A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcraftes — George 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.
Daemonologie — King 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.
Newes from Scotland — A 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 Night — Ludwig 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 Witchcraft — Reginald 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 Night — Thomas 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.