How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women

“They didn’t burn witches, they burned women.” - unknown internet source

I first learned of Claire Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi’s Witches of Scotland campaign when they kickstarted orders for pieces of the new tartan for the Witches of Scotland that was commissioned and approved. At that time, I read about the work they did to have the Scottish government formally apologized for the injustices suffered by women (and some men) accused of witchcraft through the years. 

Of course, I immediately ordered the tartan and put their podcast where they share the histories of some of these injustices on my playlist. So, yes, I am the audience for this book, and I was very excited for a chance to read it.

How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women is an engaging mix of history, folklore, sociology, and religion in the form of a list of how-tos, “How to start a witch hunt”, for example. Every few chapters, there are breaks to share details about the lives of specific victims.

What makes the book stand out for me is the way Mitchell and Venditozzi balance their respect and reverence for these victims with a sense of humor in the writing. The footnotes, which provide helpful bits of context for the chapter, are also filled with opinions and asides which makes the reading that much more approachable.

Besides being a fascinating contextual history of witch hunts in Scotland, How to Kill a Witch is also a testament to the lives of these women and deserves a place on any feminist’s (and/or witch’s) bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the advance copy for my honest review. Pub. date: 9/30/25

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