Dictionary of Witchcraft

David Pickering

Jan 2014 · David Pickering

About this ebook

This acclaimed 180,000-word A-Z dictionary is a comprehensive and highly readable guide to witchcraft, revealing the historical reality beneath the popular stereotypes of old hags, broomsticks, and black cats. Complete with biographies of notorious witches and descriptions of their covens, familiars, spells and practices, it also contains colourful accounts of infamous trials and all the associated paraphernalia of witch-hunting, torture and persecution across Europe and colonial America. A first-class source book for the historian, folklorist and casual reader alike, it shows in vivid and bloody detail how witchcraft hysteria swept the western world in the post-medieval period and has continued to resurface into modern times.

About the author

Described as 'the maven of reference book writers', David Pickering has written, contributed to, edited, or ghosted well over 250 reference books for major British and American publishers. His works on history, folklore, language, theatre and other subjects have won many fans and have led to numerous appearances in television and radio studios over the years. Many of them, including the enduringly popular dictionaries of Witchcraft and Superstitions, are now also available as ebooks.

An experienced editor of fiction and autobiography as well as reference books, he has also published several works of fiction. These include his debut novel 'And Stones Shall Dance', 'Things Lost and Other Short Stories' and the horror collection 'Things Undreamt Of'. Other titles include a series of classic short story anthologies featuring tales by some of the greatest names in world literature.