Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft

by Walter Scott

"Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft" by Walter Scott is a study published in 1830 that surveys beliefs about witchcraft, ghosts, and the supernatural from Biblical times to the 19th century. Written as informal letters to his son-in-law, Scott draws on extensive folklore research to present supernatural anecdotes while analyzing them through a rationalist lens. The work examines how ignorance and prejudice fueled belief in demons and witches, and how witch hunts often targeted heretics and political enemies. This pioneering work influenced Victorian Gothic fiction and helped shape modern anthropological approaches to folklore.