Depiction of The Horrors of the Witch Craze in the Movie The Burning Times

The Burning Times is a film which is based on women who faced lots of problem between 1400- 1700. It was the time when Christians arrived in European countries and who were dominant over the women and were treated badly. It was an era which indicates the violence and charges against the women that were enough to burn her as a witch at stake.

Around nine million people were killed during the witch hunt among them 85 % were women. Earlier, women were leaders, consider visionaries and healers but after the entrance of Christians, their power had associated with darkness and death. “The burning times” film explains the miserable and vulnerable conditions of the women over 300 years. Here, I am relating and explaining some concepts of theory with the film which are given below.

In the ancient times, Roman Women celebrated a thousand ceremonies and the European women were also considered as wise. But history is reclaimed by the new generation of women which was started with ‘The Witch Craze’ in Europe. The witch craze is related to the witches in which the women’s power was associated with death and darkness. The witch craze has been described as a collective psychosis or mania (Trevor- Roper, 1969). During the witch craze the women who had as done practices or healed the people; considered a witch and then to get rid of deviance, people had burnt these women alive. In this way, witch craze destroyed a life of millions of people. When the Christian moved to the European countries and women had together at night for the religious purpose. The people who had criticized the Christian religion, they had killed by putting them in water or hanging them. Most of them were women and children.

Most Pagan people were considered as a part of the earth and usually, they followed their tradition, celebration and helped to people by talking about relationships between the natural things which was based on experience and beliefs. Then witch hunt started in many western European countries. According to this witch hunt, witches were those evil persons who worshiped Diana and other Gods and Goddess and had devoted their lives to harm and kill the others by doing black magic, evil sorcery.

People believed that the pagans as evil sorcerers had kidnapped the babies, killed them and ate their victims. They were in league with demons and supposed to be met in the middle of the night. But some people who were misunderstood by the pagan life had become the agents of the devil because they were accused in the society for incest, infanticide and sex orgies. When Christians moved to the European Countries then the other religions disrespected by the Christians and they open churches also. But then they had started to consider women as a witch who followed the traditions, celebrations, and values of spirits. For this purpose, a large number of churches were made but the most interesting thing about the churches was its location that is a pagan shrine.

Churches played a great role to accuse women during the witch craze era. That time, Christians considered the witches to the non-Christians women. A church of Rome was responsible to find out these women without any proof, they were supposed to be penalized. When they captured the women on the behalf of Suspicious and had kept them in the Rome church for the inquisition. Then these women were to nurture to confess the reality of devils. They had tolerated up to the three levels of torture and after that, they had burnt also in front of crush between the town. All people saw this, but nobody did nothing. This is known as absolute deterrence. If anyone denied confusing then they toured them many times by different methods and even though they had to be stripped clothes, shaved the hairs and walked backward. There was no idea what is happening there.

The condition of the women was very miserable during the witch craze. Thousands of women had burnt alive and killed during the witch craze. There was no freedom to follow the rules of spirits, traditions of any religion because they had considered the steps for the devotion of devils and on behalf suspicious, women had to tolerate the tortured and killed. It is known as Women Holocaust. Nine million women had become the victims over these 300 years. People were sacred to the witches but the people who were the participants of a witch hunt had got more profit because every step of the witch hunt was paid that time. Witches trails are charged for looking them, catching them and to keep books, and someone who brought the witch meal.

History is written by the witness. Every year, North America remembers to all those women who are burned and died during that period. It is hard to remain what often happened to women, their voices and power but still we cannot deny it. Western countries also remember those women on the every 31st October Halloween and people wear the costumes of Halloween which were the queen of the night. In reality, the women’s spirituality is to bring about the changes that really need in society to keep it safe and better.