Best books about witches and witchcraft to read in 2024
From the trio of witches who haunt Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy Macbeth, to the falsely accused women of Arthur Miller’s Salem in The Crucible, there are countless literary spell-weavers who have captured our imaginations over the centuries.
Despite their fantastical representation, witches are very real individuals who have existed throughout history. Whether or not they were truly capable of manipulating the elements, casting curses and levitating on broomsticks, however, remains up for debate.
Storytellers throughout the centuries have latched onto the persecution of witches for a myriad of reasons. In the past, authors may have used the figures in order to represent the dangers associated with female empowerment and sexuality. Others have utilised the hunting and burning of witches in an effort to draw pathos from their persecution.
As such, witches are often employed as figures which represent deeper forms of societal injustice, whether it be the suffocating power of
