This text is the abstract of four lessons (given in March to May 2013 in Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels and Ghent) on the big European 'witch hunt' in the Early Modern Period. A first part sketches the criminal law at that time, and part two describes the procedure used to convict 'witches'. Part three deals with the influence of 'daemonological' literature and the final part searches for possible explanations for this irrational phenomenon, which brought thousands of innocent people to the stake
