October 24, 2026

Special Focus Tour: Spellbound – Superstitions, Witches, and King James I

Name: Special Focus Tour: Spellbound – Superstitions, Witches, and King James I
Start: 2026-10-24T16:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-10-24T17:00:00-04:00
Location: Agecroft Hall & Gardens

Presented by Agecroft Hall and Gardens at Agecroft Hall & Gardens

Medieval woodcut engraving depicting figure in conversation with a horned demon and witches, all flying on brooms — Woodcut illustration from the 1720 book "The History of Witches and Wizards" by

Join Dee Damschroder and Teresa Auditore on this guided, first-floor tour as they identify some of the superstitions and methods to ward off evil that would have been ingrained into the everyday lived experience of people in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Explore the circumstances that contributed to the general public’s willingness to believe in witches and how real this fear must have felt to them. Then dive into King James’s changing views on witchcraft from skepticism to envisioning himself as the devil’s greatest adversary, followed by renewed skepticism. What did King James believe, or had he ever really believed at all?