Scott, Walter “Demonology and Witchcraft” [Bell Publishing, 1970]

SCOTT, Walter. Demonology and Witchcraft: Letters Addressed to J. G. Lockhart, Esq.

New York: Bell Publishing Company, 1970. Reprint edition. 8.25” x 5.75”, ix + 396pp. Publisher's red cloth in dust jacket. Front free endpaper detached but present. Jacket rubbed with several small chips and tears, most notably at the spine head; unclipped though unpriced, likely a book club issue. Text clean and binding otherwise sound. Very Good in Good+ dust jacket.

Originally published in 1830, Demonology and Witchcraft is Sir Walter Scott's survey of European beliefs surrounding witchcraft, magic, ghosts, fairies, second sight, and supernatural folklore. Written as a series of letters to his son-in-law and biographer J. G. Lockhart, the work combines historical accounts of witch trials and demonological literature with Scott's antiquarian interest in folk traditions. It remains one of the foundational nineteenth-century studies of the subject and continues to be collected by readers interested in the history of the occult, witchcraft persecutions, and supernatural belief.