Europe's witch trials: The numbers behind the myth

The historical claim that nine million people were executed during the European witch trials is a statistical myth originating from flawed 18th-century extrapolations by German scholar Gottfried Christian Vorgs. Modern historical estimates, supported by historian Dr. Jan Machielsen, place the actual number of executions between 40,000 and 60,000 from approximately 100,000 to 120,000 trials. Persecution intensity varied drastically across geography due to differing legal standards; for instance, Finland saw a 16% execution rate compared to 90% in parts of Switzerland. While England required only circumstantial evidence for a jury conviction, continental courts often required confessions, which were harder to obtain under strict torture regulations. Although the trials disproportionately targeted women—reaching 90% in England—certain regions like Iceland saw men make up the vast majority of victims. Ultimately, the witch hunts were not a uniform wave of persecution but a fragmented series of local legal and social reactions.