" "In this new edition Charles Alva Hoyt updates his research and offers fresh interpretations of the fascinating history of witches. Among his "Second Thoughts" are cautious examinations of the possible implications of the space-time continuum of Einstein's special theory of relativity and the "Many Worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics to the observed phenomena of witchcraft. Hoyt, a descendant of Susanna Martin who was hanged as a witch for walking through a Salem rain without getting her feet wet, carefully sketches the background and history of this least understood of supernatural phenomena as it has evolved from antiquity to the present. He identifies seven distinct schools of witchcraft--orthodox, skeptic, anthropological, psychological, pharmacological, transcendental, and occult--and thoroughly analyzes each of them. He explores witchcraft's increased influence resulting from the New Testament's personification of evil as Satan. Especially enlightening are the ways that the nonwitch world has perceived and treated witches. Witches were often victims at the lower end of the social order, scapegoats for the misfortunes of neighbors, town officials, and family members. Many of them suffered decapitation, hanging, burning and torture, dismemberment, and removal of skin with red-hot pincers for their alleged witchcraft. Dietrich Flade, Rector of the University of Trier, for example, was burned on 18 September 1589 after having been "mercifully and Christianly strangled." He had been found guilty of causing "plagues of hailstones and snails."

This book brings together ancient manuscripts of the large compendium of Mesopotamian exorcistic incantations known as Udug.hul (Utukku Lemnutu), directed against evil demons, ghosts, gods, and other demonic malefactors within the Mesopotamian view of the world.It allows for a more accurate appraisal of variants arising from a text tradition spread over more than two millennia and from many ancient libraries.

Magic: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to magic in world history and contemporary societies. Presenting magic as a global phenomenon which has manifested in all human cultures, this book takes a thematic approach which explores the historical, social, and cultural aspects of magic. Key features include: attempts to define magic either in universal or more particular terms, and to contrast it with other broad and potentially fluid categories such as religion and science; an examination of different forms of magical practice and the purposes for which magic has been used; debates about magic's effectiveness, its reality, and its morality; an exploration of magic's association with certain social factors, such as gender, ethnicity and education, among others. Offering a global perspective of magic from antiquity through to the modern era and including a glossary of key terms, suggestions for further reading and case studies throughout, Magic: The Basics is essential reading for anyone seeking to learn more about the academic study of magic.