The rise and decline of witchcraft around the world, as seen through the perceptive eyes of an anthropologist and historian well-acquainted with traditional Basque and Spanish folklore--which inspired this fascinating, macabre, and chilling book. Beginning with an analysis of the basic mentality of those who have believed in or practiced the magic arts, and covering witchcraft's startling rise throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, it launches into an absorbing and original study that upsets many of the popular notions about the nature and history of the subject. Includes much enthralling material from art, literature, and ecclesiastical and legal documents, as well as discerning psychological studies of witches and their accusers.