Overview

• The Malleus Maleficarum, published in 1487, was a key manual that guided witch trials in Europe.
• The invention of the printing press allowed for the rapid dissemination of witch-hunting ideas.
• Nearly 90,000 people were prosecuted, with about 45,000 executions over 300 years of witch hunts.
• Social influence and 'ideational diffusion' played roles in spreading witch trials between cities.
• The study highlights parallels between historical witch hunts and modern policy adoption processes.