Scholars and sceptics
Anthropologists, historians and investigators who study magic and test its claims.
Scholars and sceptics are the people who study magic from outside the practice: anthropologists, historians, folklorists, psychologists, scholars of religion and investigators who test claims. They have names such as E. E. Evans-Pritchard, Marcel Mauss, Bronislaw Malinowski, Mary Douglas, Keith Thomas and Carlo Ginzburg, and also investigators such as James Randi. This page covers what they have found, how they disagree, and what their work has cost and changed. Their work has changed how the whole subject is understood.
Early theories
Nineteenth-century writers such as James Frazer treated magic as a mistaken early science, a view now widely rejected as arrogant and inaccurate. Later anthropologists, including Evans-Pritchard in his 1937 study of the Azande, showed that magical belief can be a consistent way of reasoning about misfortune. Mauss and Malinowski stressed its social role. Fieldwork, archives, laboratory studies and surveys are their main methods, and each field has its own debates and schools.
The history of witch trials
Historians have revised their view of the witch trials. Keith Thomas and Alan Macfarlane studied English village accusations, Carlo Ginzburg found the benandanti in Friuli, and Ronald Hutton has argued about the numbers and causes, and Silvia Federici links the persecution to the rise of capitalism, a thesis historians dispute. The older figure of nine million victims has been dropped, and estimates now run to tens of thousands of executions.
Testing claims
Sceptics test whether claims hold up. James Randi offered a prize for evidence of paranormal power that was never won, and organisations such as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry investigate fraud. Researchers study why people believe: pattern-seeking, uncertainty and the wish to control events. The best sceptics aim to understand people, not to mock them. Sceptics hold that claims should be tested, and they have a long record of exposing cases such as spirit photography and fake healers.
Ethics of study
Scholars were often colonial officials or missionaries, and their reports shaped how Indigenous religions were named. Contemporary researchers work with communities, ask consent and respect closed knowledge. Practitioners sometimes object to being explained, and sceptics sometimes to being called closed-minded. The conversation continues, and this guide aims to stay neutral on whether magic works. Their critics reply that science cannot measure everything that matters to a community, and that explaining a ritual away is not the same as understanding it.
Scholars and sceptics on EveryJaadu
The entries written up so far, best known first.
🇫🇷 FranceLoudun possessionsaffaire des possédées de Loudun
A 17th-century witchcraft trial in France involving alleged demonic possession by Ursuline nuns.Belief · Cursing and harm · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyAlchemical DoorPorta Alchemica
A Roman gate covered in alchemical symbols and legends of transmutationCharm · Power and authority · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyShe-wolf (Roman mythology)lupa
The mythical wolf that nursed Rome's founders and became the city's enduring symbolFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaAbhijñāअभिज्ञा
A set of special insights and powers in Buddhist meditation.Belief · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇮🇹 ItalyGli ExperimentiGli Experimenti de la Ex.ma S.r Caterina da Furlj Matre de lo inllux.mo S.r Giouanni de Medici
A 16th-century manuscript of alchemical, medicinal, and cosmetic recipes by Caterina SforzaText · Healing · Power and authority Historical
🇰🇷 South KoreaSeolmundae Halmang설문대할망
A giant creator figure from Jeju Island who shaped the land and its volcanoes.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇱 IsraelPulsa diNuraפולסא דנורא
A Kabbalistic curse invoking destroying angels to block forgiveness and cause deathRite · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandTailteann GamesÁenach Tailteann
Ancient Irish funeral games and assemblies held in County Meath to honor the dead.Rite · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇬 Egypt and 1 moreCurse of Ham
A biblical story used to justify slavery and racial discriminationBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreManba al-Ansabمنبع الانساب
A Persian manuscript tracing Sayyid lineage and Sufi practice in early modern IndiaText · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇬🇷 GreeceMoiraiΜοίρες
Greek personifications of destiny who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaKhongjomnubi NonggarolKhongchomnupi Nongkalol
A Meitei puya with two stories of transformation and ascent to the sky.Text · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreAirship of Clonmacnoise
A medieval Irish legend of a ship in the sky and its anchorBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇪 IrelandJack O'The Lantern
An Irish folktale about a deceitful man condemned to wander with a carved lanternFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 Japan and 3 moreThoughtography念写
A claimed psychic ability to imprint mental images directly onto photographic film.Belief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreTelekinesis
A purported psychic ability to move objects with the mind aloneBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreRemote viewing
A claimed psychic ability to perceive distant targets without using the sensesBelief · Seeing and foretelling Historical
🇫🇷 France and 4 moreEctoplasm
A substance said to be excreted by mediums during séances, later exposed as common household materials.Substance · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical
🇪🇬 EgyptEgyptian days
Medieval calendar days believed to bring bad luck for new ventures and medical proceduresBelief · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreMaternal impression
A discredited theory that a mother's shock or thoughts can mark her unborn childBelief · Cursing and harm Historical
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreGargoylegargouille
A carved stone waterspout shaped like a creature, used on Gothic buildings to shed rainwaterCharm · Protection · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenSaleby Runestone
