The War on Witches: When Good People Do Evil Things

Send us Fan Mail The Salem witch trials may be the most famous witch hunt in history, but the persecution of accused witches began centuries earlier. How did ordinary healers, midwives, and trusted neighbors become enemies of their own communities? In this episode of Pretty Evil, we explore the disturbing history of the European witch hunts, the Salem witch trials, and the psychology of mass hysteria, moral panic, and persecution. Beginning in 16th-century Scotland, we trace how folk healing, herbal medicine, and traditional spiritual practices became associated with witchcraft and accusations of devil worship. Through the stories of women like Bessie Dunlop, Ursula Kemp, Walpurga Hausmännin, and Geillis Duncan, we examine how people who had once been valued members of their communities found themselves accused, interrogated, tortured, and executed. We'll investigate the North Berwick witch trials, King James VI's obsession with witchcraft, the rise of professional witchfinders like Matthew Hopkins, and the disturbing methods used to extract confessions and manufacture evidence. From witch marks and sleep deprivation to the execution of Giles Corey during the Salem witch trials of 1692, these cases reveal how fear and religious authority helped transform suspicion into accepted truth. But this episode is about more than the history of witchcraft. It's an exploration of the psychology of witch hunts: how conspiracy thinking spreads, how confirmation bias reinforces false accusations, and how otherwise ordinary people can participate in extraordinary cruelty while believing they're protecting their communities. We'll also examine how our modern image of the witch emerged from centuries of folklore, religious persecution, and cultural reinvention—and why that familiar Halloween figure bears so little resemblance to many of the real people accused of witchcraft. How does a society become convinced that evil is hiding among its neighbors? And what happens when the accusation itself becomes more convincing than the evidence? Pretty Evil is a psychology-driven true crime and human behavior podcast exploring disturbing historical events, criminal behavior, and the social forces that make terrible things possible. Topics covered: Salem witch trials, European witch hunts, history of witchcraft, Scottish witch trials, North Berwick witch trials, Bessie Dunlop, Geillis Duncan, Ursula Kemp, Walpurga Hausmännin, Matthew Hopkins, King James VI, Giles Corey, witch persecution, witchfinder general, witch marks, folk magic, cunning folk, mass hysteria, moral panic, confirmation bias, conspiracy thinking, religious persecution, social psychology, historical true crime. Support the show Some details don't make it into the episode. For source material, research files, episode extras, and more to the story, visit prettyevilpodcast.com.