The Lore and Myths of Witches Chapter 4: The Witch-Hunts — Fire, Fear, and Folklore

Relive Europe’s most notorious witch-hunts—from German storm-makers and French possessions to Scotland’s hare-shifters and Sweden’s Blåkulla banquets. Discover how fear, politics, and folklore drove thousands to the stake.

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This episode of The Strange History Podcast was lovingly crafted with the help of ElevenLabs.io — the magical technology that gives Amy her time to sleep, eat, work and spend time with her dog Jack. While some might say she sounds too good to be true, we assure you, Amy is absolutely a real person… who just happens to have access to studio-grade AI vocal cords and an unnatural ability to pronounce “necromancy” without flinching. Any resemblance to an AI is purely coincidental — and mildly flattering. Dan the announcers name is really Bill and Patrick, the fake ad guy who thinks he is funny? well he is questionable at best. So yes, AI was used but the people are real and the shinanigans are.... well.... shinanigans.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Grab your cloaks, dear listeners, and maybe a marshmallow or two,
because Europe is about to light a lot of fires.
From the late fourteen hundreds through the early seventeen hundreds,
witchcraft accusations moved from village whispers to continent wide frenzies.
Laws tightened presses, churned out pamphlets, and thousands of people,

(00:22):
mostly women, but men and children too, found themselves on
trial for impossible crimes.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
German Lands and Switzerland trials without mercy.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
If paranoia had a capital, it might have been the Rhineland.
Here theology met legal zeal. Cities like Trier, Wurtzburg and
Bamberg launched hunts so ferocious that entire neighborhoods were left
fatherless or widow ridden. Pamphlets described weather witches summoning hail,

(00:53):
or diabolical midwives stealing babies for sabbaths. Officials built a
malafes house, a witch PRIs in complete with torture chambers,
Confessions squeezed out under duress, told of ointments for flight,
feasts with demons, and storms brewed in eggshells.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Today's tempestuous tale is brought to you by eggshell umbrella company,
because you never know when a neighbor's breakfast might double
as a thunderstorm.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
France, possessions and pamphlets in Lorraine and labor trials mixed
with theater. Priests debated whether village healers were holy or heretical. Cases,
like the Possessions at Loudain sixteen thirties, blurred lines between
exorcism and politics. A Convin's strange fits led to the
execution of a priest, while pamphleteers sold out every printing.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Scotland Storms Confessions and hair Shifters.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
North of Hadrian's Wall, suspicion ran colder than the wind.
King James the six personal brush with rough seas on
his wedding voyage convinced him witches were stirring up storms.
The North Berwick Trials fifteen ninety to ninety two produced
lurid stories, covens meeting in churches, cats tossed into waves

(02:14):
to rouse tempests. Later, in sixteen sixty two, Isabelle Godie
delivered one of history's richest confessions, not grim mumblings but
vivid storytelling. She spoke of flying with fairies, changing into hares,
and feasting in the hills scholars now see her words
as a blend of folklore, performance and the crushing pressure

(02:36):
of interrogation.

Speaker 3 (02:37):
Feeling wind swept, try storm stop now with extra charm
proof technology not guaranteed against Scottish.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Weather, England cunning, folk verses, malefic neighbors.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
Across England, witchcraft was as likely to involve sour milk
as satanic packs. People trusted cunning men and women to heal,
locate stolen goods, or unhex a cow. But suspicion brewed
easily a quarrel, a broken butter, turn a glance at
the wrong time, and suddenly someone was accused of overlooking.

(03:15):
During the Civil War Chaos, Matthew Hopkins, self styled witch
Finder General, charged towns for investigations. He used swimming tests,
pricking for hidden devil's marks, and a lot of intimidation.
Many innocents suffered, though his career lasted only a few
stormy years.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
Scandinavia, Bla Coola, and children's tales.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
Farther north, Sweden and Finland experienced their own panics. Children
claimed witches spirited them away to Blocula, a far off
sabbath island where devils hosted banquets and goats served as waiters.
Trip adviser would rate the atmosphere five stars, the menu
maybe two. The Torsaker trial of sixteen seventy five condemned

(04:03):
seventy one people in a single day, a grim record
in Nordic history.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Spain and the Basque country caves, councils, and compromise.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Not all hunts ended in flames. In Zugaramurdi sixteen o
nine to sixteen oh fourteen, inquisitors documented ointments, charms, and
goat field dances, but most accused were reconciled, not burned.
The Spanish approach was paradoxical. The Inquisition often preferred penance
over pyres, leaving behind priceless notes on Basque folklore.

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Heading to a nocturnal goat field meeting, don't forget Sabbath
snacks for all your moonlit grazing needs.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Russia and Eastern Europe quiet shadows.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
Russia saw fewer mass trials, but village lore remained lively.
Witches vedmai were blamed for hurdled cream or matted horsemanes.
Some peasants sought forest sorcerers for blessings. Others feared Baba
yaga lurking in the pines, hut legs, twitching. Poland, Hungary
and Bohemia kept prosecutions mostly rural and small scale, often

(05:16):
sparked by quarrels or dairy mishaps rather than high politics.

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Numbers, context and chill.

Speaker 1 (05:24):
Modern historians estimate between forty thousand and sixty thousand people
were executed for witchcraft across Europe from about fourteen fifty
to seventeen fifty, though accusations numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Peaks often coincided with climate stress, the Little Ice Age,
wars or plagues. Gender played a role too. About three

(05:47):
quarters of victims were women, especially those older, widowed, or outspoken.

Speaker 3 (05:52):
This sobering statistic is brought to you by Broom Life Insurance,
because even in history's darkest storms, someone was all always
selling peace of mind.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
From German dungeons to Scottish hair songs, from Basque caves
to Swedish banquet goats. The witch hunts were a collision
of belief, fear, and social pressure. They gave us many
of the images we still carry, flying ointments, storm calling,
secret sabbaths. Next we'll leave Europe behind and see how

(06:24):
witchcraft lore took root in Africa, the Middle East, Asia,
and the Americas, weaving stories as diverse as the lands
themselves