ABSTRACT
English witchcraft studies have moved on considerably since the publication of these pioneering works. Some “witchcraft pamphlets” are brief, and relatively simple, publications consisting of eight sides of print; others are lengthy and complex works of a hundred pages or more. There are also problems with witchcraft pamphlets’ status as a “popular” source. They included lengthy and complex productions, while some at least were written by authors with pretensions to learning. The pamphlets stress that the threat posed by witchcraft was part of the cosmic struggle between God and the Devil. The Devil showed his malice in matters of witchcraft by drawing Christians into the satanic pact and the sin of apostasy. The existence of sceptics and the need to convince them of the reality of witchcraft were themes which ran throughout the pamphlets.
