ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the association between madness, witchcraft and demonic possession and shows why the association between madness and witchcraft persists in understandings. It discusses the sociological, psychological, cultural and political factors driving the construction of witchcraft in the Middle Ages. The relationship between demonic possession and witchcraft was more complex, with acts of volition being the key distinguishing factor. Theresa of Avilia defended her sister nuns from a charges of witchcraft by arguing that behaviours that in may be conceptualised as an episode of mass hysteria were behaviours of the sick rather than the devil. Alternative historical, sociological and cultural interpretations of witchcraft have been overlooked by psychology and psychiatry, as has the failure to find evidence to support the association between madness and witchcraft. Analysis of witchcraft trials suggests that it was rare for individuals identified as having a natural, pathological causation for unusual behaviours aligned with witchcraft to be brought to trial.
