Newspapers and the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic in the Modern Period

Abstract

The newspaper archive is, potentially, the largest untapped source of material concerning the popular belief in witchcraft and magic for the period after the formal cessation of the witchcraft trials in 1736. Several historians have successfully exploited the newspaper archive to examine popular customs in the modern period. However, little use has been made of newspapers to examine magical beliefs in the period defined by the decline of learned belief in witchcraft during the early eighteenth century and the eventual demise of popular belief in witchcraft two centuries later. Writing some fifty years ago, L. F. Newman noted that many witchcraft cases “only appear in the local Press of each district and extensive search is necessary to trace cases.” Newman hoped that his own very brief search would act as a catalyst for more intensive studies. Unfortunately, no one has conducted such work, and our understanding of the extent and influence of witchcraft and magic in the modern period is much the poorer for it. The present discussion, which seeks to begin that task, is based on short searches through various newspapers from around the country, the following up of secondary references, and an extensive, systematic ongoing survey of Somerset newspapers.As Gustav Henningsen has observed, the newspaper has an important advantage over the folklore record in that it “always shows us the tradition in a concrete social context” and also provides a definite chronological basis. The combined exploration of folkloric sources and newspapers provides great potential for the regional study of witchcraft and magic in defined cultural settings.

Beliefs that manifest through newspaper items in relation to peoples’ life challenges and their potential to enhance a sustainable learning environment in school science

“…Furthermore, beliefs have been found to be rooted in the activities related to witchcraft (Davies, 1998). Bar-Tal (2000), categorises the beliefs into private and common ones, where private refers to internal beliefs confined to an individual and common beliefs as the ones related to a group.…”

The Reformation and ‘The Disenchantment of the World’ Reassessed

“…Not only were books used as magical talismans in both Catholic and Protestant contexts; increasingly, writing and print also helped to disseminate knowledge of occult techniques, dispersing the contents of arcane Latin tracts in the promiscuous sphere of the vernacular. 89 Similarly, the mass circulation facilitated by print seems to have initially intensified interest in the prodigious and supernatural, exacerbating fear and anxiety about providential intervention, diabolical malevolence, and the end of the world. In the longer term, however, it arguably placed the credibility of the phenomena reported in newspapers and pamphlets under growing strain.…”

Witchcraft, the Press, and Crime in Ireland, 1822–1922

“…A small amount of prison registers and petty session order books survive for the later Nineteenth century, albeit in a temporally and geographically uneven spread, along with some records from the quarter sessions and assize courts. 17 In common with their counterparts in England, 18 continuing popular belief in witchcraft was rarely reported in eighteenth-century Irish newspapers, which were typically light on local news and catered for English-speaking urban elites who regarded witchcraft as culturally distasteful. 19 The Nineteenth century in Ireland on the other hand witnessed the rise of the provincial newspaper and an increase in numbers of professional journalists.…”