Witch Hunters: Through the years and the Media
Witch hunting is not just something that has appeared in television shows and movies, it has also happened in real life as well going back as far as the centuries in BC. Not only does it go as far back as that, but would you believe that it is also something that still goes on in this day and age, even though we don’t hear about it?
Today we will talk about witch hunting that has been happening through the years and of course we will also have a look at how witch hunting has been portrayed in movies and television shows as well.
What is Witch Hunting?
To round up Witch hunting in a nutshell, it was an act of accusing people of performing dark magic or any magic in general. The accused witches were often people that were considered as outcasts from society, people who were a little different, didn’t fit the status quo or spoke up for what they believed in which went against what the society as a whole thought. Most of the trials were focused around religion and the strong and outdated beliefs back then.
Unfortunately most of the accused witches were women, divorcees, widows, the old and illiterate people. There were several men accused, but most of all it was women who were considered witches and even some children were accused.
This inhumane practice is often just based on hearsay, nothing is ever found in concrete evidence. Things like epidemics, pandemics, droughts, floods can lead to an entire population going crazy and looking for someone to blame for a natural disaster.
When a Witch Hunter takes you to trail
The trials of the accused witches were very unfair, a lot of speculation and the accused were subjected to all kinds of humiliating tests to see if they were a witch and often these tests could lead to death.
Some of the tests are too gruesome to be mentioned, but nothing was off the cards. They could be stripped down and searched for a witches mark, this could often just be a mole or a birthmark and that was enough to sentence them to death another method that was used was practically drowning them. There was no escape if this was the preferred way of telling if you were a witch or not. Even if you survived the drowning, you would still be taken and executed but in a much more painful way as then you were considered an actual witch.
After a very humiliating and unfair trial the witches were often executed and this could happen in a number of different ways. Burning at the stake is one that we often see in the media but other methods could be hanging, drowning and there have been recorded instances of pressing to death with heavy stones placed upon you. Giles Corey was one who was pressed to death in one of the most famous witch trials known around the world, The Salem Witch Trials.
Witch Hunters in CAOS
In the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina we are well aware that witches have been hunted for centuries by witch hunters. The Greendale Thirteen which we see in the show were found out to be witches and were all hanged for their crimes. Later in the show, we see them being summoned by Lilith to take their revenge on the town and send the Red Angel of Death to kill every firstborn.
Harvey Kinkle also hails from a line of Witch Hunters, the Von Kunckles.They were hunters tasked with ridding the outskirts of town from some ‘strange’ people.
In the series we also learn that Angels are witch hunters. Jerathmiel, Mehitable and Gideon were Angels sent down to hunt the witches of Greendale, they portrayed themselves as missionaries and really wrecked havoc around the town. If it hadn’t been for Sabrina’s parentage, then a lot of the witches in Greendale would have perished that day.
The Media
Witches and witch hunting will always be popular in the media and there have been several shows and movies which have been very successful. A few fan favorites would be:
- Merlin
- Salem
- Charmed
- Grimm
- The Witcher
- The Witches
- Season of the Witch
- Hocus Pocus
- Harry Potter
Which movies/tv shows are your favorite about witches and witch hunting? Let us know in the comments below