<p>What was a witch&#39;s familiar, and why did these animal spirits sit at the heart of English witch trials? Returning guest Dr. Holly Bamford joins hosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack to explain the witch&#39;s familiar, the witch&#39;s mark, and the overlooked history of male witches in early modern England. Learn what the familiar meant, how the witch&#39;s mark was used as evidence, why the witch-familiar bond mirrored motherhood, and why men accused of witchcraft were not simply feminized. Featuring Agnes Waterhouse and her cat Satan, John Bysack and his six snails, and John Palmer&#39;s familiar named Jezebel.</p><ul><li><p>What a witch&#39;s familiar was in English witchcraft</p></li><li><p>Why the familiar mattered so much in witch trials</p></li><li><p>How the witch&#39;s mark was used as evidence</p></li><li><p>Who was accused of being a male witch</p></li><li><p>Why men accused of witchcraft were not feminized</p></li><li><p>How the witch-familiar bond mirrored motherhood</p></li><li><p>Why Agnes Waterhouse and her cat Satan became a foundational case</p></li><li><p>What John Palmer&#39;s familiar Jezebel reveals about marriage</p></li></ul><p>00:00 Familiars in Trials</p><p>01:01 Meet Dr Bamford</p><p>02:08 Conference Paper Idea</p><p>04:14 What Is a Familiar</p><p>07:51 Pamphlets and Audiences</p><p>11:47 Counting Trials Limits</p><p>15:03 Agnes Waterhouse Case</p><p>19:21 Marks and Teats</p><p>22:56 Motherhood and Familiars</p><p>31:52 Male Witches and Snails</p><p>41:49 Humanoid Familiar Jezebel</p><p>46:27 Further Reading Wrap</p><p>48:53 Modern Meaning Outro</p><p>#WitchTrials #Witchcraft #WitchsFamiliar #WitchesMark #MaleWitches #WitchcraftHistory #EarlyModernEngland #Familiars #Folklore #AgnesWaterhouse #HistoryPodcast #WitchHunts #EndWitchHunts</p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780367204549"><u>Buy: Witchcraft, the Devil, and Emotions in Early Modern England by Charlotte-Rose Millar</u></a> <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780367204549"><u>https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9780367204549</u></a></p><p><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781845190798"><u>Buy the book Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits by Emma Wilby https://bookshop.org/a/90227/9781845190798</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/magic-and-witchcraft-conference-2026-nature-and-the-supernatural-tickets-1989231567166"><u>Register for the Magic and Witchcraft Conference June 24-25 Online &amp; In Person</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/magic-and-witchcraft-conference-2026-nature-and-the-supernatural-tickets-1989231567166"><u>https://www.eventbrite.com/e/magic-and-witchcraft-conference-2026-nature-and-the-supernatural-tickets-1989231567166</u></a></p><p><a href="https://www.endwitchhunts.org"><u>End Witch Hunts: https://www.endwitchhunts.org</u></a></p><p><a href="https://aboutwitchhunts.com"><u>The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.com</u></a></p>