Centuries after the last witch trial, you’d think we’d stop chasing shadows. Instead, we’ve just given the torches a WiFi connection. These days, modern witch hunts aren’t about pitchforks—they’re about clickbait. Funny how, in the age of information, we’re still terrified of broomsticks and black hats—at least if the internet is to be believed.
The Modern Witch Hunt
Let’s be honest: if you believed everything you saw on paranormal YouTube, you’d think the world was under constant siege by witches. Scroll through the paranormal section, and it feels like witches are running a global terror operation—judging by the number of grown adults shrieking “WITCH ATTACK!” every time the wind blows.
Just look at a few of the most popular video titles:
- The Witch Encounter That Changed Us Forever (We Quit)
- The Witch Attack That Changed Us Forever | Cabin 13
- The Night a WITCH ATTACKED Me | The Witches Mansion (Very Scary)
- We SURVIVED our SCARIEST WITCH ENCOUNTER EVER
It’s almost impressive how quickly witchcraft is blamed for every creaky floorboard and flickering light. Subtlety is dead, replaced by a clickbait witch hunt that would make the Puritans proud.
This isn’t an isolated trend. Even channels that use more subtle language—mentioning witchcraft negatively only in passing—end up reinforcing the same message: witches are something to fear. For real people who identify as witches, or whose beliefs are misunderstood, this is more than just entertainment; it’s a harmful stereotype that echoes across centuries.
Witch Trials: History Repeats Itself
What makes this trend so troubling is how little things have changed. We’ve seen it before—just in different clothes. The European and American witch trials of the 15th-18th centuries were driven by fear, rumor, and the urge to find a scapegoat for unexplained misfortune. Today, the pitchforks and courtrooms have been replaced with EMF meters and YouTube thumbnails, but the story is eerily similar: find the witch, expose the evil, and become the hero.
To understand why this matters, look at what happened in the past. In early modern Europe, an accusation of witchcraft could mean imprisonment, torture, or death. Tens of thousands—mostly women—were executed based on little more than rumor or neighborhood suspicion. The stain of those centuries lingers: the word ‘witch’ still carries the weight of danger and blame.
The witch hunts weren’t just about fear of magic—they were about power, the urge to explain misfortune, and targeting anyone who didn’t fit in. Accusations targeted the vulnerable: women, the poor, outsiders. Innocent lives were destroyed to satisfy the need for a villain. And while executions are rare in the present day, the social consequences of being labeled a witch remain severe in some parts of the world.
Bathsheba Sherman: From Person to Villain
Modern paranormal investigators aren’t dragging anyone to court or stoking the flames beneath a stake, but the way they frame their stories can feel eerily similar—especially when rumor and spectacle take the place of evidence. Take Bathsheba Sherman, for example. Bathsheba lived in the 1800s near Harrisville, Rhode Island, and her former farmhouse was the setting for “The Conjuring.” Thanks to the Warrens and their imitators, Bathsheba has been branded as a malevolent witch, blamed for everything from child murder to demonic hauntings. But dig into the historical record, and you’ll find there’s no credible evidence she was ever accused of witchcraft, let alone convicted of any crime.
Instead, Bathsheba’s reputation was shaped almost entirely by hearsay, sensational retellings, and the relentless need for a dramatic narrative—much like the stories spun during the witch trials themselves. The result? Her grave in Harrisville is routinely vandalized, and her name is synonymous with evil in the minds of countless paranormal fans. Now, in death, she’s become the scapegoat for other people’s fears—her name and resting place targeted not because of anything she did, but because a good ghost story always needs a villain.
This isn’t just a movie plot; it’s real harm, done to a real person’s memory, all in service of a better ghost story. And honestly, if Bathsheba is haunting the place, it’s probably because she’s tired of people being a bitch to her.
Consider the basic narrative structure: something is labeled as dangerous; its practitioners are portrayed as connected to that danger; evidence of the supposed threat is sought; and the investigators become the people brave enough to enter the frightening place and confront it.
Swap the pitchforks and accusations for night-vision cameras, spirit boxes, EMF meters, and dramatic YouTube thumbnails, and the underlying story is instantly recognizable.
From Investigation to Accusation
Investigating a location with a supposed history of witchcraft isn’t inherently anti-witchcraft. The real harm comes when the investigation starts with the assumption that witchcraft is the threat—that the very idea of a witch equals danger. This narrative leap isn’t just lazy storytelling; it’s the same leap that fueled witch trials, and one that continues to justify violence and exclusion today.
That distinction matters.
A person practicing witchcraft is not automatically a person attempting to harm someone. A historical association with witchcraft does not automatically make a location dangerous. And the word “witch” does not tell us what someone actually believes, practices, or intends.
The Pentagram Problem
While we’re at it, let’s clear up another favorite trope: the pentagram. Contrary to what every third-rate ghost hunter suggests, the pentagram is not inherently satanic or evil. For centuries, it’s been used as a symbol of protection, balance, and the elements in pagan and witchcraft traditions. The only thing truly scary about it is how often people get it wrong.
Yet, when it comes to paranormal media, every nuance—intent, history, belief, and practice—gets tossed aside in favor of the same tired trope: witches as villains.
A witch becomes the witch.
Witchcraft becomes evil.
An unexplained noise becomes an attack.
And a night in a spooky place becomes a survival story.
That language doesn’t just make a thumbnail more dramatic. It trains viewers to see witches as a threat—turning real identities into horror tropes, over and over again.
If viewers repeatedly encounter witches presented as attackers, demons, curses, or sources of supernatural danger, eventually the association becomes automatic: witchcraft equals threat.
Once that association becomes ingrained, it becomes easy to forget that real people stand behind the word “witch.”
Witchcraft encompasses an enormous range of beliefs and practices. Some people approach it as a spiritual practice. Others connect it to nature, folklore, ancestry, ritual, divination, herbalism, or personal symbolism. Some identify religiously with specific traditions, while others use the word “witch” without considering themselves religious at all.
No single definition exists for what a witch is, or what witchcraft looks like.
So when paranormal creators use “witch” as shorthand for something frightening, they’re not simply telling a ghost story. They’re borrowing a living, breathing identity—one often deeply meaningful to actual people—and turning it into a horror trope.
That’s why the real question for paranormal media isn’t “Was the witch dangerous?” It’s “Why did we assume the witch was the danger in the first place?”
We like to think we’ve left the worst of witch hunts in the past, but history has a nasty habit of repeating itself when we stop paying attention. If we keep letting rumor and fear write the script, we shouldn’t be surprised when the same old patterns resurface—sometimes with a viral twist.
Sources / Further Reading
On Witch Trials and History:
- A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials – Smithsonian Magazine
- The European Witch Craze – BBC History
- Why Did So Many People Die in the European Witch Trials? – The Conversation
On Modern Witch Hunts and Harm:
- Witchcraft Accusations and Persecution: UN Takes on Human Rights Issue – United Nations News
- Witch-hunts: Accusations Lead to Violence in Africa and Asia – BBC News
- Papua New Guinea: Accusations of Sorcery and Violence Against Women – Amnesty International
On Bathsheba Sherman and The Conjuring:
- Bathsheba Sherman, the Accused Witch of Harrisville – New England Historical Society
- The true story of Bathsheba Sherman – The Providence Journal
On Stereotypes in Paranormal Media:
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