Novel Excerpt: Testament Part 1 of 4
From the time I was a teenager, I was fascinated with the history of witchcraft in England and its emergence in the early colonies of the future United States. Like many people, my interest in this topic began with learning about the Salem Witch Trials in the early 1690s. Around the same time, I took an interest in learning about the practice of witchcraft itself. I taught myself about traditional witchcraft, Gardnerian wicca, and Italian hereditary witchcraft. I was especially fascinated with the lore of Aradia, known to Italians as the Queen of the Witches. I read books from such well-known authors as Raymond Buckland, Raven Silverwolf, Raven Grimassi, Charles Leland, and many others. Eventually, I began to wonder if other British colonies in North America suffered a similar witchcraft hysteria. I found that New York, previously known as New Amsterdam, also had a brief witch problem. Similar to Salem, this witch hysteria was motivated by politics and land grabs. There’s very litt