The Thing About Witch Hunts

Fairy history, folklore, and belief across two thousand years of European culture: that is what we are diving into today with historian of religion and belief Dr. Francis Young, author of the new book Fairies: A History

Dr. Young holds a doctorate in History from Cambridge University, is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a folklorist, a Balticist, a lay canon of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and a series editor for Cambridge Uni...

What did the scholars who studied witchcraft most seriously actually believe? And why did their conclusions so often cut against prosecution?

Professor Darren Oldridge of the University of Worcester joins Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to examine the intellectual world that produced English demonology and shaped witch trials on both sides of the Atlantic.

In this episode:

• Why the devil mattered far more than witches to learned Eng...

The Conjuring franchise named a real Salem witch trial victim as the origin of a Satanic lineage. Mary Towne Easty was executed in 1692. She did not curse anyone. She did not sacrifice a baby. And she has millions of living descendants, including your hosts.

Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack are direct descendants of Mary Towne Easty. In this episode they break down exactly what The Conjuring, Annabelle, and the Conjuring Universe get ...

What can a five-foot-long magic scroll tell us about early modern fears, beliefs, and the people who sought protection through cunning folk? Sara Lent Frier, Assistant Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, joins Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to explore her exhibition "Cunning Folk: Witchcraft, Magic, and Occult Knowledge."

Sara walks us through this collection show, which draws f...

Oxford historian Professor John Blair explores vampire beliefs, predatory corpses, and the deep connections between witchcraft and folklore in medieval and early modern Europe — and colonial New England.

What do vampires, witch trials, and shroud-chewing corpses have in common? More than you might think.

In this episode of The Thing About Witch Hunts, hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack sit down with Professor John Blair, Emeritus P...

Check out Salem Witch Trials Daily, our new podcast that follows the 1692 Salem Witch Trials in real time, day by day, court date by court date, through the documented record. In Salem, Massachusetts, 19 people were executed, one man was pressed to death for refusing trial, and more than a hundred others were accused and imprisoned, leaving a lasting mark on American history. Building on the extraordinary listener response to this ...

In 1629, 27 men, women, and a 15-year-old child were executed in Peebles, Scotland — and their ashes cast into the River Tweed. For centuries, their names were largely forgotten. Now, a community theater production called Rope and Flame is bringing their stories back to life, just steps from the river where they were lost.

Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack sit down with the creative team behind this remarkable project: director and co-...

What's in This Episode

Podcasthon is a global event where thousands of podcasters use their platforms to raise money for a cause they believe in. This year, The Thing About Witch Hunts is participating to support End Witch Hunts, the only US nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about witchcraft accusation violence past and present. If this episode moves you, donate at endwitchhunts.org/donate. Every contribution goes directl...

In honor of International Women's Day 2026, End Witch Hunts hosted a powerful panel discussion bringing together advocates, legal experts, journalists, and survivors to raise awareness about witchcraft accusations targeting women in Nigeria and across Africa. This conversation is part of the global "Give to Gain" initiative — the theme of International Women's Day 2026 — calling on individuals, organizations, and ...

What does American literature reveal about how a society imagines justice, belonging, and the power of women? Samaine Lockwood, Associate Professor of English at George Mason University and the 2026 Fenwick Fellow, has spent years tracing that question through one of the most enduring stories in American culture: the Salem witch trials. Her fellowship project, Tituba Indian: The History of an American Cultural Figure  follows Titub...

Most people meet Tituba through Arthur Miller. Nicole Brooks met her differently. The Canadian artist, producer, composer, and performer spent over a decade creating Obeah Opera, a fully sung a cappella theatrical work that centers Tituba and the other women of Salem as healers, wise women, and people who loved and were loved. In this conversation Nicole opens up about the research, the music, the controversy, and the story she bel...

About This Episode

What if Boston's colonial past held witch trial stories just as gripping as Salem's but almost entirely overlooked? This week, Sarah and Josh sit down with D. Brenton Simons, President Emeritus and former CEO of American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society), to uncover the witches, criminals, and scandal-makers that Boston's official history left out.

D. Brenton Simons spent 18 year...

What happens when spiritual beliefs are used to justify harm against children in the United States? In this episode, Josh Hutchinson, Sarah Jack, and guest host Mary Bingham explore Spiritual and Ritual Abuse, known as SARA, and why it remains a largely unrecognized crisis in American communities. The team examines how belief-driven violence crosses every demographic and faith background, discusses the landmark case of 3-year-old A...

Wales has something most countries don't: complete, intact court records from every witch trial held in the Court of Great Sessions. Author Mari Ellis Dunning used these archives to write Witch, a historical novel set in 16th century Wales.

About the novel:

Witch follows Doli, a Welsh young woman desperate to have a baby who seeks help from a local soothsayer. The story explores what happens when accusations arise in a community ...

Before her execution, Governor John Winthrop Jr. treated Mary Barnes as a patient. He recorded her symptoms, prescribed medicines, and tracked the costs in his medical notebook. In 1663, she was executed for witchcraft in Hartford, Connecticut.

This episode isn’t about the execution. It’s about fractured communities, failed institutions, and real people with lives that existed long before the gallows. It’s about what happens when a ...

How did 19th century Maryland pro-slavery advocates weaponize witch trial narratives against Connecticut abolitionists? Returning guest Dr. Richard Ross III reveals a fabricated 1848 witch trial story designed to discredit Connecticut's anti-slavery movement following the Amistad U. S. Supreme Court case victory.

This conversation explores the intersection of witch trial history and American slavery through the curious case of J...

Historian Mary W. Craig returns to discuss her new book, *A History of Scottish Witches: The Devil’s Handmaidens, which traces the arc from the 1563 Witchcraft Act through its abolition in 1736.

Craig explores how beliefs that had existed for generations became capital crimes, examining the theological frameworks, political upheavals, and social structures that shaped prosecutions. The conversation moves from John Knox’s influence o...

Episode Overview

Clinical health psychologist Peter Mintir Amadu explains the hidden mental health emergency affecting nearly 500 women accused of witchcraft in Northern Ghana and the innovative model transforming their lives.

Women accused of witchcraft face a devastating reality: up to 90% suffer from severe depression, PTSD rates exceed 80%, and many live in camps for over 20 years. They've lost everything: family, livelihood,...

What is folklore and how does it connect to witch hunts? Join us for an author talk with Professor Owen Davies and Dr. Ceri Houlbrook from the University of Hertfordshire, discussing their new book Folklore: A Journey Through the Past and Present. Discover how folklore shapes our daily lives, from cheese rolling traditions to social media rumors.

Episode Highlights:

• Folklore definition and what folklore actually means today

• Britis...