Editor's Foreword; 1 Peter Maxwell-Stuart: Magic in the Ancient World; 2 Sophie Page: Medieval Magic; 3 James Sharpe: The Demonologists; 4 Rita Voltmer: The Witch Trials; 5 Charles Zika: The Witch and Magician in European Art; 6 Owen Davies: The World of Popular Magic; 7 Owen Davies: The Rise of Modern Magic; 8 Robert J. Wallis: Witchcraft and Magic in the Age of Anthropology; 9 Willem de Blecourt: Witches on Screen; Further Reading; Picture acknowledgements; Index

Owen Davies is Professor of Social History at the University of Hertfordshire. He has written extensively on the history of magic, witchcraft, ghosts, and popular medicine, including The Haunted: A Social History of Ghosts (2007), Grimoires: A History of Magic Books (2009), Paganism: A Very Short Introduction (2011), Magic: A Very Short Introduction (2012), and most recently America Bewitched: The Story of Witchcraft after Salem (2013).

This richly illustrated history provides a readable and fresh approach to the extensive and complex story of witchcraft and magic.
Telling the story from the dawn of writing in the ancient world to the globally successful Harry Potter films, the authors explore a wide range of magical beliefs and practices, the rise of the witch trials, and the depiction of the Devil-worshipping witch.
The book also focuses on the more recent history of witchcraft and magic, from the Enlightenment to the present, exploring the rise of modern magic, the anthropology of magic around the globe, and finally the cinematic portrayal of witches and magicians, from The Wizard of Oz to Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.