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Witch: A Tale of Terror  By  cover art

Witch: A Tale of Terror

By: Charles MacKay, Sam Harris - introduction
Narrated by: Sam Harris
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Publisher's summary

For centuries in Europe, innocent men and women were murdered for the imaginary crime of witchcraft. This was a mass delusion and moral panic, driven by pious superstition and a deadly commitment to religious conformity. In Witch: A Tale of Terror, best-selling author Sam Harris introduces and reads from Charles Mackay's beloved book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.

Public Domain (P)2016 Sam Harris
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about Witch: A Tale of Terror

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Terrifyingly True

How horrible is it to think that single verse in the Bible brought about so much needless violence.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Witch, read by Sam Harris

What made the experience of listening to Witch: A Tale of Terror the most enjoyable?

Having it read by Sam Harris

Who was your favorite character and why?

The history.

What about Sam Harris’s performance did you like?

I could listen to him read the phone book...hope he does more.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really

Any additional comments?

Well worth a listen.

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Excellent

Very interesting and well read. The narrator is well spoken and brings depth to the stories.

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People Are Frightening

The cruelty that humans have endured is beyond depressing. We've come along way, but this book shows what humans are capable of. The recent support for Donald Trump is baffling, but less so after listening to this book. Reason is not always the strongest impulse.
The story gets a bit repetitive as it documents many cases of bizarre barbaric stupidity. I’m not sure how much Harris edited the language, but the writing is great, and Harris is well-suited to read it.

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Very interesting. Perfectly narrated by Sam Harris

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is funny in parts but overall the context and content of the stories of witch hunt in Europe are fantastically tragic. The elaborate voice of Sam Harris is perfect for this absurd tale of superstition.

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2 people found this helpful

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TikTok challenge of old

it's interesting to hear some of the stories where people performed acts in court or others alleged certain acts to be true. it almost gives you a sense that people then, like today, want to be in the limelight and get their 15 minutes of fame even if it did lead to their death. sadly it was used against others and they couldn't prove that they were not practicing witchcraft and ended up dying because of the the others who pushed the idea of witch craft. interesting read with a lot of things coming at you fast. you may need to reread to capture all the stories.

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Amazing

I did not realize the extent to which people were arbitrarily murdered as ' witches '

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excellent

highly recommend. the numbers are staggering. would have enjoyed a world overview. could have more clarity re timeline

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The Real Witch

Would you consider the audio edition of Witch: A Tale of Terror to be better than the print version?

If you listen to Sam's podcast, or have listened to his other narrations, this audio edition is a must. Sam's voice, with the weight of all his previous words, paints a new layer on MacKay's work; reminding us that cultural superstitions still exist.

Any additional comments?

MacKay draws us through time to a place filled with mass hysteria. The horror is absurd in the amount of blood shed, the justifications used to shed it, and the length and depth it saturated Christian cultures.

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Boring

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The reader was not particularly skillful and didn't have any sense of appropriate pronunciation--i.e., no recognition of Latin terms and a pronunciation that would not sound like flat-footed American English.

Has Witch: A Tale of Terror turned you off from other books in this genre?

I'm interested in the genre because of my interest in researching attitudes toward women in the Middle Ages.

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