Various

*200 copies limited edition* The 16th and 17th centuries were a time of great turmoil throughout Europe, as a witch hunting craze spread across the continent like wildfire. Thousands of men and women were accused, many of whom were executed in the name of religious zeal. The epic nature of the European witch hunt has been well documented and remains a topic of great discussion, whilst across the Atlantic in the New World, puritans who had travelled from the Old World, particularly Britain, were not averse to similar panics of their own. 

The most famous example, being the Salem witch trials. It is worth noting that the European settlers in North America carried their preconceptions about religion with them, and thus the spirituality of the native Americans and those who had been brought to the continent from Africa as slaves were deemed a threat to good Christian beliefs and were tagged as purveyors of a form of witchcraft.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which is based on the Salem Witch trials, is probably the most recognizable instance of witchcraft making its way into the field of American literature. There have also been a great many other American authors who have turned their attentions to writing about witchcraft in its many and varied forms, including the likes of HP Lovecraft and Ambrose Bierce. This interest has spread into other forms of entertainment, particularly with the advent of cinema, culminating in the release of Robert Eggers, 2015 movie, The Witch, which along with modern investigations into witchcraft’s traditions and history by the likes of Ronald Hutton, Malcolm Gaskill and Brian Levack, as well as the many and varied guidebooks on the witchcraft traditions that remain of interest in today’s modern world has sparked a revival in interest in recent years. 

Developed from a personal interest in American witchcraft, Rafaele Pezzella has brought together a gifted group of musicians whose interests lie in a similar field. The talented musicians showcased in this compilation have meticulously crafted their aural creations with the explicit intention of transporting listeners into the captivating realms inspired by the witchcraft and black magic in the United States.