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Dark World of Witches
- GenresNonfictionHistory
209 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 17, 2015
This was a random check-out from the library. I've always been intrigued by the Salem Witch Trials and so this seemed worthwhile.
Eric Maple has long since past, but his book which documents the history of witches and witch hunts and which is sprinkled with interesting insights throughout is just as relevant today as it was when he wrote it back in the '70s. Take this passage for example:
By transferring the responsibility for social ills to the witch, primitive people are able to find release, if only temporarily, from their fears. The victim is pointed out, then purged or killed and life is restored to morality for a while. Then disaster strikes again, and the whole cycle of witch hunt and punishment is renewed.
The importance of the scapegoat to a community which possesses no rational answer to its problems is little appreciated by men and women to whom the resources of scientific research and medical knowledge are available. Without this safety-valve hope might well give way to despair and loss of morale in the hazardous circumstances of primitive life could possible lead to extinction. The whole social order depends upon these ritual killings and when no witches exist it is necessary to invent them.
It occurred to me that although many people no longer believe in witches (though some do) many others continue to believe in their own brand of "magic" which comes in the form of a divine creator.
In another poignant passage, referring to the war against witches:
It was a war carried on against the poor, the helpless and the old, by men and women obsesses by the folk myth of witchcraft and it was led by educated gentlemen who in their ignorance, imagined it to be a phase of the eternal war against the enemies of God, and by the Puritan clergy too, who in a moment of supreme hypocrisy, imagine themselves to be the delegates of God among men.
For all the progress we've made, one need not look very far to see how this particular passage still resonates today in many developed countries no less.
So does this passage:
The old magic and witchcraft slumbers not far from the surface of the mind of every human being, requiring only the wand of the white magician to conjure it into life again.
How many times do people blame the devil and/or God for good or bad things happening, rather than seeing it as an arbitrary act of nature. Or better yet, how many times do we displace blame for our own actions. How many times do we hear people thank "God" for some goodness they believe bestowed upon them or ask for his intervention.
And finally:
The real secret of witch-belief lies in the nature of mind itself, and the whole problem of what psychologists call projection is worthy of far greater study than it has so far received. The conversion of feeling of guilt into hostility towards others is a well-known human frailty which is responsible not only for the illusion of persecution but the need for a scapegoat. This seems to be a permanent tendency in the human mined.
What is even more intriguing, because it is relatively unexplored territory, is the role of legend in the transmission of patterns of belief through the ages. It is possible that this was the medium whereby the ideas of the past were imposed upon the present and traditional forms of social organizations preserved relative unchanged for generations.
The most unbelievable aspects of the witch hunts for me is that so many people genuinely believed in witches. It seems absurd that such non-sense could be so prevalent. Of course, look at how many people still believe in "magic" in one form or another even today, often blatantly denying the science that makes such beliefs obsolete.
A decent read for anyone who has an interest in both real and metaphorical witch hunts.
Eric Maple has long since past, but his book which documents the history of witches and witch hunts and which is sprinkled with interesting insights throughout is just as relevant today as it was when he wrote it back in the '70s. Take this passage for example:
By transferring the responsibility for social ills to the witch, primitive people are able to find release, if only temporarily, from their fears. The victim is pointed out, then purged or killed and life is restored to morality for a while. Then disaster strikes again, and the whole cycle of witch hunt and punishment is renewed.
The importance of the scapegoat to a community which possesses no rational answer to its problems is little appreciated by men and women to whom the resources of scientific research and medical knowledge are available. Without this safety-valve hope might well give way to despair and loss of morale in the hazardous circumstances of primitive life could possible lead to extinction. The whole social order depends upon these ritual killings and when no witches exist it is necessary to invent them.
It occurred to me that although many people no longer believe in witches (though some do) many others continue to believe in their own brand of "magic" which comes in the form of a divine creator.
In another poignant passage, referring to the war against witches:
It was a war carried on against the poor, the helpless and the old, by men and women obsesses by the folk myth of witchcraft and it was led by educated gentlemen who in their ignorance, imagined it to be a phase of the eternal war against the enemies of God, and by the Puritan clergy too, who in a moment of supreme hypocrisy, imagine themselves to be the delegates of God among men.
For all the progress we've made, one need not look very far to see how this particular passage still resonates today in many developed countries no less.
So does this passage:
The old magic and witchcraft slumbers not far from the surface of the mind of every human being, requiring only the wand of the white magician to conjure it into life again.
How many times do people blame the devil and/or God for good or bad things happening, rather than seeing it as an arbitrary act of nature. Or better yet, how many times do we displace blame for our own actions. How many times do we hear people thank "God" for some goodness they believe bestowed upon them or ask for his intervention.
And finally:
The real secret of witch-belief lies in the nature of mind itself, and the whole problem of what psychologists call projection is worthy of far greater study than it has so far received. The conversion of feeling of guilt into hostility towards others is a well-known human frailty which is responsible not only for the illusion of persecution but the need for a scapegoat. This seems to be a permanent tendency in the human mined.
What is even more intriguing, because it is relatively unexplored territory, is the role of legend in the transmission of patterns of belief through the ages. It is possible that this was the medium whereby the ideas of the past were imposed upon the present and traditional forms of social organizations preserved relative unchanged for generations.
The most unbelievable aspects of the witch hunts for me is that so many people genuinely believed in witches. It seems absurd that such non-sense could be so prevalent. Of course, look at how many people still believe in "magic" in one form or another even today, often blatantly denying the science that makes such beliefs obsolete.
A decent read for anyone who has an interest in both real and metaphorical witch hunts.
February 1, 2013
This is a brief history of the witch hunts in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. Cites Margaret Murray (1863 to 1963) several times but her research and Witch-cult hypothesis have been refuted in more recent times. However there's still some good ideas to consider, such as why witch hunts start. For instance it deals with why the witch trials in Salem, MA happened many years after they began to subside in England and why they were so much worse on continental Europe.
October 12, 2025
This is a very interesting book to say the least. It begins rather slowly but once I had an understanding of how the author was begins everything to light it began to flow much more freely. This is very good reading for anyone who has wanted to know about the Witch trials in the UK and America. It is geared more wards the misconceptions of Witches and few actually confirmed cases( which in all actually is probably the case). For me I feel this was an honest attempt at Witchcraft as a whole and I believe readers will find it as interesting as I did.
August 29, 2022
i got this book from a used bookstore and thought it was very interesting. however, it’s taken me a year or 2 to completely read it. i just had a hard time getting into the book! but otherwise, it was pretty good.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews