Witchcraft and Witchery in Literature: A Contemporary Perspective

Dear Colleagues,

The image of the witch has been a long-time favourite in the literary and cultural imagination. With a strong tradition in association with the witch hunts in Europe and America throughout the early modern period, witches represented in literature share some common qualities despite the image’s longevity. While the association with historical religious purges renders the witch a figure in liaison with the devil to overthrow the Christian faith, the “witch hunt” has assumed a powerful metaphorical connotation which finds a place in contemporary global society. By extension, the witch is no longer restricted to (mostly) women who are marginalized in a rural community and who can be conveniently ousted or removed by a fellow villager weaving some tales of nocturnal flight. The three centuries of modernity since the Salem witch hunt has seen the idea of the witch taking root and transforming itself in different cultures along with the dramatic changes to life practices in our world. Witchcraft and witchery persist as important topics in contemporary literature, although the image of the witch and the meaning of witchcraft and witchery have all undergone interesting processes of diversification. This Special Issue of Humanities, entitled “Witchcraft and Witchery in Literature: A Contemporary Perspective”, invites critical and creative articles on literary representations of witchcraft and witchery, with specific attention to the way these representations describe, define, and discuss our world and life today. 

Prof. Amy Lee
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• contemporary representations of witchcraft and witchery
• meaning of witchcraft and witchery across the centuries
• philosophical understanding of witchcraft and witchery
• gendered readings of witchcraft and witchery
• religious readings of witchcraft and witchery
• witchcraft in the digital world
• witchcraft and witchery in eastern culture
• the witch and AI
• the witch in global popular culture
• witch hunts and terrorism