Witches
I think people may not be interested in witches as a topic.
I expect that is partly to do with Wicca, as we look at witching as
practically now an acceptable religious pagan practice.
But it was not viewed that way until very recently.
If you look through the history of the poltergeist for instance,
you'll see how often the poltergeist was claimed to be connected to
a witch's activity, in past times. When a poltergeist manifested,
even if the poltergeist agent was guessed at,
someone was bound to shout "witch".
It's in the John Wesley story, and the case of Wilmington Mill.
And, of course, the story of the Bell Witch.
There is probably another factor here. when we look back at old tales
of revenants, werewolves, vampires, etc, often the dead, which rise
might be also assume to have been witches.
In the more religious times, any "unwarranted bad luck,"
was seen as unholy, and the "witch" was a frequent scapegoat,
because they defied holy writ.
A spellcaster has always been sought for.
Still in places where religion still has a strong hold, Satanism
(Loosely applied to all magic) still gets blamed if demonic events occur.
I think this view is very important and it informs my stories.
Witches and spellcasting is about a lot more than paganistic practices,
and always was.
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