Hello, my name is Sam Hume and I am the writer and presenter of the History of

witchcraft podcast. Ryan has very kindly offered me the chance to address his

audience, that is to say you, and talk about my show.

The history of witchcraft is, unsurprisingly, about the history of witchcraft, but it is also much

more than that.

It's about spells too. It's also about examining what makes

communities tick and then conversely what makes them tear themselves apart.

It's about people that fill the gaps in their knowledge with beliefs that to a modern ears might

seem silly, but often made complete sense to those that held them.

To sound utterly pretentious, it is about the instinctual behaviors that are shared by societies separated by both time and geography.

The fear of the unknown, the lust for power, mob mentalities that drive people to do terrible things.

It's also quite entertaining, if I do say so myself, but then again I might be biased.

With the benefit of several centuries distance, it's easy to find humor in amongst the more morbid tales.

The Anglo-Saxon witch that tried to turn back the Norman invasion by mooning them.

The Romans phallic defense against the evil eye.

The Geneva husband who, after complaining about Halloween festivities,

was tied to a horse while his neighbors dressed as his wife and then beat him with sticks. There are many

traditions, folk tales and superstitions that fall under the umbrella of the

history of witchcraft and over the course of the podcast I'm sure we'll cover

most of them.

Thanks again to Ryan for offering me this opportunity.

And I'll now leave you to enjoy his dulcet tones, keen mind,

...