigations to produce a brilliant and compelling account of the central role of witchcraft in the past. Although the history of witchcraft can only be studied through records of persecutions, these reveal that trials were unusual in everyday life and that witchcraft can be viewed as…


Book cover of Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany

Lu Ann Homza Author Of Village Infernos and Witches' Advocates: Witch-Hunting in Navarre, 1608-1614

From my list on the trauma of European witch-hunting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian of early modern Europe, with a research focus on Spain and Italy. I first encountered archival documents from the Spanish Inquisition during research for my first book: I was already a fan of religious history but quickly became a fan of studying the law. I am fascinated by the ways in which people between the 1500s and 1700s used the legal systems at their disposal to recapture honor and pursue enemies. I am always on the lookout for ways in which religious prescriptions from centralized authorities did not match what was happening on the ground with ordinary, usually illiterate people.

Lu's book list on the trauma of European witch-hunting

Lu Ann Homza Why did Lu love this book?

No one does a better job of explaining the links between witchcraft accusations and fears over fertility than Roper.

Her ability to connect witches’ stereotypical activities—murder, cannibalism, sex with the Devil, and so on—with the demographic and subsistence crises of early modern Germany is remarkable.

She is an incredibly sensitive reader of primary sources.

By Lyndal Roper,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Witch Craze as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A powerful account of witches, crones, and the societies that make them

From the gruesome ogress in Hansel and Gretel to the hags at the sabbath in Faust, the witch has been a powerful figure of the Western imagination. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries thousands of women confessed to being witches-of making pacts with the Devil, causing babies to sicken, and killing animals and crops-and were put to death. This book is a gripping account of the pursuit, interrogation, torture, and burning of witches during this period and beyond.

Drawing on hundreds of original trial transcripts and other rare…


Book cover of Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe

Julian Goodare Author Of The European Witch-Hunt

From my list on the history of European witchcraft and witch-hunting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a historian who wants to know: Why did people burn other people at the stake for what we think was an impossible crime? It seems so unjust; indeed it was unjust. I mention Amnesty International in my book; as well as being a professional historian, I’ve been writing letters for Amnesty for many years, trying to rectify injustice. Yet witch-hunting made sense to the perpetrators; they weren’t simply ‘wicked’ or ‘crazed’ or ‘ignorant’. We need to understand them on many levels, from the most erudite demonology, all the way down to psychological processes by which we identify enemies. The five books I’ve chosen move gradually downwards, in order, from the highest to the deepest level.

Julian's book list on the history of European witchcraft and witch-hunting

Julian Goodare Why did Julian love this book?

Although most historical societies have believed in witches of some kind, the great witch-hunt was unique to early modern Europe.

This formidable but brilliant book explains how European intellectuals, in the age of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, created an interpretation of witches as conspirators with the Devil – a spirit of terrifying power. The book has over 800 pages, but there are handy introductions to each of its five sections. Start by reading all these introductions, and then explore the rest of the book bit by bit.

My favourite section, ‘Politics’, shows how witch-hunting was linked with the doctrine of the divine right of kings. You should obey the king because he has been appointed directly by God – and the king can demonstrate his godliness by punishing God’s enemies, including witches.

By Stuart Clark,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Thinking with Demons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is a work of fundamental importance for our understanding of the intellectual and cultural history of early modern Europe. Stuart Clark offers a new interpretation of the witchcraft beliefs of European intellectuals based on their publications in the field of demonology, and shows how these beliefs fitted rationally with many other views current in Europe between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries.

Professor Clark is the first to explore the appeal of demonology to early modern intellectuals by looking at the books they published on the subject during this period. After examining the linguistic foundations of their writings, the author…


Book cover of The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present

Julian Goodare Author Of The European Witch-Hunt

From my list on the history of European witchcraft and witch-hunting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a historian who wants to know: Why did people burn other people at the stake for what we think was an impossible crime? It seems so unjust; indeed it was unjust. I mention Amnesty International in my book; as well as being a professional historian, I’ve been writing letters for Amnesty for many years, trying to rectify injustice. Yet witch-hunting made sense to the perpetrators; they weren’t simply ‘wicked’ or ‘crazed’ or ‘ignorant’. We need to understand them on many levels, from the most erudite demonology, all the way down to psychological processes by which we identify enemies. The five books I’ve chosen move gradually downwards, in order, from the highest to the deepest level.

