Whitaker, Kati (September 2012). "Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018 . Retrieved 1 September 2012. Abusch, Tzvi (2002). Mesopotamian Witchcraft: Toward a History and Understanding of Babylonian Witchcraft Beliefs and Literature. Brill Styx. ISBN 9789004123878.

Suspicious!” cried Adamson’s rivals. “She’s a witch!” Poor Alison was imprisoned on charge of witchcraft, sealed in St. Andrew’s castle. And Adamson himself helped her escape imprisonment. Over the last six years, for many of us, things have been a little topsy turvy," he said. "Magic and witchcraft provide a way to feel as if you're in control of this situation and what's going on in the world."In Kenya, there have been reports of mobs burning people accused of witchcraft, reflecting the deep-seated beliefs in the supernatural. [93] Malawi faces a similar issue of child witchcraft accusations, with traditional healers and some Christian counterparts involved in exorcisms, causing abandonment and abuse of children. [94] In Nigeria, Pentecostal pastors have intertwined Christianity with witchcraft beliefs for profit, leading to the torture and killing of accused children. [95] Sierra Leone's Mende people see witchcraft convictions as beneficial, as the accused receive support and care from the community. [96]

And so innocent people like Alison Pearson became particular targets. As you’ll remember, she was a healer who used herbs and traditional treatments, but because there was little understanding of how healers worked, people started suspecting that magic was involved. This cast them in danger for fear of being in league with the Devil. Saltwater for curing wounds, butter to heal the skin, red nettles to cure pain in the loins. Just some of the methods used for centuries by folk healers like Alison Pearson of St. Andrews. Cumes, David (2004). Africa in my bones. Claremont: New Africa Books. p.14. ISBN 978-0-86486-556-4. Byrne, Carrie 2011. Hunting the vulnerable: Witchcraft and the law in Malawi; Consultancy Africa Intelligence (16 June): Berger, Helen A.; Ezzy, Douglas (September 2009). "Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 48 (3): 501–514. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01462.x. JSTOR 40405642.One such figure was peculiar to the western Alps. She was the female embodiment of winter, a female figure often called Bertha or Perchta or Befuna. She punished social disobedience and rewarded ‘goodness’. She was always portrayed as an old hag, because she represented cold and winter. It did not take long for intellectuals to note her resemblance to the witches with whom they were familiar from classical literature. The most obvious one is just this association of witchcraft with evil," said Grossman. "I often say that darkness is not evil. Witchcraft honors shadow and light; it honors life and death." Witches are your neighbors," said Jason Mankey, author and Wiccan-Witch. "And more and more of them are becoming your neighbors as we're in the middle of this witch moment right now." The witch’s familiar was usually a small animal, sometimes as tiny as a housefly. The witch fed the familiar and in return, it might grudgingly act out her commands. It was, in fact, a kind of fairy known as the household brownie or hob. These creatures favour cream and have to be appeased by constant offerings of it or they can start to behave like poltergeists. It was therefore assumed that they could be put to work ruining the work of other householders. World Report on Violence and Health" (PDF). World Health Organization. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2014 . Retrieved 7 June 2014.

McNeill, F. Marian (1957). The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland. Vol.1. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. ISBN 978-0862412319. Nepal: Witchcraft as a Superstition and a form of violence against women in Nepal". Humanrights.asia. Asian Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014 . Retrieved 7 June 2014. Witchcraft is to me is self-empowerment and attunement with the divine," she said. "I've been able to find strength and courage." The views of witchcraft in North America have evolved through an interlinking history of cultural beliefs and interactions. These forces contribute to complex and evolving views of witchcraft. Today, North America hosts a diverse array of beliefs about witchcraft. [102] [103]Ankarloo, Bengt and Henningsen, Gustav (1990) Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1, 14.

Wallace, Dale Lancaster (January 2015). "Rethinking religion, magic and witchcraft in South Africa: From colonial coherence to postcolonial conundrum". Journal for the Study of Religion. 28 (1): 23–51 . Retrieved 15 September 2023– via Acaemdia.edu.

Most people think that witches are a Christian invention. But the idea of the witch who flies in the night and draws power from dark cosmic forces to work her ill will on others pre-dates Christianity, probably by many centuries. Kanina, Wangui (21 May 2008). "Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan "witches" ". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017 . Retrieved 15 September 2016.