Because there’s more to witchcraft than ‘Hocus Pocus.’
When most people think of witches, they think of drugstore Halloween decorations or movie and TV witches. But historically, witches were real people accused of a serious crime, and most were poor and already-marginalized women. BuzzFeed Life talked to Katherine Howe, author of The Penguin Book of Witches , to learn more about the real women (and occasional men!) behind witch folklore and mythology. Here are eight you should get to know.
Originally pub./prod. in Edward White: London 1579 / Via British Library/Robana/R/REX USA
According to Howe, "Ursula drew unwelcome attention after a woman named Grace Thurlowe declined Ursula's offer to nurse and care for Grace's newborn daughter. The baby fell out of the cradle and died from her injuries, leading Ursula to say that Grace should have take her up on her offer. As Ursula's trial unfolds, it establishes many themes that would recur in North American witch trials a hundred years later, including a strange concern for children, and an accused witch having her body searched for a telltale teat." Ursula Kemp confessed to witchcraft and was hanged in 1582.
Originally produced for R. Royston: London 1647 / Via British Library/Robana/R/REX USA
