Kathryn Hunt, age 14, of Hutchinson, Kan., for her question:
WHERE DID WITCHCRAFT ORIGINATE?
Witchcraft is the use of supposed magical powers, generally to harm people or to damage their property. Witches made their first appearance in ancient Greek and Latin literature.
A witch is supposed to be a person who received special powers from some evil spirit. From earliest times, people in all parts of the world have believed in witches. According to some scholars, more than half of the people in the world today think witches can influence their lives.
Some scholars regard witchcraft as an extremely old system of organized religious worship. They trace it back to pre Christian times in many parts of Europe. From the 1400s through the 1700s, church authorities tried to stamp out witchcraft. But people in many parts of the world continued to practice witchcraft as a religion.
Church persecution of witches occurred in England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Scotland. In 1430, Joan of Arc, a French national heroine, was condemned to death as a witch by the English. From 1484 until 1782, according to historical records, the Christian church put to death about 300,000 women for witchcraft.
During the 1600s and 1700s, an almost hysterical fear of witchcraft swept most of Europe. The courts allowed gossip and rumor to be used as evidence.
The American colonists brought the belief in witchcraft from England. Suspected witches suffered persecution in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia. The most famous witch hunt in American history occurred in Salem, Mass. In 1692, the Massachusetts colonists executed 20 persons as witches and imprisoned 150 others.
Witchcraft isn't practiced in most civilized communities today, although its existence continues in almost all tribal societies. But scholars have done much to lessen any fear of witches or witchcraft. Many witches are portrayed today as attractive, slightly unusual people whose supposed supernatural activities do harm, perhaps, but certainly no evil.
People once blamed witches for any unexplained misfortune, such as illness, a sudden death or crop failure. Many persons accused witches of marrying demons and bearing monster children.
It used to be said that witches make cows go dry by stealing their milk or cast a spell on a churn to prevent butter from forming. People even thought that witches could raise storms, ruin crops and turn people into beasts.
In addition, it used to be said that witches could ride through the air on brooms and even make themselves invisible.
In ancient times, many people believed that witches and warlocks assembled on Halloween to worship their master, the devil.
The word witch comes from the Anglo Saxon word wicca, meaning wise one or magician. Originally, a witch was either a man or a woman who supposedly had supernatural powers. But through the years, only women came to be considered witches. Men with similar powers were called warlocks, wizards or sorcerers.