Such a background led to a heightened public anxiety about witches that would slowly fester in the decades that followed, inspired in no small part by similar concerns across The Channel in mainland Europe.
He was so obsessed with the ‘black arts’ that he even convinced Parliament to pass the Witchcraft Statute of 1604, which ruled witchcraft as a crime punishable by death. James certainly had a strange fascination with all things associated with the occult: shortly after assuming the throne, he released his best-selling book, ‘Daemonologie’ which explored the areas of witchcraft and demonic magic. The kingdoms of Scotland and England were united in 1603, when King James VI of Scotland also became James I of England.
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