The witch hunts of Europe are infamous in history for the thousands of lives lost in the hysteria. Great Britain was late in joining the craze but the brutality was no less horrific.
This class will cover some of the early witch hunts prior to James I, the rise of the hunts under James until the last witch persecuted in the 20th Century. It will cover the laws and methods of obtaining confessions and convictions in all sections of the British Isles, including focus on individuals like James VI of Scotland/I of England and Matthew Hopkins, the Witch-Finder General. It will feature in depth case studies of various victims of the hunts up to the 20th Century.
Instructor Bio:
My full first name comes from a science fiction novel. My parents, when I was a child, did historical reenactments and were more than pleased when I decided to major in history in college instead of something more useful such as computers or science. After a first failed attempt at being an academic, I graduated with honors from Wichita State University in 2004 as a non-traditional student. My focus of interest was in the post-Alexander world but pre-Roman, called the Hellenistic Age. I also have an unhealthy obsession with ancient Egypt, Native American cultures, the trainwreck that are the Tudors, and just about anything else prior to 1940. I have worked at two ‘open air’ historical reenactment museums: Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, Kansas and The Pawnee Bill Museum and Buffalo Ranch in Pawnee, Oklahoma.
I began writing as a child, like most authors. My mother likes to tell the story of driving in the car on a long trip, digging through her purse for a scrap of paper and a pen because I had a story in my head that I had to write down RIGHT NOW. First town we stopped in, she pulled into a grocery store, bought a pack of pens and a notebook for me to write in. Our car always had pens, pencils and paper for just such emergencies forever after that. It was as vital to have as her first aid kit. I learned thereafter to also always have pen and paper handy, because you never know when inspiration will strike, even in the middle of the night.
I started dabbling in writing original fiction during my second college stint, but didn’t take it seriously. I was more interested in writing fan fiction, which was, and is, more fun sometimes. Though I am still an avid fan fiction writer and reader, I am now writing more original works with the intent to publish. Like so many other authors, being a fan fiction author has been my jumping off point. Since I’m an unashamed geek, I’m proud of it too! If you’re interested in my fan works, don’t hesitate to drop me a line! Because of my fan writing I can claim to be a contributor to the Hugo Award Winner for 2019 for the Organization for Transformative Works and their archive, An Archive of Our Own.
I am a voting member of The Organization for Transformative Works, and am active in two local writing organizations, Mid-America Romance Authors and Kansas City Romance Writers. I am also a member of Outreach International Writers where I can often be found teaching or taking classes.