Witchcraft, Lycanthropy, Drugs and Disease in Bloomington, MN

Long before the political mass-murders witnessed in the present century, western Europe experienced another kind of holocaust-the witch, hunts of the early modern period. Condemned of flying through the air, Changing into animals, and worshipping the Devil, over a hundred thousand people were brutally tortured, systematically maimed and burned alive. Why did these persecutions take place? Was it superstition, irrationality, or mass delusion that led to the witch-hunts? This study seeks explanation in the tangible actions of human actors and their worldly circum-stances. The approach taken is anthropological; inferences are grounded on a wide spectrum of variables, ranging from the political and ideological practices used to mystify earthly affairs, to the logical structure of witch-beliefs, torture technology, and the role of psychotropic drugs and epidemic diseases.