Witchcraft has always been a fluid and intriguing belief system that has enchanted and sometimes terrified humanity. For over forty years, A History of Witchcraft has provided the authoritative history of witchery and the occult. Jeffrey Russell explores the definition of witchcraft in its many diverse forms, from the worship of the Greek goddess of magic, Hecate, through the medieval witch-crazes to the development of modern witchcraft in the early 20th century. Brooks Alexander analyses the development of neopaganism to the present day, charting the dissemination of witchcraft through modern media and the tensions that arise when a secretive cult becomes an open and recognized religion.

Whether or not one believes in the powers of witchcraft, one must believe in the existence of witches.