Witches Through the Ages

Guest: Charlotte-Rose Millar, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland, Author of “Witchcraft, the Devil and Emotions in Early Modern England” It’s the time of year when witches come out, resting on porches, leaning over bubbling cauldrons on suburban lawns, flying through the air on broomsticks in silhouette. We’re talking about Halloween décor, of course. But, there is some really serious, dark history surrounding witches. Thousands of women – and some men, even – were executed for the crime of witchcraft in Renaissance Europe. We had the Salem witch trials in the US, too.  So how did witches become a fun holiday oddity?