Julian's book list on the history of European witchcraft and witch-hunting

Julian Goodare Why did Julian love this book?

As well as the village witch, we have what might be called the ‘folkloric witch’, and other folkloric traditions.

When interrogators asked witchcraft suspects about the Devil, the answers sometimes surprised them. They uncovered beliefs about nature spirits, practices of magical healing and divination, and visionary experience of otherworlds.

Some of this material fed into ideas about the witches’ sabbat, but these beliefs, practices, and visions were not necessarily about ‘witchcraft’ at all. Ronald Hutton’s ambitious book surveys these beliefs, practices, and visions.

He ranges far back into the ancient history of Europe – and adjacent regions, exploring traditions of ceremonial magic from ancient Egypt. If the idea of the witch is frightening, it is partly because of the folklore brought together in this book.

By Ronald Hutton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Witch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why have societies all across the world feared witchcraft? This book delves deeply into its context, beliefs, and origins in Europe's history

"Traces the idea of witches far beyond the Salem witch trials to beliefs and attitudes about witches around the world throughout history."-Los Angeles Times

The witch came to prominence-and often a painful death-in early modern Europe, yet her origins are much more geographically diverse and historically deep. In this landmark book, Ronald Hutton traces witchcraft from the ancient world to the early-modern stake.

This book sets the notorious European witch trials in the widest and deepest possible perspective…


Book cover of What Do You Believe? Big Questions About Religion

Steven Clark Cunningham Author Of It's Considerate to Be Literate about Religion: Poetry and Prose about Religion, Conflict, and Peace in Our World

From my list on religion and spirituality for younger readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for studying religion started decades ago, now culminating in a master's degree from Harvard in religion. My main interest is religious literacy, and my master's thesis is on religious literacy among healthcare providers, which is not surprising since I myself work in healthcare. I am particularly interested in interfaith approaches that unite people of diverse religious and nonreligious backgrounds in a common goal of doing some good in the world.

Steven's book list on religion and spirituality for younger readers

Steven Clark Cunningham Why did Steven love this book?

This book packs a lot into <100 pages and does so very comfortably. Although there are other books better focused on the key issue of religious literacy, I particularly like that this book specifically includes several aspects of religious literacy, such as the fact that religions are all internally diverse, not monolithic, and that we all have a perspective, a situatedness, from which we see and interpret the world around us. In addition to familiarizing readers with common features of common religions like many books do, this one goes further and includes sections on philosophy of religion, on religion and violence in our world, and on religion and science, all of which encourage valuable thinking and reflection. The book does a relatively good job of meeting the stated goal of promoting understanding and respect of different people and different types of belief and nonbelief.

By DK Publishing,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked What Do You Believe? Big Questions About Religion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

What was the first religion and where did it start? What is atheism? Why do some people wear turbans? Made for kids who ask the hard questions, this book gives answers to these and many more questions about religion.

What Do You Believe? is a perfect introduction to all the main faiths, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. The book traces the history of different religions and faiths around the world and deconstructs complex topics into easy-to-consume sections.

From the oldest beliefs to new religious movements and modern spirituality, What Do You Believe? presents the facts in an unbiased…


Book cover of Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution

Peter Occhiogrosso Author Of Circles of Belief: The World’s Spiritual Traditions and Beyond

From my list on spiritual path alternative to institutional religion.

Why am I passionate about this?

I feel strongly that large segments of the population—young and old alike—have thrown out the baby of spirituality with the bathwater of organized religion. Given the current level of interreligious hatred and misunderstanding in today’s world, two things have to change. First, we need to know the basics of the world’s major religious traditions and how they evolved so that we are not making value judgments based on erroneous information and lack of understanding. Then, we have to look through the external dogmas and rituals to the spiritual principles and experiences that are of most value and that may not be reliant on any one institutional religion. 

Peter's book list on spiritual path alternative to institutional religion

Peter Occhiogrosso Why did Peter love this book?

