Witchcraft Myths in American Culture

Marion Gibson is Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus. Her previous books include Reading Witchcraft (Routledge, 1999), Early Modern Witches (Routledge, 2000) and Possession, Puritanism and Print (2005).

• Introduction 1. E Pluribus Unum? (Looks at the Role That Stories of Witchcraft and Magic Played American State-Building) 2. 'Our Town' (Each Town Dealt with Witches its Own Way and Local Micro-Politics Were Involved in Determining the Course of Events) 3. 'There's a Little Witch in Every Woman' (From the Political Consideration of Witchcraft to the Personal – The Gendered and Sexual Aspects of Being a Witch) 4. 'We Will Not Fly Silently into the Night' (Examines the Re-Imagining of Witchcraft as Religion (Wicca), One That is Often Seen as Empowering Women and Helping Reverse the Demonization That Condemned Many in the Colonial Period) 5. Witches in the Family (Explores the Positive Portrayals of Witches in Recent American Culture (Harry Potter, Sabrina the Teenaged Witch)). Conclusion

"Gibson book is quite good--readable, well researched, with a valuable bibliography--and will be at home in nearly every library." -- CHOICE"Recommended. General readers." -- CHOICE