The Thing About Witch Hunts

The Craft at 30: Witchcraft, Teen Horror, and the Satanic Panic with Abby Brenker (Lunatics Project)We welcome Abby Brenker of The Lunatics Project to dig into The Craft on its 30th anniversary, tracing why this 1996 teen witchcraft horror classic became a sleepover staple despite mixed reviews and an R rating. We explore how the film centers female friendship, anger, and power outside of romance, while portraying boys as secondary villainous caricatures, and we unpack gendered conflicts around beauty, identity, mentorship, and isolation—especially for Bonnie, Sarah, Nancy, and Rochelle. We connect the movie’s rituals, Wiccan and occult-inspired magic system, and iconic lines (“We’re the weirdos, mister”) to broader 1990s witch media, from Sabrina to Buffy, and to real-world fears: self-harm, rape, bullying, and primal horror imagery like mirrors, snakes, and spiders. We also touch on The Believers, Blair Witch, and the Satanic Panic, and Abby shares where to find Lunatics Radio Hour and her feature film Voices Carry on Tubi.Chapters00:00 Meet The Guest00:28 Lunatics Project Origins03:02 Why The Craft Matters03:58 Film Setup And Legacy07:49 Women Center Stage11:18 Boys And Beauty Standards15:21 Rituals And Power18:02 Fear And Dark Themes23:32 Iconic Lines And Scenes25:36 Witch Shop Mentor27:45 Rochelle Lacks Support29:14 Racism Then and Now30:40 Hair as Social Power35:05 Nineties Witch Boom40:02 Satanic Panic Memories43:38 Ritual Games and Mirrors45:45 Iconic Final Confrontation48:26 Violence and R Rating51:08 Blair Witch and Viral Hype53:58 Closing and Projects LinksThe Lunatics ProjectLunatics Radio HourVoices Carry on TubiSalem Witch Trials History YouTube channelThe Thing About Witch HuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch TrialsSalem Witch Trials DailyConnecticut Witch Trial History TrailMassachusetts Witch Trial HistoryEnd Witch Hunts nonprofit

Why Did Ann Putnam Jr. Accuse? Reconstructing the Salem Witch Trials Through Behavioral ScienceWe welcome back producer-director-writer Tom Phillips with evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Hogan Sherrow to examine why 12-year-old Ann Putnam Jr. became the central accuser in the Salem witch trials and later the only known accuser to publicly apologize. Using Sherrow’s “evolutionary behavioral reconstruction,” they combine life history, Puritan cultural context, and household pressures to consider non-sensational explanations, including mental illness (psychosis-like symptoms), imitation and reinforcement, and the community’s readiness to interpret aberrant behavior as the devil. They discuss how Ann’s charisma could sway authorities, including the reversal of Rebecca Nurse’s initial acquittal, and how parents, magistrates, and church could benefit once accusations escalated. They analyze Ann’s 1706 apology language and signature, the trauma of witnessing executions, and preview test footage from Phillips’ stage-bound project Salem Aftermath.00:00 Why Ann Putnam Matters01:39 Meet Tom and Hogan04:30 Salem Aftermath Project05:56 Behavioral Reconstruction09:11 Puritans Not Hysterical10:58 Profiling Ann Putnam14:39 Psychosis or Copycat18:25 Lying and Boogeymen24:29 Family Trauma and Motives31:43 Rebecca Nurse Courtroom36:11 Who Benefits and Why37:05 Short Term Rewards40:07 Early Death Stressors44:05 Scapegoats And Witch Hunts48:27 Possible Diagnoses51:00 Teen Desire And Guilt53:46 Outcast And Marriage Prospects56:07 Apology Under Scrutiny59:42 Hangings And Lasting Trauma01:02:01 Signature And Authorship Doubts01:06:31 Humanizing Ann And Closing Links:The Thing About Witch HuntsSalem Witch Trials History YouTubeThe Thing About the Salem Witch TrialsSalem Witch Trials Daily

