How did witchcraft accusations spread historically?

Witch hunts didn't only come down from pulpits and presses. Often a neighbor named a neighbor, and a court made the grudge official.

A child falls sick, a cow dies, a field fails. Someone has to be the reason. Many accusations started at that scale: a quarrel over land, envy over luck, a dependent too costly to keep. Naming a witch was a respectable way to cut a tie or shift the blame. The demon manuals supplied the vocabulary. The neighbors supplied the names.

• What it could changeSeeing persecution as built from local grudges puts ordinary people, not only elites, inside the machine.
• How it touches todayBlame still travels fastest when a community needs a cause for its bad luck.
• Our futureThe next hunt may not need an inquisitor, just a crowd and a place to keep score.

• Many accusations began locally, with neighbors or relatives naming people after illness, accidents, perceived envy, rivalry, or property disputes.scientificamerican
• Accusations could provide a socially acceptable way to sever ties, shift blame, or remove burdensome dependents while protecting the accuser’s reputation.michael
• Misfortune required an intelligible cause, and demonizing narratives could make a particular person seem responsible even without evidence of harmful magic.scientificamerican +1