In the decades that followed Shakespeare’s death in 1616, England saw the arrival of events known as witch panics of Civil War–era Britain. It’s easy to think that these witch panics and the heightened fear about witches was something that’s post-Shakespeare, but the reality is that the the legal, religious, and cultural foundations were already being laid during Shakespeare’s lifetime through developments such as the 1604 Witchcraft Act, King James I’s ideas about demonic conspiracy, and growing fears surrounding prophecy, spirits, healing, and the Devil.
Our guest today is Marion Gibson, an expert on witches and witchcraft in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the author of Witchland her latest book that explores the witch panics of Civil War–era Britain, revealing how war, religious extremism, local conflict, and earlier beliefs about witchcraft combined to turn suspicion into persecution. For today’s episode, we will explore both the terrible events that followed Shakespeare’s lifetime and the earlier beliefs, laws, and conflicts that set the stage for their arrival.
From witchfinders and eyewitness testimony to neighborhood quarrels and sudden reversals of reputation, Marion will help us understand how the foundations of England’s later witch panics were being built while Shakespeare was still alive—and how that history can deepen our understanding of the witches and accusations we encounter in his plays.
Download a Transcript of Ep 441 here
About Marion Gibson
Marion Gibson is Emerita Professor at Exeter University, UK and the author of Witchland: A Tale of Witch Hunting and War in 17th Century Britain (Simon and Schuster/Scribner, 2026), Witchcraft: A History in 13 Trials (Simon and Schuster/Scribner, 2023) and numerous academic books on witchcraft trials, Shakespeare, puritanism, women’s history and early modern culture.
What We Talk About
- How the 1604 Witchcraft Act dramatically increased the danger of a witchcraft accusation—and what Shakespeare would have known about these changing laws near the end of his life.
- How Shakespeare-era beliefs about witches, spirits, demonic conspiracy, and King James’s Daemonologie helped shape the witch finders and panics that followed in the seventeenth century.
- How ordinary neighbor disputes, damaged reputations, political conflict, and personal grudges could transform suspicion into a witchcraft accusation—with sometimes deadly consequences.
- …and more!
Resources Recommended by Our Guest
Marion recommends the following places to continue exploring the subject:
Marion Gibson, Witch Land — this is the featured book for the episode rather than part of Marion’s answer to the recommendation question, but it is the central resource for the Civil War-era witch panics discussed throughout the conversation.
Marion Gibson, Witchcraft: A History in Thirteen Trials — her suggested introductory book for understanding what the word “witch” has meant across Britain, Europe, North America, and into the present.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth — Marion recommends beginning here for Shakespeare’s own presentation of witches.
Books by Julian Goodare — whom Marion describes as a leading historian of Scottish witchcraft and particularly useful for understanding the Scottish context behind Macbeth. The European Witch Hunt and Weird Sisters, among many others.
Books by Emma Wilby — for Scottish witches, magical practitioners, fairy traditions, and related supernatural beliefs. Invoking the Akelarre: Voices of the Accused in the Basque Witch-craze and Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic among many others.
The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft — an online database documenting known people accused of witchcraft in Scotland and information about their cases.