World Day Against Witch Hunts: Sister Lorena Jenal and Jörg Nowak on Rescuing Survivors in Papua New GuineaHosts Josh Hutchinson and Sarah Jack mark August 10, World Day Against Witch Hunts, with its creators, Sister Lorena Jenal and journalist Jörg Nowak of the German Catholic aid organization Missio. Sr. Lorena, a Swiss Franciscan who has served 47 years in Papua New Guinea, has rescued more than 420 women accused of sorcery since 2012 and shelters survivors at the House of Hope, built using her International Weimar Award for Human Rights. Nowak describes how Missio recognized sorcery accusation-related violence as a current human rights violation, expanded support to projects in countries including Liberia, Tanzania, Ghana, Benin, and documented abuses through reporting and museum exhibitions. They discuss the scale in PNG (109 cases last year), an estimate of 3,000 killings over 20 years, patterns of scapegoating and misogyny, severe sexual violence and public humiliation, police corruption and inaction, and advocacy efforts to elevate August 10 to a United Nations-recognized day.00:00 World Day Against Witch Hunts01:37 Meet Lorena and Jörg03:10 Missio Campaign Origins05:38 Papua New Guinea Crisis11:40 Who Gets Accused20:21 Sexual Violence Research29:06 Police Corruption and Justice35:15 Creating August 1043:48 House of Hope Sanctuary46:20 UN Recognition Push52:20 How You Can Help53:57 Final Thanks and Share LinksHexenverfolgung heute | missio: https://www.missio-hilft.de/informieren/wofuer-wir-uns-einsetzen/gegen-hexenverfolgung/  World Day Against Witch Hunts:  https://endwitchhunts.org/day The Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comSalem Witch Trials History YouTube: https://youtube.com/@aboutwitchhuntsThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials Daily: https://aboutsalem.com/salem-witch-trials-daily/

Reclamation: Restorative Justice and a Church Returned for Scotland’s Accused WitchesWe follow the question history books can’t answer: once the harm of witch hunting is acknowledged, what does repair look like? Trauma resolution practitioner Claire Standen, founder of Reclamation, is building a Scottish community interest organization seeking reparations for the thousands prosecuted under Scotland’s Witchcraft Act (1500s–1700s), arguing apology without action isn’t meaningful. Her central demand is radical and concrete: the Church of Scotland—already apologetic—should gift an unused church building (not sold or grant-funded) to be stewarded as a community headquarters and a Center for Female Authority, reclaiming sacred space once tied to persecution. Drawing on trauma work and epigenetic inheritance, she connects historic terror to today’s inherited silence and societal patterns, and outlines a restorative justice approach where those harmed define what healing requires. Reclamation is seeking social media support and seed funding via ourreclamation.org.00:00 Show Intro and Big Question01:38 Meet Claire Standen03:18 What Reclamation Aims For05:26 Trauma Work Meets History09:02 The Synchronicity Road Trip15:40 Reclaiming Witch Legacy20:26 Apologies vs Reparations24:21 Inherited Silence and Epigenetics27:03 What Makes Apology Meaningful31:32 Why a Gifted Church Matters40:12 Center for Female Authority Vision45:32 How to Help and Connect48:18 Closing ReflectionsLinks:Reclamation ProjectThe Thing About the Salem Witch TrialsSalem Witch Trials DailySalem Witch Trial History YouTube Channel

Witchland with Professor Marion Gibson: The Witchfinder General, Civil War Chaos, and Recovering the AccusedWe sit down with Professor Marion Gibson (emeritus, Exeter University) to explore her new book, “Witchland: A Tale of Witch Hunting and War in 17th Century Britain,” a gripping, archive-driven look at the 1640s British Civil Wars and the Matthew Hopkins–John Stearne witch hunts that pursued roughly 200–300 people. Marion explains her mission to remedy a “triple injustice” by restoring the accused to history—their names, neighbors, and ordinary lives—rather than centering persecutors. We dig into how war, religious conflict, migration, and the 1604 Witchcraft Act helped fuel mass prosecutions; how “watchers,” clergy, and communities escalated sleep-deprivation interrogations; and how templates of questions produced patterned confessions about familiars, spirits, and the devil. Stories range from the nameless “Witch of Newbury” to Scotland’s pricking practices, Great Yarmouth’s transatlantic links to New England, Cornwall’s Ann Jeffries and Moses Pitt, and growing efforts to memorialize victims.00:00 Meet Marion Gibson02:49 Why Write Witchland04:43 Triple Injustice06:48 Civil War Panic09:17 Witch of Newbury11:16 Law That Enabled Hunts14:01 Familiars And Confessions17:18 Religion And Reformers20:48 Building A National Story25:00 Accusations And Watchers30:39 Templates And Scotland40:54 Cornwall Fairies Tale44:30 Memorials And Memory47:18 Buy The Book Next50:31 Final Thanks And OutroBuy Witchland by Marion GibsonBuy Books on English and European Witch TrialsCT Witch and Culture FestHistory Camp BostonEnd Witch HuntsThe Thing About Witch Hunts: https://aboutwitchhunts.comThe Thing About the Salem Witch Trials: https://aboutsalem.comSalem Witch Trials History Youtube