Witchcraft Myths in American Culture

Marion Gibson

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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.

Book Details

Publisher: Routledge
Publish Date: Jun 1st, 2007
Pages: 304
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.90in - 1.15lb
EAN: 9780415979788
Categories: • United States - General• Magick Studies• Social History

About the Author

Marion Gibson is Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter's Cornwall Campus. Her previous books include Reading Witchcraft (Routledge, 1999), Early Modern Witches (Routledge, 2000) and Possession, Puritanism and Print (2005).

Praise for this book

"Gibson book is quite good--readable, well researched, with a valuable bibliography--and will be at home in nearly every library." -- CHOICE

"Recommended. General readers." -- CHOICE