Histories of psychiatry have typically contended that those accused of being witches during the late medieval -early modern period were mentally disturbed. More specifically, they have argued that (a) a great upsurge in mental disorder occurred in the 15th century, (b) the mentally ill were considered to be witches, and (c) witches were obviously mentally disturbed because they confessed to bizarre and impossible happenings, exhibited localized analgesia, and were sometimes insensitive to torture. These contentions are examined and found wanting. The overriding sociopolitical factors that produced and sustained witch persecutions are outlined. Witch accusations, confessions, and purported insensitivity are conceptualized in terms consonant with modern social-learning and socialrole theories.The emergence of psychiatry as a distinct medical discipline during the 19th century was associated with "mental illness" interpretations of many historical situations. This article is concerned with such interpretations of western European witchcraft. Many of the best known names in 19th and early 20th century psychiatry (