The History of Witchcraft and Demonology

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Montague Summers's richly illustrated study approaches witchcraft and demonology not as quaint folklore, but as a vast historical force that shaped religion, politics, and daily life across early modern Europe. Writing within a serious scholarly tradition, he argues that modern materialism has obscured the subject's importance, while renewed interest in spiritism only confirms that the supernatural cannot be dismissed so easily. Though he limits his scope to key themes rather than a complete world history, he insists that the evidence from trial records, demonologists, and legal codes must be faced on its own terms. Summers sharply rejects romanticized or skeptical accounts of witches, portraying them instead as agents of vice, corruption, and rebellion against Church and State. He acknowledges that witch-trials were often tainted by fraud, superstition, and abuse, yet maintains that a persistent core of truth remains. From heresy, familiars, the Sabbat, possession, and spiritism to witchcraft in drama, the book examines the enduring power of occult belief. Biblical episodes such as Balaam and the magicians of Pharaoh reinforce its central claim: words, curses, and blessings were long believed to carry real supernatural force.