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HOW TO KILL A WITCH

A Guide For The Patriarchy

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HOW TO KILL A WITCH

By: Claire Mitchell, Zoe Venditozzi
Narrated by: Claire Mitchell, Zoe Venditozzi
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About this listen

 **** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ****

WINNER 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards

Blackwell's Scottish Book of the Year

'Fascinating and illuminating, this book tempers the justifiable rage with sharp and funny pinpricks to the pompous.' VAL MCDERMID, author of Past Lying

'As well as highly entertaining read, How To Kill A Witch is a tour de force of research, understanding and compassion.' PROFESSOR SUE BLACK, author of All That Remains.

'Serious and angry, but so completely accessible, How To Kill A Witch is a work of real historical investigation and a fierce warning for our times.' MALCOLM GASKILL, author of The Ruin Of All Witches

'At a time when women's rights are once again being threatened across the globe, this book could not be a more timely read if it tried.' SHIRLEY MANSON, Garbage

'Two of Scotland's most vivid storytellers.' THE TIMES

'Fascinating, angering' THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

As a woman, if you lived in Scotland in the 1500s, there was a very good chance that you, or someone you knew, would be tried as a witch. Witch hunts ripped through the country for over 150 years, with at least 4,000 accused, and with many women's fates sealed by a grizzly execution of strangulation, followed by burning.

Inspired to correct this historic injustice, campaigners and writers Claire Mitchell, KC, and Zoe Venditozzi, have delved deeply into just why the trials exploded in Scotland to such a degree. In order to understand why it happened, they have broken down the entire horrifying process, step-by-step, from identification of individuals, to their accusation, 'pricking', torture, confessions, execution and beyond.

With characteristically sharp wit and a sense of outrage, they attempt to inhabit the minds of the persecutors, often men, revealing the inner workings of exactly why the Patriarchy went to such extraordinary lengths to silence women, and how this legally sanctioned victimisation proliferated in Scotland and around the world.

With testimony from a small army of experts, pen portraits of the women accused, trial transcripts, witness accounts and the documents that set the legal grounds for the hunts, How to Kill A Witch builds to form a rich patchwork of tragic stories, helping us comprehend the underlying reasons for this terrible injustice, and raises the serious question - could it ever happen again?©2025 Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi Gender Studies Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts Social Sciences Women Magic Magic Users Witchcraft Funny Scotland

Critic Reviews

'Fascinating and illuminating, this book tempers the justifiable rage with sharp and funny pinpricks to the pompous.' (Val McDermid)
'As well as highly entertaining read, How To Kill A Witch is a tour de force of research, understanding and compassion. What the world needs is more quarrelsome dames - and Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi are two of the best.' (Professor Sue Black)
'A dignified, defiant memorial to thousands of ordinary women branded as witches and, all too often, put to death. Told with imagination and empathy, the stories in this book expose the tragedy of their lives, as well as the subordination, paranoia and cruelty responsible. Serious and angry, but so completely accessible, How To Kill A Witch is a work of real historical investigation and a fierce warning for our times.' (Malcolm Gaskill)
'As a woman who has been called a witch from as early as age ten, you could say I've been waiting my whole life for this book. How did they get away with the wholesale slaughter of women simply for being opinionated, intuitive, creative or intelligent? At a time when women's rights are once again being threatened across the globe, this book could not be a more timely read if it tried.' (Shirley Manson)
'Quite possibly the most horrific portrayal of one of our darkest periods in history. This book, whilst an addictive read, also warns us of the dangers of powerful men (mostly) who used scapegoating and mass hysteria to target and murder women (mostly). The writers hand us a nightmarish blueprint of what could easily happen today, if we chose to ignore our past.' (Aamer Anwar)
'The Witches of Scotland... profile persecuted women from the burning times. Their tales are woven by archivists, historians and writers - and by Venditozzi and Mitchell themselves, two of Scotland's most vivid storytellers.'
'A unique, angry, surprisingly funny tour of what Scottish witch trial history means today' (Marion Gibson)
'Utterly absorbing and drags you in immediately.' (Jenny Colgan)
'The most important book I'll read this year. A manifesto, a call to arms, a historical heist and a paragon of storytelling, How to Kill a Witch prods some of the most topical issues of the moment and provides a wealth of insights, stitching the past and present together like some gorgeous tartan. Zoe and Claire are a dynamic duo of quarrelsome dames, and their take on witches is the very best. Brilliant, witty, searing, and necessary, this is a book to share and treasure.' (CJ Cooke)
'Terrifying, fascinating and important' (Sara Sheridan)
'This book pulls off the difficult feat of being simultaneously entertaining, unsettling and enraging. A brilliant account of what happened during Scotland's witch 'panics', and why it still matters today.' (Mairi Kidd)
All stars
Most relevant
Made me rage but also feel wrapped up warm in the research of these 2 amazing women. Honestly, would listen just for the accents.

So important

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What a brilliant read. Very entertaining and incredibly thought invoking. A lot of research has clearing gone into to the discussion points of this book and it’s a wonderful yet terrifying journey to be a part of.

Simply fantastic

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Loved this well researched and spirited true history of the women who were persecuted during the past, and how much of the same dogmatic mindset continues today. I’ve been following these brilliant ladies on social media and their podcast for a while now and it was a delight to add their book to my collection too! Keep up the amazing work 💜

Clever, insightful, powerful

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Illuminating, educational and captivating writing! The writer's did an excellent job at telling the history and stories of the reality of the past. I've also purchased the book. Next month at my bookclub in Australia, everyone can't wait to discuss and de-brief this book.

🖤🔥

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I absolutely loved this book. I bought the book and also listened and read the book at the same time haha. I love that Zoe and Claire read the book. I’m so happy to be in the time where this part of history is getting the acknowledgement and being heard. Even found my family name in this book as ones who were burned as a witch. 10/10 if you love history, learning history of witchcraft and some humour to boot.

History made.

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