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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Alternative belief systems > Occult studies > Satanism & demonology
America Bewitched is the first major history of witchcraft in
America - from the Salem witch trials of 1692 to the present day.
The infamous Salem trials are etched into the consciousness of
modern America, the human toll a reminder of the dangers of
intolerance and persecution. The refrain 'Remember Salem!' was
invoked frequently over the ensuing centuries. As time passed, the
trials became a milepost measuring the distance America had
progressed from its colonial past, its victims now the righteous
and their persecutors the shamed. Yet the story of witchcraft did
not end as the American Enlightenment dawned - a new, long, and
chilling chapter was about to begin. Witchcraft after Salem was not
just a story of fire-side tales, legends, and superstitions: it
continued to be a matter of life and death, souring the American
dream for many. We know of more people killed as witches between
1692 and the 1950s than were executed before it. Witches were part
of the story of the decimation of the Native Americans, the
experience of slavery and emancipation, and the immigrant
experience; they were embedded in the religious and social history
of the country. Yet the history of American witchcraft between the
eighteenth and the twentieth century also tells a less traumatic
story, one that shows how different cultures interacted and shaped
each other's languages and beliefs. This is therefore much more
than the tale of one persecuted community: it opens a fascinating
window on the fears, prejudices, hopes, and dreams of the American
people as their country rose from colony to superpower.
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