‘Witchland’ by Marion Gibson
Hbk, Simon & Schuster, £22
If the witchfinders came to your town, who would you have believed, and what would you have done?
In the 1640s, Britain was swept up in a brutal witch hunt. Economic uncertainty and religious extremism fuelled by the English Civil War created a climate of fear. Neighbours turned on each other. Women and the poor were especially vulnerable, scapegoated by the powerful looking for someone to blame.
In the resulting hysteria, which would, only a few decades later, provide a handbook for the Salem trials – hundreds of innocent people were killed. Moving from village to village in Scotland and England, Professor Marion Gibson reveals how accusations grew out of everyday tensions – poverty, grief, and resentment – and how entire communities took part in persecuting the vulnerable.
Witchland is a story of fanaticism, inequality and the violence that surfaces during times of political upheaval. Could be read as a cautionary tale for our times.
‘Don’t Go There’ by J.W. Ocker
Hbk, Quirk, £15.99
A travel guide with a dark twist: ‘A Tour of the World’s most Sinister Spots’.
Embark on a guided tour of 30 of the most dangerous and mysterious locations that the public simply cannot stay away from.
Have you ever visited a forest or an abandoned building and felt a shiver? There are places that are rife with rumours of hauntings, monsters, and sinister phenomena that can’t be explained. Including numerous sites that are the confirmed home of disasters, murders, and man-made mistakes.
Gems include Roopkund - a lake tucked high in the frozen Himalayan Mountains, full of skeletons.
Mount Shasta: This mysterious mountain in California inspired the ‘I AM’ cult and is said to host UFOs, bigfoots, and lizard people.
Nahanni National Park, known as the ‘Valley of the Headless Men’, in northern Canada is famous for legends of a hidden gold mine and a series of decapitated miners, lovely.
