A
witch
hunt
often
began
with
a
:
a
failed
harvest
,
a
sick
cow
,
or
a
stillborn
child
.
Community
members
blamed
witchcraft
,
and
accused
each
other
of
being
.
Many
of
the
accused
were
people
on
the
of
society
:
the
elderly
,
the
poor
,
or
social
outcasts
,
but
any
member
of
the
community
could
be
,
even
occasionally
children
.
While
religious
authorities
encouraged
witch
hunts
,
local
secular
governments
usually
carried
out
the
detainment
and
punishment
of
accused
witches
.
Those
suspected
of
witchcraft
were
and
often
tortured
?
and
under
torture
,
thousands
of
innocent
people
confessed
to
witchcraft
and
others
in
turn
.
Because
these
witch
hunts
occurred
sporadically
over
centuries
and
continents
the
specifics
varied
considerably
.
Punishments
for
convicted
witches
ranged
from
small
fines
to
burning
at
the
.
They
could
have
anywhere
from
a
few
to
a
few
hundred
victims
.
The
motivations
of
the
witch
hunters
probably
varied
as
well
,
but
it
seems
likely
that
many
weren't
consciously
looking
for
?
instead
,
they
sincerely
believed
in
witchcraft
,
and
thought
they
were
doing
good
by
rooting
it
out
in
their
communities
.
Institutions
of
power
enabled
real
harm
to
be
done
on
the
basis
of
these
beliefs
.
But
there
were
dissenters
all
along
?
jurists
,
scholars
,
and
physicians
countered
books
like
Kraemer's
"
Hammer
of
Witches
"
with
texts
objecting
to
the
cruelty
of
the
hunts
,
the
use
of
forced
confessions
,
and
the
lack
of
evidence
of
witchcraft
.
From
the
late
17th
through
the
mid
-
18th
century
,
their
arguments
gained
force
with
the
rise
of
stronger
central
governments
and
legal
norms
like
due
process
.
Witch
hunting
slowly
until
it
disappeared
altogether
.
Both
the
onset
and
demise
of
these
atrocities
came
gradually
,
out
of
seemingly
ordinary
circumstances
.
The
potential
for
similar
situations
,
in
which
authorities
use
their
powers
to
mobilize
society
against
a
threat
,
still
exists
today
?
but
so
does
the
capacity
of
reasoned
dissent
to
combat
those
beliefs
.