ABSTRACT
Witches were thought of as an enemy within. They appeared to be ordinary members of the community, pretending to be good Christians, and not admitting openly to being witches. They cast their spells in secret. This internal danger was different from dangers that were seen as originating outside the community: wolves in the forests, fairies in the hills. The issue of witches bringing magical illness and death features so heavily in the European witch-hunt that it is worth investigating it in some detail. During some serial witch-hunts, witches were interrogated and made to confess to malefices that had little or no basis in community reputation. On the other hand, many deaths were probably attributed to witches who were never prosecuted. In practice, godly members of the community were pulled in different directions. They might hope that their prayers and devotions would protect them, but this hope was undermined by their heightened sense of the dangers of witchcraft.
