The Thing About Witch Hunts

Witsh, a Welsh Witch Trial Story, with Mari Ellis Dunning

Wales has something most countries don't: complete, intact court records from every witch trial held in the Court of Great Sessions. Author Mari Ellis Dunning used these archives to write Witch, a historical novel set in 16th century Wales.About the novel:Witch follows Doli, a Welsh young woman desperate to have a baby who seeks help from a local soothsayer. The story explores what happens when accusations arise in a community caught between old Welsh traditions and new English Protestant law.The historical context:Five witch trials in Wales resulted in death sentences. The records show fascinating details, including Gwen ferch Ellis's case where "ignoramus" (case dismissed) was physically crossed out before her conviction.Mari discusses the tension between licensed and unlicensed midwives, how the Royal College of Physicians excluded women from medicine, and why lay healers were often more effective than the male physicians who replaced them. Class boundaries determined which accusations progressed to trial.The conversation explores:How Mari balanced creating relatable, nuanced characters while staying true to the limited agency women actually had in the 16th centuryWhy Wales's cultural identity and the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism shaped different attitudes toward folk practicesThe connection between historical witch trials and modern medical misogyny, political rhetoric weaponizing "witch," and systemic violence against womenLinksBuy the book: Witsh by Mari Ellis Dunning Guest Article: Gwen ferch Ellis: The first woman in Wales to be sentenced to death on charges of witchcraft

Connecticut's Final Witchcraft Execution: Mary Barnes and the Greensmiths

Before her execution, Governor John Winthrop Jr. treated Mary Barnes as a patient. He recorded her symptoms, prescribed medicines, and tracked the costs in his medical notebook. In 1663, she was executed for witchcraft in Hartford, Connecticut.This episode isn’t about the execution. It’s about fractured communities, failed institutions, and real people with lives that existed long before the gallows. It’s about what happens when a doctor’s patient becomes a community’s scapegoat, when churches wage war with themselves, and when the one leader who had stopped witch executions leaves town at the worst possible moment.Between 1647 and 1663, Connecticut hanged more people for witchcraft than any other New England colony. Then it became the first to implement legal protections that saved lives, twenty-nine years before Salem would erupt. Understanding that transformation requires understanding Hartford’s breaking point.Understanding how communities fracture, how institutions fail their people, and how fear finds convenient targets in those who don’t fit strict norms teaches us to recognize these patterns, whether in 1663 Hartford or anywhere scapegoating takes root.This is the story of what happened when a doctor’s patient became a witch. When religious anchors became battlegrounds. When neighbors turned on neighbors. And eventually, when a community chose differently.In May 2023, Connecticut officially absolved all 34 witch trial victims.The Thing About Witch Hunts examines historical witch trials and contemporary persecution patterns worldwide. Hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack explore the context that makes scapegoating possible and how communities can choose differently.*End Witch Hunts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationLinksConnecticutwitchtrials.orgListen to more CT Witch Trials Podcast EpisodesBuy the Book: Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663 What books should I read about the Connecticut Witch Trials? End Witch Hunts NonprofitSalem Witch Trials Daily Program

The Witch in Old Connecticut: Righting a Troubled Legacy with Richard Ross

How did 19th century Maryland pro-slavery advocates weaponize witch trial narratives against Connecticut abolitionists? Returning guest Dr. Richard Ross III reveals a fabricated 1848 witch trial story designed to discredit Connecticut's anti-slavery movement following the Amistad U. S. Supreme Court case victory.This conversation explores the intersection of witch trial history and American slavery through the curious case of Juliana Cox, a completely fictional Connecticut witch whose story appeared in Maryland newspapers to embarrass Connecticut abolitionists. We consider how missing colonial documents created space for propaganda, examine the real Connecticut witch trials that were hidden for generations, and discuss how witch trial rhetoric became a political weapon in debates over slavery and abolition.Dr. Ross shares research on how the Wyllys family papers disappeared into private collections, why Connecticut's witch trial history remained largely unknown until the 20th century, and the deliberate creation of a witch trial hoax borrowed from English folklore sources to serve pro-slavery political goals.Connecticut witch trial records and their disappearance into private collectionsThe Amistad trial and Connecticut abolitionist movementFabricated witch trial narratives as political propagandaHow pro-slavery advocates compared abolitionists to Salem witch trial accusersThe real witch trials of colonial Connecticut finally documentedAlice Young: Connecticut's first executed witchExamining bodies for witch marks in colonial New EnglandLiterary and political uses of witch trial rhetoric in 19th century AmericaDr. Richard Ross III is a historian and Professor Emeritus from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he taught a seminar on New England witch trials for over ten years. He is the author of Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley, 1647-1663 and has conducted extensive research on colonial Connecticut witch trials and 19th century American social history.Connecticut witch trials, slavery and witchcraft, Amistad trial, abolition movement, colonial Connecticut, witch trial propaganda, Richard Ross historian, Alice Young witch trial, Connecticut abolitionists, slavery history, colonial New England, witch trial records, 19th century America, anti-slavery movement, political propaganda, witch hunt history, Maryland newspapersThe Thing About Witch Hunts explores historical witch trials and contemporary witch persecution worldwide. Hosted by End Witch Hunts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Sarah Jack.LinksConnecticutwitchtrials.orgBuy the Book: Before Salem: Witch Hunting in the Connecticut River Valley 1647-1663 Buy the Book: Contagion in Prussia, 1831 Buy the Book: American Body Snatchers End Witch Hunts NonprofitSalem Witch Trials Daily Program

