How to Kill a Witch
How To Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy is a non-fiction book by human rights lawyer and campaigner Claire Mitchell KC and writer Zoe Venditozzi, co-founders of the Witches of Scotland campaign.[1]
History
[edit]Published in 2025 by the Octopus Publishing Group, the book documents early modern witch-hunts in Scotland, focusing on the approximately 4,000 people - predominantly women - prosecuted under the Witchcraft Act 1563 with an estimated 2,500 executed.[2][3]
Mitchell and Venditozzi analyze these persecutions, taking an in-depth look at the entire process; the reasons women were accused - from neighbourhood squabbles to cheating spouses - and the types of torture utilised in order to secure confessions.[4] The book also examines the witch trials' legacy in modern misogyny and justice systems. [1][2]
"the belief system and social anxiety of the time created a perfect storm to find scapegoats and deal with them harshly" - Zoe Venditozzi.[1]
In researching the book, the pair also consulted historians, forensic scientists and researchers and reference sources such as the Survey of Scottish Witchcraft database where the names of the accused are collated from the original historic records.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Baker, Lindsay. "'People are still haunted by what happened': How history's brutal witch trials still resonate now". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ a b Mitchell, Claire; Venditozzi, Zoe (2025). How to Kill a Witch: a Guide for the Patriarchy. Great Britain: Octopus Books. ISBN 978-1-80096-188-3.
- ^ a b "The Witches of Scotland are on the march with a new book and their fight for justice". The Scotsman. 2025-05-27. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
- ^ O'Neill, Emma (2025-04-16). "New book looks at horrific history of the Scottish witch trials". Daily Record. Retrieved 2025-05-30.