How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women
A lawyer and an educator meet at a mutual friend’s wedding. They’re both “quarrelsome dames” looking for a cause. They discover thousands of Scottish women have not received justice for being accused of witchcraft from the early 16th century to the mid-18th century. The two campaign for (1) apologies for the accused; (2) pardons for those convicted; and (3) a national memorial for the victims. in 2020, they create a podcast called Witches of Scotland, to interview experts on the Scottish witch-hunts. Their book, How to Kill a Witch, highlights much of what they learned through profiles of accused witches at different times and places throughout Scotland.
For me, Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell’s book revealed why the British witch trials were different from continental Europe’s. German cleric Heinrich Kramer’s Malleus Maleficarum (1486) was published years before the Witchcraft Act of 1563 became law in the British Isles and its colonies. England and Scotland each had separate rulers, laws, churches, and beliefs. The English hanged their witches, while the Scots typically strangled them and burned their bodies so the evil forces wouldn’t rise again.
In 1590, James VI of Scotland (1566-1625) attended the first major witch trials in Scotland, where Agnes Sampson and others were executed for using witchcraft against the king’s own ship. In 1597, James published his own treatise, Daemonologie, on witches, enchanters, and demons. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603), James also became king of England. His book was reprinted for the occasion.
How to Kill a Witch explains the ways God and the Devil interacted, what courts considered a confession or proof of witchcraft, which torture methods were used, and how many of the victims’ names and stories were lost. It also recognizes how sexism and abuse of power erase people and history.
With humor and anger at the betrayal, condemnation, and execution of these Scottish women, Claire and Zoe help us envision the accused and the world they lived in while also recognizing the dangers of misogyny in our lives today.
Thanks to Sourcebooks for the ARC.