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- while many people believe that witches are fictional, some people practice witchcraft in their daily lives
- modern "witches" follow paganism or are wiccan

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Yes, Witches Are Real. I Know Because I Am One

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Yes, says Pam Grossman, author of 'Waking the Witch' and self-described witch. "The witch is a notorious shape-shifter, and she comes in many guises," she writes.

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Witches, zombies and ghosts reported to police

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More than 70 reports about zombies, witches and ghosts are made to West Midlands Police in three years.

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- different across most media
- most commonly shown as green
- dark clothing
- pointy hat
- has a broomstick
- uses a wand
- long pointy nose
- unattractive

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- The wicked witch of the west (The Wizard of Oz - 1939)
- Elphaba (Wicked)
- AHS Coven (2013)
- The Craft (1996)
- The Sanderson sisters (Hocus Pocus - 1993)
- Sabrina the Teenage Witch

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- practice black magic or "witchcraft"
- can control people, objects, and sometimes events and weather
- sometimes work with or do actions for the devil
- cast spells
- born with powers or use a wand
- rituals

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- witch hysteria traveled to America (the new world) shortly after it occurred in Europe
- most famous trials took place in Salem, Massachusetts
- began when young girls Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris experienced uncontrollable screaming and fits
- believed that they were actually poisoned by a fungus
- more and more women began to show the same symptoms
- 3 women were then accused of being witches: Tituba, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn
- Tituba eventually confessed to being a witch and started to accuse several other women of practicing black magic
- while women were the main targets of witch hysteria, 6 men were actually accused and executed in Salem
- witch hysteria also went on in Connecticut and Virginia
- witch trials occurred for a bit in Virginia, but none of the accused were executed
- In 1655 Lower Norfolk County made falsely accusing someone of being a witch a crime

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- europe was taken by "witch hysteria" in the 1400s
- common to hunt for witches and accuse women of being a witch
- the accused were then executed and commonly burned at the stake or hanged
- targeted single women, widows, and women that were essentially social outcasts
- around 80,000 "witches" were executed in europe from 1500 to 1660
- germany had the highest execution rate for witches
- a book was published by two germans titled "Malleus Maleficarum" - translates to "The Hammer of Witches"
- the publication was a guide on how to identify and hunt for witches, known for starting the witch hysteria

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- the first "witches" were thought to be pagans working for the devil
- actually natural healers or "wise women"
- earliest record of a witch is in the bible: story of the witch of endor who is used by king saul to summon a prophet