Did You Know... Spain has a lot to do with the perceptions and fears that continue today about witches and their crafts?

 Yes, indeed it is true!

In 1610, the infamous "Quema de brujas en Logroño" (Burning of the Witches in Logroño) witch trials took place, and a local printer, Juan de Mongastón, published a pamphlet chronicling the events. This document detailed the trial and condemnation of 53 people accused of witchcraft, along with five skeletons and five effigies, creating a vivid picture of witchcraft and its supposed dangers.

The pamphlet described witches engaging in terrifying rituals, gathering at secret Sabbaths, summoning demons, and brewing magical potions—all elements that have heavily influenced the way witches are perceived today. It also introduced the idea of witches flying, which contributed to the now iconic image of witches on broomsticks, a symbol we associate with them even centuries later.

This account of the Logroño trials helped spread the fear of witchcraft throughout Spain and beyond, reinforcing beliefs about the supernatural and the devil’s involvement in such practices. The pamphlet's descriptions of nocturnal gatherings, pacts with Satan, and women as the primary participants in witchcraft became a lasting foundation for the witch iconography that still shapes modern perceptions. Whether it’s Halloween costumes, folklore, or popular culture, many of today’s stereotypes about witches—such as their association with evil spells, cauldrons, and flight—can be traced back to these early 17th-century events in Spain.

The "Quema de brujas en Logroño" trials and their subsequent publication were crucial in spreading and solidifying these fearsome images, linking them forever to the figure of the witch.

Don't forget that, as a special talk before Halloween, I will be exploring the darkest of Francisco Goya’s artworks. 

These pieces delve into themes like witches, war, fires, shipwrecks, cannibalism, murder, madness, and ghosts. Goya and his elite clientele were appalled by how superstitions and the Catholic Inquisition exerted mind control over the peasant population, though these themes always challenged Goya’s imagination. 

In an era before television and the internet, Goya's captivating paintings would spark endless debates and conversations.