Witchcraft in England and colonial America : 1640-1700 -- Witchcraft in the Illinois Country : 1701-1800 -- Witchcraft in Illinois : 1818-1885 -- Windy City witches -- Witchcraft in contemporary Illinois -- Qualities of a witch -- Defeating witches -- Folk magic -- Witches in Illinois folklore

"Although Illinois saw no dramatic witch trials, witchcraft has been a part of Illinois history and culture from French exploration to the present day. On the Illinois frontier, pioneers pressed silver dimes into musket balls to ward off witches, while farmers dutifully erected fence posts according to the phases of the moon. In 1904, the quiet town of Quincy was shocked to learn of Bessie Bement's suicide, after the young woman sought help from a witch doctor to break a hex. In turn-of-the-century Chicago, Lauron William de Laurence's occult publishing house churned out manuals for performing bizarre rituals intended to attract love and exact revenge. For the first time in print, Michael Kleen presents the full story of the Prairie State's dalliance with the dark arts"--P. [4] of cover