witchfinders
Sorcery accusers historically
Witchfinders were people who identified and exposed suspected witches, particularly during the witch trials of the 16th and 17th centuries.
The term evokes zealous persecution of innocent people based on superstition and hysteria.
In modern use, it describes anyone who hunts for hidden enemies or heretics within a community: The committee had become witchfinders, rooting out ideological impurity.
City or name
- 17th-centuryThe sixteen hundreds
- PuritansEnglish Protestant reformers
- EnglandLargest British country
- colonialOf occupied territories
trials · executions · hangings · burnings · Lancashire · Essex · Scotland · Germany
Practice of dark magic
- hexesMalevolent magical spells
- cursesSworn oaths or hexes
- spellsMagical utterances or intervals
- familiarsWitch's supernatural attendants
Devil · demons · sabbath · coven · broomstick · cauldron · toad · imp
Formal, probing examination
- tortureDeliberate infliction of suffering
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- trialJudicial examination of claims
- prickingPuncturing with something sharp
binding · examination · testimony · marks · familiars · Hopkins · questioning · ordeal
Unfairly assigning fault to innocents
- accusationsClaims of fault
- denunciationsFormal accusations or criticisms
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
- mobDisorderly, aggressive crowd
vigilantes · purge · blacklist · oppression · victimization · stigmatization · vilification · ostracism
Salem
City or name
- 17th-centuryThe sixteen hundreds
- PuritansEnglish Protestant reformers
- EnglandLargest British country
colonial · trials · executions · hangings · burnings · Lancashire · Essex · Scotland · Germany · Bamberg
sorcery
Practice of dark magic
familiars · Devil · demons · sabbath · coven · broomstick · cauldron · toad · imp · pact
interrogation
Formal, probing examination
- tortureDeliberate infliction of suffering
- confessionAdmission of wrongdoing
- trialJudicial examination of claims
pricking · binding · examination · testimony · marks · familiars · Hopkins · questioning · ordeal · rack
scapegoating
Unfairly assigning fault to innocents
- accusationsClaims of fault
- denunciationsFormal accusations or criticisms
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
mob · vigilantes · purge · blacklist · oppression · victimization · stigmatization · vilification · ostracism · informants
paranoia
Irrational persecution fears
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
- suspicionSense of unease about motives
- dreadIntense anticipatory fear
terror · panic · accusations · neighbors · distrust · unease · anxiety · alarm · fright · trepidation
witchfindersskeptics
Those who doubt claims
rationalists · debunkers · freethinkers · empiricists · disbelievers