You may know Rainn Wilson as the actor who played goofy Dwight Schrute on The Office. But he’s also a gifted writer with much spiritual wisdom to share. In this book, he brings his loopy comic appeal to the serious business of explaining why most institutional religions fail to scratch the spiritual itch. And why one putative answer to the anomie and mounting depression sweeping younger generations around the world is to undertake a “spiritual revolution.”

While effortlessly invoking the universal appeal of genuine spirituality, Wilson makes you laugh out loud along the way. Who else could convince you that their own spiritual growth was spurred not by the universalist Bahai Faith in which he was raised but by those linchpins of ‘70s TV culture, Kung Fu (starring David Carradine as “Grasshopper”) and the original Star Trek (in syndication, with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy)?

He uses these unlikely…

By Rainn Wilson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Soul Boom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**New York Times Bestseller**

Comedic actor, producer, and writer Rainn Wilson, cofounder of the media company SoulPancake, explores the problem-solving benefits that spirituality gives us to create solutions for an increasingly challenging world.

The trauma that our struggling species has experienced in recent years-because of both the pandemic and societal tensions that threaten to overwhelm us-is not going away anytime soon. Existing political and economic systems are not enough to bring the change that the world needs. In this book, Rainn Wilson explores the possibility and hope for a spiritual revolution, a "Soul Boom," to find a healing transformation on…


Book cover of The Evangelical Dictionary of World Religions

Richard Abanes Author Of One Nation Under Gods: A History of the Mormon Church

From my list on cults, world religions, and extremist faiths.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a young man, I wanted to do good. And I believed the best way to do that was to increase the commitment I’d made to my faith. So, I joined a church that appeared genuine. But much to my shock, not everything was as it seemed—I’d fallen into a cult. Deception, authoritarianism, and hypocrisy abounded. This led me on a decades-long search for answers: How could leaders do this? Why would members stay loyal? What could be done about it? I eventually found my answers and began doing what I’d always wanted to do—help others. I did it by becoming a journalist/author specializing in religion. 

Richard's book list on cults, world religions, and extremist faiths

Richard Abanes Why did Richard love this book?

From an evangelical Christian perspective, this reference work covers a wide range of topics via short, easy-to-understand, fact-based, and information-packed essays that range from just a paragraph to several pages. It’s an excellent research tool to which I contributed several essays. Some of the best researchers, scholars, and experts in the field of world religions were part of the large editorial team that produced this benchmark work.

By H. Wayne House (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Evangelical Dictionary of World Religions as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With all of the different religions, sects, denominations, and belief systems out there, it can be difficult to separate the facts from mere opinion, especially if one is relying solely on online sources which may or may not be vetted and which often have an ideological or political slant to them. How can we truly understand if we cannot even be sure we are getting the facts straight?

In this comprehensive resource, more than 75 evangelical scholars offer a thoroughly researched guide to Christianity, other world religions, and alternative religious views, including entries on movements, theological terms, and major historical…


Book cover of The Evening and the Morning

S. J. Arnott Author Of Sword of the Angles

From my list on early English history.

Why am I passionate about this?

We know so little about early English history that it’s a period often ignored by novelists who prefer to set their tales in eras that are a little more fleshed out and familiar to their readerships. This is a shame as, though much has been lost, there is still plenty to discover, and England’s ‘dark age’ offers us a rich seam of untold stories. By combining research, scholarship, and imagination an author can strike a literary light that will illuminate even the darkest corner.

S. J.'s book list on early English history

S. J. Arnott Why did S. J. love this book?

A prequel to the famous best-seller The Pillars of the Earth this book follows the fortunes of three disparate characters as they navigate the perilous Viking-riven world of 10th-century England. Although some of Follett’s books are considered ‘light’ reading by many he’s a meticulous author who enjoys his period research and always presents his readers with stories as rich in historical accuracy and verisimilitude as they are in drama and intrigue. A broad cast of characters gives us a view of life from all the strata of English (and Norman) society: from noblewoman to slave; craftsman to monk. A long, long book that will leave you wanting even more.