A History of Scottish Witches with Mary W. Craig

Historian Mary W. Craig returns to discuss her new book, *A History of Scottish Witches: The Devil’s Handmaidens, which traces the arc from the 1563 Witchcraft Act through its abolition in 1736.Craig explores how beliefs that had existed for generations became capital crimes, examining the theological frameworks, political upheavals, and social structures that shaped prosecutions. The conversation moves from John Knox’s influence on Scottish law to the chaos of 1661-62, when local courts abandoned proper procedures.Drawing on trial records and historical documents, Craig discusses who was accused, how interrogations were conducted, and why the trauma made Scottish descendants harder to trace than their New England counterparts. She also reflects on what medieval Scottish communities believed before the Reformation and how those beliefs were reinterpreted.*A History of Scottish Witches* will be available February 2025 from Pen and Sword Books and is now available for pre-order.**Keywords:** Scottish witch trials, Mary W. Craig, Scottish history, 1563 Witchcraft Act, Reformation Scotland, historical research, witch trial records, social history, legal history Scotland​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​LinksBuy the Book: A History of Scottish Witches: The Devil's Handmaidens Buy the Book: A Brief History of Time by Stephen HawkingBuy the Book: The Hammer of Witches Mary W. Craig cohosts the podcast "Borders Bletherings" MaryW.Craig.comEnd Witch Hunts NonprofitSalem Witch Trials Daily Program

Peter Mintir Amadu on Helping the Innocent Women in Ghana's so-called Witch Camps

Episode OverviewClinical health psychologist Peter Mintir Amadu explains the hidden mental health emergency affecting nearly 500 women accused of witchcraft in Northern Ghana and the innovative model transforming their lives.Women accused of witchcraft face a devastating reality: up to 90% suffer from severe depression, PTSD rates exceed 80%, and many live in camps for over 20 years. They've lost everything: family, livelihood, dignity, and hope.But mental health support alone isn't enough. As one survivor told Amadu: "I can sleep now, but when I wake up, I'm hungry. What happens to me?"Initiatives that combine mental health intervention with economic empowerment, creating sustainable change through advocacy, rehabilitation, therapy, livelihood training, and community engagement is being explored. This locally-developed model addresses both psychological trauma and practical survival needs.Ghana faces a 98% mental health treatment gap with fewer than 200 psychologists for 30+ million people. Yet TOLEC is proving that culturally-grounded, resource-conscious solutions can work, from teletherapy programs to training religious leaders as mental health advocates.TOLEC's work extends to prison mental health, maternal psychological care, youth substance abuse prevention, and school-based interventions, all driven by data and local innovation.International collaboration opportunities exist in capacity building, research partnerships, digital health technology, and advocacy. The model is ready to scale. What's needed is global support for local expertise.For organizations seeking meaningful partnerships in African mental health innovation, culturally-responsive trauma care, or women's empowerment initiatives.Keywords: mental health innovation Africa, witchcraft accusations Ghana, trauma-informed development, sustainable mental health programs, international mental health partnerships, women's rights Ghana, community psychology, teletherapy developing countries#MentalHealthInnovation #GlobalMentalHealth #WomensEmpowerment #AfricanSolutions #EndWitchcraftAccusations #TraumaCareLinksTotal Life Enhancement Center, GhanaAmnesty International, GhanaEnd Witch HuntsWhy Witch Hunts are not just a Dark Chapter from the PastINAWARAInternational Alliance to End Witch Hunts