How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy's Guide to Silencing Women

In How to Kill a Witch, Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi argue that Scotland’s witch trials are not a closed chapter of history, because they were and are part of a recurring pattern of persecution that continues in different forms today. They insist it is essential both to recognize patterns of persecution and to memorialize past atrocities to teach others to avoid them. In doing so, they connect past atrocities to modern issues throughout the work.  

The authors frequently explore how instability often leads to mass persecution. In 17th-century Scotland, witch hunts surged during periods of famine, disease, invasion, and religious upheaval. People facing relentless hardship sought something or someone to blame, and accusations of witchcraft offered a clear and easy target. This same logic appears in modern contexts. Chapter 15 includes writing from the United Nations Human Rights Council, which condemns contemporary witchcraft accusations as human rights violations occurring most frequently in regions affected by poverty, lack of healthcare, and political unrest. The parallels are impossible to ignore: When systems fail to protect and provide for citizens, societies often punish individuals rather than address structural causes, largely due to a lack of resources or knowledge.