Enchanted: The History of Magic & Witchcraft

Some men just can't keep their promises. Of course, when that promise is to his magical wife, the consequences can be dire. This episode brings you the story of Melusine, the mythical faerie of the waters said to have founded some of medieval Europe's most powerful ruling dynasties. 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

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Part of the broader witch hunts that swept across Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Basque witch trials unfolded much like their counterparts elsewhere. However, these witch trials were halted by an unlikely hero: a member of the Spanish Inquisition. In this episode, I bring you the story of the Basque witch trials and the inquisitor who put a stop to them. 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet. 

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The tradition of Southern Conjure is centuries old, tracing its history back to the forced migration of Africans to the Americas during the era of the slave trade. In New Orleans, Louisiana, the unique blend of Creole culture and Catholic tradition yielded Louisiana Voodoo and its undoubted queen, who served the people of New Orleans as a healer, herbalist, entrepreneur, spiritual leader, social worker, and community activist. This episode brings you the story of Marie Laveau, Voodoo Queen of New Orleans. 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

Episode sources 

For more on spiritual practices in the African Diaspora, check out Oracles of the Woods.
For more on the history of the Ursuline nuns, check out The Devils of Loudun.

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Folklore from around the world contains the stories of household gods, fairies, sprites, and other spirits who protect a house’s inhabitants or a given family. These spirits can be mischievous at times but are often downright helpful. Of course, that all depends on how they’re treated. From baku to brownies, this episode brings you the stories of some helpful household spirits from around the world. 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet. 

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The experience of falling asleep only to be awakened by terror, realizing you cannot move and feeling something pressing on your chest, is surprisingly common in human experience, though the entity that one sees—or not—often depends on cultural expectations. Night-hag, demon, or invisible assailant, in this special Halloween episode and season four finale, I bring you the story of the “Night-Mare.”

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

Episode sources

For more on Lilith, check out The Serpent.
For more on witchcraft in early Scandinavia, check out Runes and Songs. 

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The haunting of Ann Haltridge of Knowehead House, Islandmagee, began in September 1710. It ended with her death less than six months later. In this episode, I bring you the story of a haunting, a death, and the last witch trial in Ireland: the case of the Islandmagee witches. How does one girl's affliction shape a community's fear? 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

Episode sources 
The Islandmagee Project

For more on the first witch trial in Ireland, check out The Lovelorn Lady.
For more on the witches of Warboys, check out Warboys. 

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In 1575 inquisitors in northern Italy discovered the benandanti, a band of self-professed spiritual warriors who claimed to send their spirits forth in their sleep to engage in ritual night battles to defend the season's harvest from witches. In this episode, I bring you the stories of two men prosecuted by the Inquisition for their witch-fighting ways. When records obscure reality, who can find the truth?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

Episode sources

For more on the Malleus Maleficarum and witch hunting on the European continent, check out The Hammer.

Give to the Italian Red Cross to help victims of the Emilia-Romagna floods:
English: https://dona.cri.it/sostienici/~my-donation
Italiano: https://dona.cri.it/alluvione-emiliaromagna/~mia-donazione 

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Corinne is in Italy for the summer and has brought some of the sounds and stories of the Tuscan city of Lucca to Enchanted. In this episode, we explore the legends of saints and devils, the portal to Hell in one of Lucca's churches, and Lucida Mansi, Lucca's most famous ghost. In a city that's existed since the third century BCE, aren't there bound to be a few mysteries?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

Episode sources

Give to the Italian Red Cross to help victims of the Emilia-Romagna floods: 
English: https://dona.cri.it/sostienici/~my-donation 
Italiano: https://dona.cri.it/alluvione-emiliaromagna/~mia-donazione 

Listen to Enchanted's season two episode, "A Desirable Disaster, " for more stories from medieval Lucca. 

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Over the centuries, stories of the Pythia have been collected in texts devoted to myth, poetry, philosophy, history, and political science. In this episode, we explore the story of the Oracle of Delphi, her prophecies, and attempts by modern researchers to explain the oracle’s gift. Who was this priestess, and what power did she hold over the ancient Mediterranean world?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.   

Episode sources  

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In an era shaken to its core by dramatic political and social change, a nation wracked by war and looming economic disaster looked for a villain to blame. In Russia, on the eve of the October Revolution, that villain was the charismatic holy man who had seemingly bewitched the tsar and the royal family. In this episode, we explore the life and the many deaths of Grigori Rasputin. Was he a spiritual guide, a faith healer, or a wielder of occult forces? 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.   

