Witch Hunt: A Traveler's Guide to the Power and Persecution of the Witch

by Kristen J. Sollee

Overview

“A transcendent travelogue that guides readers through the history, places, and people of several of the many witch hunts and how their legacy continues to impact us today.”
—Pam Grossman, author of Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power

Traveling through cities and sites across Italy, France, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, Kristen J. Sollée explores the places and people significant to the early modern legacy of the witch.

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, a confluence of political, economic, and religious factors ignited a wildfire of witch hysteria in Europe and, later, in parts of America. At the heart of these witch hunts were often dangerous misconceptions about femininity and female sexuality, and women were disproportionately punished as a result. Today, this lineage of oppression remains a vital reference point in the fight for women’s rights—and human rights—in the Western world and beyond.

By infusing an adventurous first-person narrative with extensive research and moments of imaginative historical fiction, Sollée (author of Witches, Sluts, Feminists) makes an often-overlooked period of history come alive. Written for armchair travelers and on-the-ground explorers alike, Witch Hunt not only uncovers the horrors of history but how the archetype of the witch has been rehabilitated. For witches are not just haunting figures of the past; the witch is also a liberatory icon and identity of the present.

This paperback edition includes a new afterword by the author and an updated travel resources section.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781633411739
Publisher:	Red Wheel/Weiser
Publication date:	10/05/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Kristen J. Sollée is the author of three books on the legacy of the witch. Her first book, Witches, Sluts, Feminists, was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of its Essential Reads on Feminism for Adults. Devoted to the interplay between art, gender, and occulture, Kristen’s work has recently appeared in National Geographic, the Guardian, Dazed, Teen Vogue, and Atlas Obscura. She teaches at the New School in New York City.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Blood Stregoneria, Sex Magic (Florence, Italy) 9

Divination Nation (Florence and Bologna, Italy) 23

Saints and Sorceresses (Siena, Italy) 33

Midsummer in Liguria (Triora and Genoa, Italy) 39

A Witch's Guide to the Vatican (Vatican City) 47

The Iron Maiden (Rouen, France) 55

Necromance in the City of Lights (Paris, France) 69

The German Witchscape (Harz Mountains, Germany) 85

Terror and Transformation in Bavaria (Bamberg, Germany) 105

Pagan Past and Pagan Presence (Kilkenny, Ireland) 117

Sowing Seeds, Altered States (London, England) 127

The Ghosts of Malkin Tower (Lancashire, England) 139

The Passion of King James (Edinburgh, Scotland) 153

Witches of America (Williamsburg and Jamestown, Virginia) 165

Maritime Maleficia (Rehoboth Beach, Delaware) 177

Rituals of Remembrance (Hartford, Connecticut) 185

Halloween in Witch City (Salem, Massachusetts) 191

Re-Enchanting Travel (Brooklyn, New York) 203

Travel Resources 211

Bibliography 235

Editorial Reviews

"Sorceresses of ancient Rome casting love spells with their menstrual blood. Joan of Arc speaking to angels. The cunning women of Ireland and their flying ointments. The witches of Kristen Sollée’s new book teach us how to live magically. Impeccably researched and keenly felt, to read this book is to enter into a romance with the witch. A traveler's tryst. Sollée's love of place, the moss and the cobble stones, the ocean spray and the crumbling cemeteries, puts her in a polyamorous love affair with the witch and the world in which she lives. This book makes clear that the witch is a creature of her environment. Magic is embodied. The lands through which Sollee travels contain the spirits of the people who collected herbs on their hillsides, and spoke their enchantments into the wind. But as with so many love affairs born on holiday, behind all the beauty, the heart grips in grief. We know how the story ends. The witches in this book were hunted after all. But even though we know the story of many of these witches ends in sorrow, we carry on our love affair with them anyway, because to love is to be fully alive. And none are more fully alive than the witch. It’s clear that Sollée fell in love with the witches in this book. Sollée’s magic is that if you read it, you will too." —Amanda Yates Garcia, author of Initiated: Memoir of a Witch and host of the Between the Worlds podcast

"Kristen Sollée has written an expansive, transformative and empowering book that every witch needs on their bookshelf. In Witch Hunt, Kristen ushers readers through winding cobblestones of magick and mystery, offering glimpses of the often overlooked legacy of the witch. Dripping with relevant historical insights and written with a beautiful and compassionate command of language, Kristen shares the history of the witch, her magick and persecution with reverence, respect and so much love. This book will transport you to distant lands where the witch once danced, and with Kristen as your guide, you can come to understand the witch and her world in a way that feels personal and inviting. By tracing the many paths of the witch, Kristen invites readers to create their own. This book is like nothing else, and is a must read for any witch." —Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch
 
"There is now a very clear need for a travel guide which deals with places associated with historic and contemporary views of witchcraft; and therefore it is a real pleasure to find one so extensive, well-written, well-informed, and good humored." —Ronald Hutton, author of The Witch
 
