Witchcraft Myths In American Culture

Author : Marion Gibson
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1135862834
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.31/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft Myths in American Culture written by Marion Gibson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating examination of how Americans think about and write about witches, from the 'real' witches tried and sometimes executed in early New England to modern re-imaginings of witches as pagan priestesses, comic-strip heroines and feminist icons. The first half of the book is a thorough re-reading of the original documents describing witchcraft prosecutions from 1640-1700 and a re-thinking of these sources as far less coherent and trustworthy than most historians have considered them to be. The second half of the book examines how these historical narratives have transformed into myths of witchcraft still current in American society, writing and visual culture. The discussion includes references to everything from Increase Mather and Edgar Allan Poe to Joss Whedon (the writer/director of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which includes a Wiccan character) and The Blair Witch Project.

Author : Charles Wentworth Upham
Publisher : DigiCat
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1227 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft in America - The History & the Myth written by Charles Wentworth Upham and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-11-13 with total page 1227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: British Colonies on the east coast of North American continent had been settled by religious refugees seeking to build a pure, Bible-based society. They lived closely with the sense of the supernatural and they intended to build a society based on their religious beliefs. That is what caused numerous quarrels, troubles and accusations among which the witchcraft was quite common and the most dangerous. While witch trials had begun to fade out across much of Europe by the mid-17th century, they continued in the American Colonies. The earliest recorded witchcraft execution in America was in 1647 in Connecticut. The witch hunt in American Colonies culminated with the Salem Trials when over 200 people were accused, and 19 of whom were found guilty and executed by hanging. This collection contains books that depict the history of witchcraft and witch trials in the USA. Introduction: The Superstitions of Witchcraft by Howard Williams Witchcraft in America: The Wonders of the Invisible World by Cotton Mather and Increase Mather Salem Witchcraft by Charles Wentworth Upham Salem Witchcraft and Cotton Mather by Charles Wentworth Upham A Short History of the Salem Village Witchcraft Trials by M. V. B. Perley An Account of the Witchcraft Delusion at Salem in 1682 by James Thacher House of John Procter, Witchcraft Martyr, 1692 by William P. Upham The Salem Witchcraft, the Planchette Mystery, and Modern Spiritualism by Samuel Roberts Wells The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut (1647-1697) by John M. Taylor Witchcraft of New England Explained by Modern Spiritualism by Allen Putnam

Author : Michael Kleen
Publisher : Arcadia Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1625858760
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.64/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft in Illinois: A Cultural History written by Michael Kleen and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first time in print, Michael Kleen presents the full story of the Prairie State's dalliance with the dark arts. Although Illinois saw no dramatic witch trials, witchcraft has been a part of Illinois history and culture from French exploration to the present day. On the Illinois frontier, pioneers pressed silver dimes into musket balls to ward off witches, while farmers dutifully erected fence posts according to phases of the moon. In 1904, the quiet town of Quincy was shocked to learn of Bessie Bement's suicide, after the young woman sought help from a witch doctor to break a hex. In turn-of-the-century Chicago, Lauron William de Laurence's occult publishing house churned out manuals for performing bizarre rituals intended to attract love and exact revenge.

Author : Marion Gibson
Publisher : A&C Black
ISBN 13 : 0826483003
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.03/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft and Society in England and America, 1550-1750 written by Marion Gibson and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2006-10-12 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of materials, including works of literature as well as historical documents, this work provides a broad view of how witches and magicians were represented in print and manuscript. It presents the voices of witches, accusers, ministers, physicians, poets, dramatists, magistrates, and witchfinders from both sides of the Atlantic.

Author : Marion Gibson
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317537866
Total Pages : 242 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft: The Basics written by Marion Gibson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-06-14 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Witchcraft: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the scholarly study of witchcraft, exploring the phenomenon of witchcraft from its earliest definitions in the Middle Ages through to its resonances in the modern world. Through the use of two case studies, this book delves into the emergence of the witch as a harmful figure within western thought and traces the representation of witchcraft throughout history, analysing the roles of culture, religion, politics, gender and more in the evolution and enduring role of witchcraft. Key topics discussed within the book include: The role of language in creating and shaping the concept of witchcraft The laws and treatises written against witchcraft The representation of witchcraft in early modern literature The representation of witchcraft in recent literature, TV and film Scholarly approaches to witchcraft through time The relationship between witchcraft and paganism With an extensive further reading list, summaries and questions to consider at the end of each chapter, Witchcraft: The Basics is an ideal introduction for anyone wishing to learn more about this controversial issue in human culture, which is still very much alive today.

