European Witch Trials

Megan Wang

Mrs. Ascari
English 2
04 September 2014

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8/8/14
Estonia was one of few countries in which a larger percentage of the witch hunt victims
were male. Of the approximately 205 accused witches, about 76 (40%) were female, and about
129 (60%) were male (Barstow 181). Sorcery was traditionally recognized in males, resulting in
men being targeted during the Estonian witch trials. As the hunts continued, however, women
were put on trial for witchcraft as well. Peasant men, usually middle-aged or older, were
accused mainly of poisoning, their main weapons being hexed beer, fish, strawberries, or bread,
while women were mainly accused of casting curses upon people (Barstow 86). In addition, a
common belief was that witches flew through the night sky; some thought their intent was to
cause some sort of harm, but others believed them to be watching over farmers crops (Barstow
87). However, many people, once identified as witches, were often subject to torture. Those who
survived were burned to death (Barstow 86). By the end of the witch trials, 65 of the accused had
been executed (Barstow 181).
Although most European countries believed that mainly females were involved with
witchcraft, Estonia was a country in which people believed men were more to blame for injuries
or other things gone wrong. I was surprised when I came across this information, considering the
fact that most of Europe suspected a greater number of women than men. Also, I did not expect
to read that some people believed witches performed good deeds rather than causing destruction.
Immediately following my initial surprise, I felt a bit enlightened. Not only was Estonia going
against the grain of the majority of Europe in targeting more men than women, but some
Estonians believed that witches were not even to be feared. This country seems to be an outlier.
These circumstances support the idea that it is usually impossible to be able to state that
everyone believes in one thing or another. My source for this entry, Anne Llewellyn Barstows

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book Witchcraze, provided all of the statistics, as well as all of the other information, required to
complete the entry. It proved to be extremely useful and interesting. I am interested in finding out
how other European countries differ from Estonia in terms of statistics and beliefs about witches,
both male and female.

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8/16/14
Approximately 3,837 people in Scotland were accused of practicing witchcraft. Of these
cases, the fates of only 305 are known. 205 of these were to be executed, 52 were acquitted, 27
were banished, 11 were declared fugitive, 6 were excommunicated, 2 were put to the horn
(outlawed), 1 person was to be kept in prison and 1 person was to be publicly humiliated. In
addition, a further 98 were recorded as having fled from prosecution. This seems to suggest that
67%, two-thirds, were executed, says the article Introduction to Scottish Witchcraft. However,
the article does admit that this figure is probably not very accurate, as it assumes that those 305
cases were typical in Scotland.
The article seems to be more certain about the percentages of male and female victims:
84% were female, and 15% were male. The genders of 1% of the accused are unknown. These
people were suspected of entering in relationships with or worshipping Satan, transforming into
animals or spirits, or flying (the Scots did not believe that witches flew on broomsticks). In trials,
accused witches were often tortured, which forced them to confess their supposed wrongdoings.
In addition, neighbors might claim that after conflict with the accused, something unfortunate
had happened to them. Even other accused witches sometimes named other people as their
accomplices, who were subsequently arrested as well. Some people were said to have made a
pact with the Devil, as they possessed marks that were either visible or invisible and insensitive,
as found using pinpricks. Those found guilty were normally strangled to death before their
bodies were burned. Less common methods of execution included live burning, beheading, and
hanging.

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After finishing research on Estonia, the numbers of accused in Scotland seem relatively
high. Also, unlike Estonia, Scotlands witch hunts tried significantly more women than men,
which was typical of the rest of Europe. It is disturbing, in my opinion, to think that hundreds of
innocent people were killed as a result of false accusations and lack of real, indisputable
evidence. Testimonies from witnesses and confessions extracted while the accused was being
tortured hardly constitute a fair trial. The website I used to research the Scottish witch trials was
surprisingly detailed, although the researchers have only been able to make educated guesses at
certain statistics. The information I read gave me a glimpse into the horrors of the witch hunts,
and I am definitely thankful that witch trials are mostly a thing of the past.

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8/23/14
Of the 2,000 English people accused of practicing witchcraft, about 1,000 were executed
(Barstow 180). Many were brought to trial after having been singled out as witches by children
claiming to be possessed. Also, pricking was a common practice during the trials; it was used to
locate the Devils mark on a persons body, indicating involvement with the Devil (Witchcraft
in England). 93%, or 1,860, of the accused were women, and most were poor, quarrelsome,
and disliked, according to the web article Witch Hunts in the Reformation Era. This leaves
7%, or 140, of the accused as male. Although England did participate in the witch hunts, it was
deviant from a large portion of Europe in that victims were not usually subject to severe torture,
and hanging was the main method used for executing witches, as opposed to burning at the stake.
In England, burning was for criminals who had committed acts of treason, so when female
witches were burned, it was normally for killing their husbands. Additionally, witches were
executed in relatively small groups. The largest, taking place in Chelmsford in 1645, contained
19 witches, but the second largest, executed in Lancashire, contained only 9 (Witchcraft in
England).
That about half of the accused were not sentenced to death indicates that the trials were
somewhat fair. Before beginning research on the European witch trials, I had imagined that the
witch hunts were chaotic, and executions occurred whenever there was the slightest suspicion
that someone was a witch. Despite this, I do not believe there was nearly enough evidence
presented in the trials to have convicted people of being witches. Additionally, the fact that 93%
of the accused were female seems to be quite unjust. While it is true that men were accused of
practicing witchcraft as well, the number of women compared to the number of men is highly
disproportionate. This statistic, along with most of the information used in this entry, was found

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in the online article titled Witchcraft in England. The webpage, overall, was an extremely
useful resource for research on witch trials in England. The few statistics missing were located in
two other sources. The number of accused and the number executed were easily found in Anne
Llewellyn Barstows book Witchcraze, and the percentage of women accused of practicing
witchcraft as well as a general description of them (most were poor, quarrelsome, and disliked)
was found in the online article Witch Hunts in the Reformation Era. These last two sources
contributed very little information, but both were necessary for fulfilling the requirements of the
assignment.

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Works Cited
Barstow, Anne Llewellyn. Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts. San
Francisco, CA: Pandora, 1994. Print.
"Introduction to Scottish Witchcraft." Survey of Scottish Witchcraft. The University of
Edinburgh, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2014.
<http://www.shca.ed.ac.uk/Research/witches/introduction.html>.
"Witchcraft in England." Witchcraft, Demonology, and Inquisition. The University of Sydney,
n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2014.
<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.library.usyd.edu.au%2Flibraries%2Frare%2Fwitchcraft%2Fwengland16%2617%2Fw-england16.html>.
"Witch Hunts in the Reformation Era." Witch Hunts in the Reformation Era. Stetson University,
n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2014.
<https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.stetson.edu%2Fsecure%2Fhistory%2Fhy10302%2Fwitchhun
ts.html>.