I tried so badly to get through this book... I really did but the way the author wrote...too may " let me make a joke" parts. so bad, even though it had a lot of good information I feel the author could have done better at writing this and giving the facts. Seemed like she wanted to be more of a fiction writer rather then a creditable source. I will see if this author has any other books and hopefully they wont be like this. ( )

If you are looking for a solid history of witchcraft in America, scholarly, or at least for the serious reader, this isn't it.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading it. The first part is more historical and makes it clear that the Salem trials were not wholly aberrant. Happily they don't overwhelm the material in the colonial period. After that, the historical thread snaps as she focuses on specific topics and places.

There is a section on fortune-telling, which is arguably not appropriate since the authorities prosecuted or persecuted largely because they believed that it was Not magic, but rather a defrauding of the gullible.

There is also a section on "pow-wowing," a kind of magic practiced mainly in rural areas, which doesn't seem to have been associated with the devil, but which nonetheless led to a murder by fearful neighbors.

This is followed by a series of anecdotes not worked into the earlier history. It ends with a chapter about the "Blair Witch" and the effect of the movie on people who combine gullibility with obnoxiousness and drove the residents of Burkettsville crazy with their aggressive sight-seeing. ( )