Episode sources  

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Before Salem came Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford. Thirty years before the famous witch trials of 1692, Connecticut became the first colony in New England to execute a convicted witch. In this episode, we explore the stories of New England's earliest convicted witches and the modern legislation that seeks to exonerate them. When injustice is clear, what do we owe the past? 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with the voice talents of Jack Krause and Lenny Scovel and original music by Purple Planet.   

Episode sources  

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In Renaissance Italy, a young widow must hold herself, her family, and her lands together to survive. The answers may lie in alchemy. In this episode, we explore the life and experiments of Caterina Sforza, the Tigress of Forlì.   
 
Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet. 

To hear more about the history of alchemy, check out Enchanted's "Philosopher's Stone Trilogy": A Flower of the Fire, The Fisher King, and Beyond Expression Bright.  

Episode sources  

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In the era of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers, the real-life Cardinal Richelieu must solve a bizarre mystery: the demonic possessions of the Ursuline nuns of Loudun, who have accused the parish priest of sorcery. In this episode, we explore the trial of Urbain Grandier and the possessions at Loudun. What happens when desire becomes obsession? 

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet. 

For more on the Loudun affair, check out Michel de Certeau's The Possession at Loudun. 

To hear more on religious tensions in early modern France, check out Episode 23: The Edges of Civilization. 

Episode sources  

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On 30 January 1540, the Mexican Inquisition's trial of Pedro Ruiz Calderón began in New Spain. Calderón was a priest accused of using magic to find hidden gold, but what if that's exactly what a Spanish colonist was supposed to do?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with the voice talent of Jack Krause and original music by Purple Planet.

For more on Fray Juan de Zumárraga and the trial of Pedro Ruiz Calderón, check out Richard E. Greenleaf's Zumárraga and the Mexican Inquisition: 1536–1543 and John F. Chuchiak IV's The Inquisition in New Spain, 1536–1820.

To hear more on heresy and sorcery trials in Latin America, check out Episode 29: The Good Angel.

Episode sources

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In 2013 Icelandic officials ceased construction on a planned roadway. The project was halted for environmental reasons but also because petitioners argued it would disturb the natural habitat of Iceland’s elves. In this episode, we examine three stories of the Yuletide habits of Iceland’s elves. Who's ready for an elf party?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

To hear more on magic in Scandinavian lore, check out Runes & Songs.

Episode sources

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The tumultuous politics of the late Roman Republic gave rise to a truly terrifying figure in Latin literature: the hideous and necromantic Roman witch. In this spooky season three finale, we meet Horace's Canidia and Lucan's Erictho.  Poison, blood, and prophecies from the undead: what else could you ask for in ancient Rome?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

To hear Enchanted's episode on the goddesses of magic in ancient Greece, check out Love is a Curse, and for more on love, infidelity, and magic in ancient Rome, see Obsequium.

Episode sources

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Dogs have lived alongside humans as guardians, helpers, and companions since before the dawn of recorded history, making dogs the perfect familiars for suspected witches. In this episode, we explore animals as witches’ familiars, hear the story of Elizabeth Sawyer and her dog-familiar, Tom, and meet one of the most famous dogs suspected of witchcraft: a white poodle named Boy. Can a dog be a witch's best friend?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

To hear Enchanted's episode on Eleanor Cobham and King Henry VI, check out The Fisher King, and for more on Matthew Hopkins, the Witchfinder General, see Some Busy Men.

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Most musicians work for years to master their instruments, with no guarantee of success. To what lengths will humans go for the sake of genius? What wouldn’t we give to be talented? To be famous? To be the best in the world? In this episode, we meet four musicians rumored to have paid the ultimate price for their art.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with the voice talent of Jack Krause. 

Music:
- Paganini's 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Op. 1 - XX. Caprice in D Major. Allegretto, performed by Jonathan Vered is from MusOpen.
- Blues guitar riffs by juskiddink are from FreeSound:
https://freesound.org/people/juskiddink/sounds/77268
https://freesound.org/people/juskiddink/sounds/58493
- All other original music is by Purple Planet.

Episode sources

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Magic abounded in Viking Age Scandinavia, granted to humankind by Odin himself, but seidr was gifted to women alone. Despite this, some men risked condemnation, shame, and even the loss of their masculinity to gain this power. What kind of magic tempts a man to surrender his manhood, and what does he stand to gain?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with the voice talent of Jack Krause and original music by Purple Planet.

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From enslavement to Emancipation to independence, the Afro-Caribbean community sought protection, healing, and justice from Obeah men and women, but when Obeah became a tool for resistance, it was outlawed, breaking the chain of transmission from one generation to the next. Could Obeah aid decolonization in the twenty-first century, and can its traditions be recovered?

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben, with original music by Purple Planet.

For more on the history of Obeah, see the Early Caribbean Digital Archive.

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