Tuesday, May 12, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Witchcraft and Demonology
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Texts
A Dialogue Concerning Witches and WitchcraftesGeorge Gifford's 1593 dialogue on witchcraft — a remarkable Elizabethan text in which a village skeptic, a frightened farmer, his superstitious wife, a schoolmaster, and a 'good wife' debate whether witches really have power, whether cunning folk help or harm, and whether fear of witchcraft is itself the Devil's greatest trick.DaemonologieKing James VI of Scotland's philosophical dialogue on witchcraft, sorcery, and demonic spirits, written in response to Reginald Scot's skeptical Discoverie of Witchcraft. Published in Edinburgh, 1597.Daemonology, with Newes from Scotland — King James the FirstA royal treatise on demons, witchcraft, and the supernatural by King James I of England, paired with a sensational account of the North Berwick witch trials.Newes from ScotlandA 1591 pamphlet recounting the North Berwick witch trials, in which King James VI of Scotland personally interrogated the accused.Of Ghostes and Spirites Walking by NightLudwig Lavater's foundational 1572 treatise on ghosts, spirits, and apparitions — the root of English ghost theology, examining whether the dead return, why strange sights appear, and how Christians should respond.The Discoverie of WitchcraftReginald Scot's groundbreaking 1584 treatise against witch persecution — the first English book to argue systematically that witchcraft is superstition, and that accused witches are victims of ignorance and cruelty.The Terrors of the NightThomas Nashe's wild pamphlet on dreams, spirits, night fears, and the supernatural — the most vivid piece of Elizabethan prose about the terrors that visit men in darkness.