Magic & Witchcraft

The figure of the witch recurs across cultures and time periods, and remains a source of fascination even today. Here, Margaret Meyer—author of The Witching Tide, an acclaimed historical novel inspired by a notorious English witch hunt—recommends five brilliant fiction books about witches, and explains how the witch serves as a symbol of female power in a patriarchal society.

Far from being outlandish, a belief in the paranormal appears to be a trait that many human beings share. Christopher French, Head of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit in the Psychology Department at Goldsmiths and author of The Science of Weird Shit, recommends five books that explore the paranormal—from a skeptical point of view.

For centuries, the witch has been an index not only of what we fear most in others, but also what we cannot cope with—the powerfully abnormal, strange and often irrational elements—in ourselves. And the best way to understand the history of witches and witchcraft is to first understand the supernatural, according to Diane Purkiss, Professor at Keble College, Oxford and author of the lauded book The Witch in History.

Former magician and internationally renowned debunker of paranormal claims James Randi sharpens his knives against proponents of flim-flam, pseudoscience and the so-called paranormal – and tells us where the creator of Sherlock Holmes went badly wrong. He selects the best books on scepticism for Five Books.

Steeped in the pre-Christian traditions of English magic, Richard Heygate, the author of the bestselling The Book of English Magic, warns readers not to dabble unless they are prepared to end up in a padded cell.

The former Chief of Staff of Medical City Hospital, Dallas discusses the weird and wonderful world of Premonitions. Semi-scientific and light hearted

The Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire takes us on a tour of the history of magic and ritual.

The emeritus professor of social anthropology at the London School of Economics and author of Speak of the Devil says the Dinka and the Nuer are famous in anthropology for not being preoccupied with misfortune