"Sollée powerfully brings history to life through robust research and visceral visits to the lands of the witch hunts. Her on-foot and scholarly searching makes this book a page turner, sensitively reckoning the contemporary celebration of witchiness with the reality of a horrific past. It is an uneasy and often painful journey, but also one of insight and even beauty. Witch Hunt is a necessary addition to the new canon of works making sense of the witch." —Taisia Kitaiskaia, author of Literary Witches
 
"Sollée writes with a deep respect for those whose lives were lost in the name of witchcraft, and a wide, wild love for those of us who see the modern resurgence of the witch as a signpost for a better, freer future. In doing so, our intrepid tour guide proves once again that infusing rigorous historical research with an unfettered, generous spirit creates a magic potion indeed. This book exceeded my sky-high hopes and has quickly flown to the top of my list of bewitching favorites." —Pam Grossman, author of Waking the Witch and host of The Witch Wave podcast

"Kristen Sollée (author of Witches, Sluts, Feminists) explores the archetype of the witch in this entertaining mix of travel guide, journal, and ghost story collection. Highlights include an examination of the divination culture of Italy, including the tarot-dedicated Museo dei Tarocchi in Bologna, and of England’s occultism, including the Chelsea Physic Garden in London, where "the occult is inseparable from the landscape." Historical figures such as Joan of Arc in France and Dame Alice in Ireland are recast as early examples of gender-fluidity and powerful women who were killed by fearful men. These and other historic women are featured in fictionalized ‘visions’ that overcome Sollée, and work as a narrative device in which the dead impart knowledge of their craft and details of their often violent fates. While the author admits these scenes are fantastical, they nicely round out and give context to the catalogue of sites visited."—Publishers Weekly
 
"Kristen J. Sollée takes the reader on an imaginative and historical quest across continents to follow the trail of witches—the legendary, the self-professed, and the falsely accused—on and off the beaten path, sharing traces of their presences in our everyday world. It made me want to pack my bags." —Marilynne K. Roach, author of Six Women of Salem

From the Publisher

"Sorceresses of ancient Rome casting love spells with their menstrual blood. Joan of Arc speaking to angels. The cunning women of Ireland and their flying ointments. The witches of Kristen Sollee’s new book teach us how to live magically. Impeccably researched and keenly felt, to read this book is to enter into a romance with the witch. A traveler's tryst. Sollee's love of place, the moss and the cobble stones, the ocean spray and the crumbling cemeteries, puts her in a polyamorous love affair with the witch and the world in which she lives. This book makes clear that the witch is a creature of her environment. Magic is embodied. The lands through which Sollee travels contain the spirits of the people who collected herbs on their hillsides, and spoke their enchantments into the wind. But as with so many love affairs born on holiday, behind all the beauty, the heart grips in grief. We know how the story ends. The witches in this book were hunted after all. But even though we know the story of many of these witches ends in sorrow, we carry on our love affair with them anyway, because to love is to be fully alive. And none are more fully alive than the witch. It’s clear that Sollee fell in love with the witches in this book. Sollee’s magic is that if you read it, you will too."
 

Amanda Yates Garcia

Sollee powerfully brings history to life through robust research and visceral visits to the lands of the witch hunts. Her on-foot and scholarly searching makes this book a page turner, sensitively reckoning the contemporary celebration of witchiness with the reality of a horrific past. It is an uneasy and often painful journey, but also one of insight and even beauty. Witch Hunt is a necessary addition to the new canon of works making sense of the witch.

Taisia Kitaiskaia

Kristen Sollée has written an expansive, transformative and empowering book that every witch needs on their bookshelf. In Witch Hunt, Kristen ushers readers through winding cobblestones of magick and mystery, offering glimpses of the often overlooked legacy of the witch. Dripping with relevant historical insights and written with a beautiful and compassionate command of language, Kristen shares the history of the witch, her magick and persecution with reverence, respect and so much love. This book will transport you to distant lands where the witch once danced, and with Kristen as your guide, you can come to understand the witch and her world in a way that feels personal and inviting. By tracing the many paths of the witch, Kristen invites readers to create their own. This book is like nothing else, and is a must read for any witch.

Gabriela Herstik

Kristen J. Sollée takes the reader on an imaginative and historical quest across continents to follow the trail of witches—the legendary, the self-professed, and the falsely accused—on and off the beaten path, sharing traces of their presences in our everyday world. It made me want to pack my bags.

Marilynne K. Roach

Witch Hunt is a transcendent travelogue with a wickedly delicious, feminist twist. Sollée writes with a deep respect for those whose lives were lost in the name of witchcraft, and a wide, wild love for those of us who see the modern resurgence of the witch as a signpost for a better, freer future. In doing so, our intrepid tour guide proves once again that infusing rigorous historical research with an unfettered, generous spirit creates a magic potion indeed. This book exceeded my sky-high hopes, and has quickly flown to the top of my list of bewitching favorites.

Pam Grossman

There is now a very clear need for a travel guide which deals with places associated with historic and contemporary views of witchcraft; and therefore it is a real pleasure to find one so extensive, well-written, well-informed and good humored.

Ronald Hutton