When bigotry and power-mania take control, disaster always follows for subjugated persons - even when the power is wielded by the Church. Witchcraft was viewed as devil-worship. Between 1450 and 1750, one hundred thousand people were accused, subject to the most bestial tortures and usually executed. Witches examines the wildfire-spread of witch hunting across Europe and America, as well as its roots in misogyny and religious persecution. It includes: Letters and trial testimonies from those charged with witchcraft, as well as some from self-proclaimed witches Biographic detail of key witch hunters, such as Matthew Hopkins (the so-called Witchfinder General) who was responsible for hundreds of executions Accounts of famous witch trials, from Chelmsford to Salam Nigel Cawthorne explores the real facts behind this persecution and the contexts that triggered it, tracing it back to its source.