By Ken Follett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Evening and the Morning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 New York Times Bestseller
An Amazon Best Book of 2020

The thrilling and addictive prequel to The Pillars of the Earth--set in England at the dawn of a new era: the Middle Ages

"Just as transporting as [The Pillars of the Earth] . . . A most welcome addition to the Kingsbridge series." --The Washington Post

It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict…


Book cover of Beatrice's Last Smile: A New History of the Middle Ages

Eleanor Janega Author Of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society

From my list on illuminating the Middle Ages.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a medieval historian who specialises in social history, and more particularly on sexuality, propaganda, and apocalypticism. I fell in love with the period from my very first class during my BA, but even back then, I was struck by just how little we as a society pay attention to some thousand years of history. Even worse, we often tell lazy myths about the Middle Ages as a time of filth and ignorance that makes us feel good about ourselves. Since not everyone can get a Ph.D. like I did, I have dedicated my career to bringing the period to light. I hope this book list does just that.

Eleanor's book list on illuminating the Middle Ages

Eleanor Janega Why did Eleanor love this book?

This book made me rethink how we consider the idea of the Middle Ages–full stop.

Pegg tracks the medieval period through the concept of holiness, and if you think that might be boring, then I have got news for you about how wild medieval (and Late Antique!) people were.

Whether it is being stoked to be sent to your death in the gladiatorial ring or writing transcendent fiction about how the girl you had a crush on as a teenager is waiting for you in heaven, Pegg shows that medieval people were constantly rethinking what it meant to be alive and how to square that in a Christian society. I guarantee it will make Trad Caths absolutely livid.  

By Mark Gregory Pegg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Beatrice's Last Smile as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mark Gregory Pegg's history of the Middle Ages opens and closes with martyrdom, the first that of a young Roman mother in a North African amphitheater in 203 and the second a French girl burned to death beside the Seine in 1431. Both Vibia Perpetua and Jeanne la Pucelle died for their Christian beliefs, yet that for which they willingly sacrificed their lives connects and separates them. Both were divinely inspired, but one believed her deity shared the universe
with other gods, and the other knew that her Creator ruled heaven and earth. Between them, across the centuries, lives were…


Book cover of All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

Charles Spinosa Author Of Leadership as Masterpiece Creation: What Business Leaders Can Learn from the Humanities About Moral Risk-Taking

From my list on creating thoughtful good lives in our current age.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a freshman in my Columbia University humanities class, I remember when we debated whether Achilles did the right thing in fighting Hector when Achilles could have led a peaceful life as a shepherd. I was arguing that only in risking our lives could we fully live them. A senior challenged me, saying, “I’ve struggled here for four years. I want a life of ease.” That debate has guided me through my years as a professor of English literature and philosophy and then as a management consultant. Only in conversations over the good life do admirable ways of treating customers, managing employees, or competing come to life. 

Charles' book list on creating thoughtful good lives in our current age

Charles Spinosa Why did Charles love this book?

This book is based on Hubert (Bert) Dreyfus’s famous undergraduate philosophy course at U. C. Berkeley, affectionately called “From Gods to God and Back.” Like me, Sean was Bert’s teaching assistant for the course. We all loved this course because it draws out of our Western literary traditions a form of spirituality that we believe is essential for good lives today.

The book begins by looking at the relationship between Athena and Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. It’s a friendly mentoring relationship without any suffocating philosophical-theological pretensions such as omnipotence or omniscience. Later, we join St. Augustine as he tries to undermine (though unsuccessfully) the theological pretensions. The book ends with Melville’s polytheism in Moby Dick.

The book inspires us to look for “attainable felicities”: simple divine experiences without pretensions. 

By Hubert Dreyfus, Sean Dorrance Kelly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All Things Shining as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A sense of certainty and unhesitating confidence is rare in the contemporary world. An unrelenting flow of choices confronts us at nearly every moment of our lives, and if we are honest about it then most of us will admit that we waver in the face of them.

Dreyfus and Kelly examine some of the greatest books in the Western Canon to explain that the burden of choice is essentially a modern problem to which there is an age old solution. Dreyfus and Kelly explain the huge jump from Homer's polytheistic world to the monotheistic one in which Dante wrote…


Book cover of Witches and Neighbours: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft
Book cover of Witch Craze: Terror and Fantasy in Baroque Germany
Book cover of Thinking with Demons: The Idea of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe

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Interested in social history, witchcraft, and witches?

Social History 49 books
Witchcraft 339 books
Witches 143 books