Author : Gary R. Varner
Publisher : Lulu.com
ISBN 13 : 1430318139
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Dark Wind written by Gary R. Varner and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2007-01-03 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Dark Wind provides a survey of witches around the world, their prehistoric origin and how society has viewed them throughout history. Folklorist Gary R. Varner explores the use of magic, spells and curses among indigenous groups as well as state approved religions such as those observed in ancient Rome and Greece, and how even contemporary Christianity uses many of the same "magic" combinations. Also examined is the current "witch craze" in several countries where thousands are being killed as witches, the underlying reasons for this tragedy and the history of anti-witchcraft laws. The Dark Wind is a book for everyone interested in anthropology, archaeology, ancient history, religion and the occult. Illustrated with contemporary woodcuts and drawings. The author is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.

Author : Brooks Alexander
Publisher : Harvest House Publishers
ISBN 13 : 9780736912211
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.15/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft Goes Mainstream written by Brooks Alexander and published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was released on 2004 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Motivated by his personal experience in the drug and occult culture of the 60Us and his radical conversion to Christ, Alexander uses his background in law and journalism to authoritatively and clearly demonstrate the true nature of neopaganism.

Author : Marion Gibson
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1668002442
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.45/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft written by Marion Gibson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-01-16 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating, vivid global history of witch trials across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, told through thirteen distinct trials that illuminate the pattern of demonization and conspiratorial thinking that has profoundly shaped human history. Witchcraft is a dramatic journey through thirteen witch trials across history, some famous—like the Salem witch trials—and some lesser-known: on Vardø island, Norway, in the 1620s, where an indigenous Sami woman was accused of murder; in France in 1731, during the country’s last witch trial, where a young woman was pitted against her confessor and cult leader; in Pennsylvania in 1929 where a magical healer was labelled a “witch”; in Lesotho in 1948, where British colonial authorities executed local leaders. Exploring how witchcraft became feared, decriminalized, reimagined, and eventually reframed as gendered persecution, Witchcraft takes on the intersections between gender and power, indigenous spirituality and colonial rule, and political conspiracy and individual resistance. Offering a vivid, compelling, and dramatic story, unspooling through centuries, about the men and women who were accused—some of whom survived their trials, and some who did not—Witchcraft empowers the people who were and are victimized and marginalized, giving a voice to those who were silenced by history.

Author : Alissa Burger
Publisher : McFarland
ISBN 13 : 0786489596
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.96/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Wizard of Oz as American Myth written by Alissa Burger and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2014-09-24 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the publication of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, authors, filmmakers, and theatrical producers have been retelling and reinventing this uniquely American fairy tale. This volume examines six especially significant incarnations of the story: Baum's original novel, the MGM classic The Wizard of Oz (1939), Sidney Lumet's African American film musical The Wiz (1978), Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's Broadway hit Wicked: A New Musical (2003), and the SyFy Channel miniseries Tin Man (2007). A close consideration of these works demonstrates how versions of Baum's tale are influenced by and help shape notions of American myth, including issues of gender, race, home, and magic, and makes clear that the Wizard of Oz narrative remains compelling and relevant today.

Author : Miranda Corcoran
Publisher : University of Wales Press
ISBN 13 : 178683894X
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Witchcraft and Adolescence in American Popular Culture written by Miranda Corcoran and published by University of Wales Press. This book was released on 2022-07-15 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book-length study of witchcraft and adolescence in American popular culture. Will provide readers with a comprehensive overview of teenage witches in literature/media. Uses a novel theoretical framework (Foucauldian and Deleuzian theory, new materialism, theories of embodiment). Adds a new perspective to a topic (female monstrosity) dominated by psychoanalytical theory. Studies a diverse range of texts (film, television, literary and popular fiction, comics, YA fiction). Will appeal to scholars of feminism, media history, girlhood studies, horror, the Gothic, etc.