A Swedish memorial stone raised by a husband for his wife, featuring an ancient curse.Text · Protection Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaPill of Immortality仙丹
A legendary substance sought by Chinese alchemists to grant eternal lifeSubstance · Power and authority Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyBuch der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit
A 15th-century German alchemical treatise that aligns chemical work with Christian theology.Text · Change and initiation Historical
🇯🇵 JapanTosa Obake Zōshi土佐お化け草紙
An Edo-period illustrated scroll of yōkai tales from Tosa ProvinceText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇸 IcelandSelkolla
A seal-headed woman from Icelandic folklore who clashed with a medieval bishop.Being · Cursing and harm Historical
🇩🇪 GermanyLichtenberg's Avertissement
A satirical poster exposing stage magic as deceptionText · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreBooks of secrets
Early modern European compilations of recipes and formulae framed as hidden knowledgeText · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇸 Iceland and 1 moreBerkanan
A runic letter representing the birch tree across Germanic writing systems.Text Historical
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreHephaestusἭφαιστος
The Greek smith god who forged divine weapons and crafted automata for the gods.Being · Power and authority Historical
🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreDream questionShe'elat Halom
A Jewish divination practice seeking prophetic answers through dreamsOracle · Seeing and foretelling · Healing Historical
🇯🇵 JapanKamikiri髪切り
A Japanese yōkai blamed for the sudden disappearance of human hairBeing · Cursing and harm Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesZelph
A figure identified by Joseph Smith as a buried warrior in IllinoisFigure · Power and authority Historical
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 2 moreEglė the Queen of SerpentsEglė žalčių karalienė
A Lithuanian folk tale about a woman who marries a serpent king and turns her family into trees.Figure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreFiredrakeognennyi zmei
A European dragon myth born from sightings of shooting stars and will-o'-the-wispsBeing · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 3 moreThe Swan Queen
A Lithuanian fairy tale about a bird maiden who becomes human and returns to the skyFigure · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇹🇭 Thailand and 2 moreSang Thongสังข์ทอง
A Southeast Asian folktale about a prince born in a shell who gains golden skin and magical powers.Figure · Luck and prosperity · Love and attraction Historical
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreThe Teachings of Don Juan
A 1968 book presenting an apprenticeship with a Mexican sorcerer as anthropological fieldwork.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Change and initiation Historical
🇻🇳 VietnamNghêNghê (猊)
A mythical guardian creature in Vietnamese architecture and art, blending lion and dog traitsFigure · Protection Historical
🇷🇺 Russia and 2 moreVerliokaВерлиока
A cross-eyed monster from East Slavic folk talesFigure · Cursing and harm Historical
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreStalloStállu
A large, clumsy creature from Sámi folklore that eats people and is often outwitted by humans.Being · Cursing and harm · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇸🇾 Syria and 1 moreShatiqatu𐎌𐎓𐎚𐎖𐎚 (šʿtqt)
A Ugaritic healing figure created from clay to cure the king KirtaBeing · Healing Historical
🇸🇪 SwedenStentoften Runestone
A seventh-century Swedish stone inscribed with a curse and harvest blessings in Proto-NorseText · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇮🇳 IndiaRisalah Maktubaatرساله مکتوبات
A collection of Persian letters guiding disciples and rulers on spiritual and moral matters.Text · Speaking with spirits and the dead · Power and authority Historical
🇺🇸 United StatesDreaming the Dark
A 1982 book by Starhawk linking magic, sex, and politicsText · Power and authority Historical
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese creation myths
A collection of ancient Chinese stories explaining how the universe and humanity beganBelief · Wonder and entertainment Historical
🇯🇵 JapanYamajijii山爺
A one-eyed mountain spirit from Shikoku folklore known for its thunderous voice and unpredictable nature.Being · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Historical
🇪🇷 Eritrea and 1 moreBeher
A pre-Christian Aksumite deity of the sea and agricultural fertilityBeing · Luck and prosperity · Healing Historical
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Shatiqatu: Rama, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
- Stallo: John Bauer, Public domain, source
- Nghê: Phương Huy, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sang Thong: Narisara Nuwattiwong, Public domain, source
- Zelph: HotWheels53, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mediumship: Harvey Metcalfe, Public domain, source
- Wolves in folklore, religion and mythology: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Loudun possessions: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Alchemical Door: Sailko, CC BY 2.5, source
- Abhijñā: Gryffindor, Public domain, source
- Gli Experimenti: Mattman723, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tailteann Games: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Curse of Ham: Ксенофонтов Иван Степанович. Ksenofóntov Iván Stepánovich (1817-1875), Public domain, source
- Moirai: John Melhuish Strudwick, Public domain, source
- Airship of Clonmacnoise: Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Jack O'The Lantern: Bodrugan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Telekinesis: Strobridge Lithographing Co., Public domain, source
- Egyptian days: Unknown Unknown (Paris scriptorium), Public domain, source
- Gargoyle: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saleby Runestone: Berig, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lichtenberg's Avertissement: Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Public domain, source
- Hephaestus: Foundry Painter (name vase), Public domain, source
- Kamikiri: Sawaki Suushi (佐脇嵩之, Japanese, *1707, †1772), Public domain, source
- Eglė the Queen of Serpents: Huw, CC BY 2.0, source
- Firedrake: Ramesh Kumar R, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stentoften Runestone: Sendelbach ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source