In this fascinating book, historian and student of witchcraft James Pennethorne Hughes traces the origins and decline of witchcraft, delineating its various forms - dwindling remembrance of the first group religions of mankind, Christian parody, deliberate diabolism and cruel nonsense.

Giving examples of conscious and unconscious diabolism still to be found in Western civilisation today, Hughes' full treatment of the early records and medieval background of the witch-cult draws in notable figures who seem to have dwelt on the fringe of a magical world - King Arthur, Jeanne d'Arc, Gilles de Rias (the original Bluebeard), and even Robin Hood. Credence in the powers of witches, is, he argues, the degeneration of very early religious beliefs and practices, which at their best expressed an essential human faith in the identification of man with nature, of the self with the cosmos.

Packed with intriguing stories, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the origins of witchcraft, magic and other 'alternative' religious behaviour.