Witch: A Tale of Terror

By: Charles MacKay, Sam Harris - introduction

Narrated by: Sam Harris

Length: 3 hrs and 4 mins

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

Terrifyingly True

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

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.

Excellent

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

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.

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.

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.

Amazing

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

excellent

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

An uncomfortable reminder of the power of belief

This well-produced audiobook is introduced and read by author & neuroscientist, Sam Harris, who is also host of the very popular 'Waking Up' podcast. Harris' experience as a podcast host, reader of the audiobook versions of several of his own books and leading light across a diverse field of important public conversations and debates shines through in his measured yet compelling reading.

The subject material concerns the 'Witch Mania' of Early Modern Europe, as described by Charles Mackay in his seminal 1841 book, 'Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds'. The quality of Mackay's writing is excellent and the detailed picture he paints of this extraordinarily tragic (and often gruesome) period (which for Mackay - and even, to some extent, for us now - was relatively recent) conveys in almost palpable terms the ability of individuals and societies to drive themselves into an ever-deeper ditch of terrible suffering when the wheels of their beliefs (which drive their behaviour and much of their experience of the world) run-off the rails of reason.

A valuable accounting of cultural illogic

Why were the Dark Ages dark? because of dark thinking. Here is an account of historical dark thinking that illuminates nothing and leads to terror and dread and that dominated in much of the world and still exists now. It's an example of what not to do.

I just saw the film "The VVitch" which dramatizes a narrative of this type of thinking. This book is an excellent companion to thwart film, but I would like to have seen some analysis of the problem instead of just exposition.