Howe goes on to point out ‘ all of Exodus 22 remains silent on the definition of what or who a wich is, or on what activities might constitute witchcraft,’ and what becomes evident through the many documents is that witchcraft is a term lobbed at anyone someone might wish to paint a target on. Howe begins with a look at how witches appeared in the Bible, pointing to the often cited ‘ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’ of Exodus 22:18 that was used for decades to justify countless murders. While it can be a bit dry and would have vastly benefitted from more commentary or supplemental essays, this is an interesting resource and guide through these dark histories of weaponized misogyny and religious and politically motivated executions that thrived on public fear. The Penguin Book of Witches, edited by Katherine Howe, brings together documents from King James I’s Daemonologie-a manual for witch hunters published in 1597-to court records from the Salem Witch Trials in 1692 and beyond in order to give a first hand witness to the cross-examinations and writings of those who would condemn so many people to death. While today we can enjoy dressing as witches on Halloween, root for them in tv series and movies and even delve into tarot cards and crystals in public with only minor annoyance of Satanic Panic in the US, hundred of years ago even the suggestion of being a witch was enough for a person to be publicly shamed and executed. She holds a BA in art history and philosophy from Columbia and an MA in American and New England studies from Boston University, A native Houstonian, she lives in New England with her family.

And her next novel, A True Account: Hannah Masury's Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself will be out November 21. Their next collaboration, Astor: the Rise and Fall of an American Fortune will release September 19, 2023. She co-authored the #1 bestselling Vanderbilt: the Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty with CNN's Anderson Cooper, which came out in September 2021. In 2014 she edited The Penguin Book of Witches for Penguin Classics, a primary source reader on the history of witchcraft in England and North America. Her best known books are The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, which debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list in 2009 and was named one of USA Today's top ten books of the year, and Conversion, which received the 2015 Massachusetts Book Award in young adult literature.

Katherine Howe is a #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning writer of historical fiction and nonfiction.

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