If you pick up The Penguin Book of Witches expecting a bunch of Hocus Pocus or sparkly Hollywood magic, you're going to be deeply unsettled. It's dark. This isn't a collection of fairy tales curated for a cozy October night; it’s a brutal, cold-blooded compilation of actual legal documents, transcripts, and personal accounts from the men and women who lived through the Great Age of Witchcraft.
Katherine Howe, the editor, is an expert. She didn't just find some spooky stories. She dug through the archives of the 16th and 17th centuries to show us exactly how the American and English legal systems were once weaponized against the marginalized. It’s heavy stuff. Honestly, reading the original 1692 Salem transcripts included in the book makes you realize how little "logic" had to do with these trials. People were dying because of bad dreams and moldy bread.
What The Penguin Book of Witches Actually Reveals About Our Past
Most people think of witch hunts as a generic "medieval" thing. They weren't. The peak of the hysteria actually happened during the early modern period—the era of the printing press and the scientific revolution. That's the first big shocker in this primary source reader. We like to think we're smarter than our ancestors, but The Penguin Book of Witches proves that the more "civilized" we became, the more efficient we got at hunting each other.
The book starts in England and moves across the Atlantic. It follows the manual written by King James I, titled Daemonologie. Imagine a sitting king being so obsessed with the occult that he writes a guidebook on how to spot a witch. That’s in here. It’s wild to read the King’s own words and see how his paranoia trickled down to the commoners in the American colonies.
The Weird Specificity of the Evidence
You’ve probably heard of the "swimming test," where they threw people in water to see if they’d float. But the book goes much deeper into the "spectral evidence" that actually sent people to the gallows.
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Spectral evidence is basically a legal way of saying, "I saw your ghost bite me in a dream." In the Salem section, you see how the court actually allowed this. It’s infuriating to read. You’re looking at the words of a teenage girl accusing a neighbor of sending their "specter" to pinch her. And because the neighbor couldn't prove where their soul was at 2:00 AM, they were finished.
It wasn't just about spells. It was about "familiars."
We think of cute black cats. The historical records in The Penguin Book of Witches describe something way more bizarre. Accused witches talked about yellow birds, dogs that looked like people, or strange "imps" that sucked blood from "witch marks." These marks were often just moles or skin tags. Imagine being executed because of a freckle. That was the reality.
Why Katherine Howe’s Curation Matters Today
Katherine Howe has a personal stake in this. She’s a descendant of Elizabeth Howe and Elizabeth Proctor, two women caught up in the Salem nightmare. You can feel that connection in how she frames these documents. She isn't just looking for "spooky vibes." She’s looking for the human cost.
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The book is organized chronologically, which helps you see the evolution of the panic. It starts with the 1582 trial of Ursula Kempe in St. Osyth, England. Ursula was a midwife. That’s a recurring theme: women who had a little bit of power or medical knowledge were the first to be targeted when a baby got sick or a cow died.
- It shows the shift from "maleficium" (doing actual harm) to "covenanting" (making a deal with the Devil).
- The documents reveal how the law was used to settle land disputes.
- It highlights the specific language used to strip women of their agency.
The Trial of Anne Hutchinson
One of the most fascinating inclusions is the trial of Anne Hutchinson in 1637. Was she a "witch" in the way we think? No. But she was a woman who dared to interpret the Bible herself. The authorities treated her heresy with the same vitriol they used for sorcery. This inclusion is a brilliant move by Howe because it shows that "witchcraft" was often just a placeholder for "disobedience."
If you were a loud woman in 1640, you were a target. If you were a widow with property someone else wanted? You were definitely a target.
Debunking the Myths We’ve Been Told
We love the "Burning Times" narrative. But if you look at the actual records in The Penguin Book of Witches, you’ll notice something: in England and the American colonies, they didn't burn witches. They hanged them. Burning was more of a continental European thing. It sounds like a small detail, but it matters because it changes how we visualize the history. Hanging was a public, secular legal execution. It was the state, not just the church, doing the killing.
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Another myth? That it was only poor people.
The book includes accounts of wealthy, prominent citizens being accused. Once the hysteria started, nobody was safe. The sheer speed of it is terrifying. One week you’re a respected member of the community; the next, you’re in a cold jail cell because a neighbor’s milk went sour.
The Role of Children in the Hysteria
The most heartbreaking parts of these documents are the testimonies of children. In the 1645 trials led by Matthew Hopkins, the self-proclaimed "Witchfinder General," you see how kids were coached. They were used as the ultimate witnesses because "children don't lie." Except, of course, they do—especially when they're scared or being fed leading questions by powerful men in tall hats.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Reader
Reading The Penguin Book of Witches isn't just a history lesson. It’s a warning about how quickly a society can lose its mind when fear takes over. If you're going to dive into this text, do it with a plan.
- Read the footnotes. Howe provides essential context that explains 17th-century slang and legal terms. Without them, some of the testimony sounds like gibberish.
- Compare the cases. Look at the trial of Elizabeth Knapp (1671) versus the Salem trials (1692). You can see the "symptoms" of possession getting more theatrical over time.
- Visit the locations. If you’re ever in New England, take the book to Salem or Danvers. Standing on the actual ground where these transcripts were recorded changes your perspective entirely.
- Watch for the "Others." Notice how the accusers often point toward people who are different—the Titubas of the world, the beggars, the outsiders.
This collection is a heavy read, but it’s necessary. It strips away the pointy hats and the green skin and replaces them with something much scarier: the cold, hard transcript of a neighbor turned executioner. It’s a primary source masterpiece that reminds us that the real monsters aren't hiding in the woods; they’re sitting in the jury box.
To truly understand this history, stop reading modern interpretations and go straight to the source. Pick up the book, start with the introduction by Katherine Howe to get your bearings, and then read the 1645 trial of Elizabeth Clarke. It will change how you think about "witchcraft" forever.