Britain has a rich history of witchcraft and the occult. While most of the books we have focus on the sheer body counts stacked up during Britain’s witch trials, very few focus on the traditional folk magic, cunning folk, and quacks. In the new book Cursed Britain, Thomas Waters has seemingly endless examples of folks who claimed to suffer bewitchment from a long while back to the early 2000’s. The book focuses most specifically on the concept of black magic and cursing, things that would have weighed heavy on the minds of a religious culture.
The book goes through witch trials, Scottish folk magic and lore, spiritualistic practices from Africa and Asia, as well as charlatans who plied their trades to make a living. The book is fairly dense, but incredibly interesting. If you’re looking for a deep dive focusing on traditions, black magic, and fears related to curses and witchcraft in Britain, this book is a keeper.
Cursed Britain is now available from Yale University Press.
