Burn the Witch: Difference between revisions

[[File:rsz_witchrsz witch-stake_8804stake 8804.jpg|frame|A [[A Worldwide Punomenon|match]] made in heaven.]]

{{quote|''"[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search{{=}}exodus%2022:18&version{{=}}9 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.]"''|''[[The Bible|Book]]'', of [[Exodus]], [[The_Bible/Source/Exodus#22|22:18,]] (King James Version.)}}

When a community with a superstitious mindset suspects someone of magical or [[Stock Super Powers|otherwise unusual powers]], especially if unexplained stuff (such as kids disappearing) has been happening in the community, their response will usually be to root out the so-called witch and [[Kill It with Fire|burn her at the stake]] (and it's usually a her in these situations, though male witches are by no means unthinkable<ref>Though Sprenger and Kramer, the authors of the infamous ''[[wikipedia:Malleus Maleficarum|Malleus Maleficarum]]'', '''did''' state that "...this heresy is not of villains, but of villainesses, and thus it is noted so."</ref>), and most of the time, they will trot out some form of the above Bible quote as justification -- despitejustification—despite the fact that the Mosaic Law of which it was a part isn't exactly relevant to people who aren't pre-Christ Israelites. Most of the time, this gets stopped by the [[Big Damn Heroes]] arriving just in time to save her. (Or she could just use her magic and make the flames ticklish harmless fiery-looking things.)

This trope is often the climax of a classical [[Witch Hunt]] in media, with plenty of [[Torches and Pitchforks]] to go around. Such portrayals are often [[Did Not Do the Research|not historically accurate]], depicted in places and times when there were no witch-hunts, or misrepresenting ones that did occur. In particular, one of the most famous episodes of witch-hunting, the Salem witch trials, featured ''no'' burnings at all (the convicted were hanged -- andhanged—and indeed, those who "confessed" were held to answer more questions and freed when the hunt was stopped). In reality, in England and in English colonies (including Massachusetts), burning at the stake tended to be reserved for women who killed their husbands, even in self-defense (the legal name for the crime was "petit treason") and for heretics (it was popular during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation), but there was some overlap as heretics were often accused of witchcraft. In addition, the vast majority of people accused of witchcraft in Europe were acquitted. Better to let a witch live (and later take her punishment in Hell anyway) than kill an innocent woman, especially if you did burn them, as wood was valuable. On the other hand in Continental Europe witches were often burned to death, especially in the Germanic areas, to the point of becoming a tradition and the witch swapped for a mannequin.<ref>This may be more of a holdover from ancient pagan rituals, which included live human sacrifice, than a reenactment of medieval witch burnings.</ref>

* ''[[Code Geass]]'' has this when a mystical trap causes Lelouch to see images of C.C.'s past, including multiple gruesome "deaths" -- one—one of which was, of course, burning at the stake. Justified in that C.C. is both [[Healing Factor|immortal]] and [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|ageless]], meaning she did indeed live through the time when people were doing this sort of thing. It doesn't help matters that official sources both inside and outside the anime call her a witch.

* Minoru Murao's manga ''[[Knights]]'' opens with an attempted witch burning, as a [[Corrupt Church|corrupt priest]] is accusing the 13 year-old [[Token Mini-MoeLoli|Nina]] of witchcraft. He fails, and Nina is [[Rescue Romance|rescued]] by the [[Meaningful Name|Black Knight]] and his [[Ms. Fanservice|might-as-well-be-naked companion]]. Later, the protagonist (and [[Knight in Shining Armor|knight-in-training]]) Mist reveals it was merely a plot to seize her noble family's assets, since the Church is entitled to a witch's property without justification or investigation.

** There is also Asuna [https://web.archive.org/web/20161027063002/http://www.onemanga.com/Mahou_Sensei_Negima!/2/06/ threatening] to expose Negi early in the manga.

* Referenced in the first chapter of ''[[Harry Potter/Harry Potter and Thethe Prisoner of Azkaban (novel)|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. On the rare occasions where [[Muggles]] managed to catch a real witch, they used a flame-freezing charm to protect themselves -- thenthemselves—then pretended to be dying in agony. It was noted that the charm made the flames 'ticklish', such that some wizards would purposely allow themselves to get caught repeatedly.<br /><br />On the flip side, ''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]'' mentions that a wizard or witch ''could'' be killed if they lost their wand. Specifically, it was stated that the ones most at risk were young magical children who hadn't yet learned to control their abilities. In his annotation to "The Wizard and the Hopping Pot", Dumbledore notes that during the European witch hunts, witches and wizards considered using magic to help Muggle neighbors like "volunteering to fetch the firewood for one's own funeral pyre".

** That's not quite true--hetrue—he started to read the next verse, about laying down with beasts, but decided that wasn't in his jurisdiction.

* From [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Discworld]]'' novel ''[[Discworld/Carpe Jugulum|Carpe Jugulum]]'':

** ''[[Discworld/I Shall Wear Midnight|I Shall Wear Midnight]]'', sadly, proves that Granny's surmise is incorrect: The Cunning Man, at least, ''did'' successfully capture and condemn at least one genuine witch in his lifelong career. She pulled him into the fire to die with her. Too bad that wasn't the end of the matter...

* In one ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' episode, [[The Captain|Captain Kirk]] is declared to be a "witch." (That's what you get for appearing out of thin air and talking to a disembodied voice called "Bones".)

* Parodied in the ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Star Trek Voyager]]'' episode "False Profits" when the townspeople decide to ''honor'' their three deified Sages by sending them back up to Heaven on "wings of flame" as the prophetic poem central to their religious canon instructs them.

** In the ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' episode "Gingerbread," Buffy, Willow and Amy are almost burned at the stake in a [[Witch Hunt]] organized by Buffy's own mother because of a demon posing as two dead children who reappear every fifty years to use [[More Than Mind Control]] to convince a town to kill the "bad girls" (witches). The demon is European so the burning is actually accurate. Oddly enough, the (averted) burning takes place ''inside'' the city hall. Apparently the ventilation system is ''really'' good.

*** [[Air Vent Passageway|Did you see the size of the air vents?]] Of course the demon that was orchestrating the whole thing didn't care if its mob asphyxiated itself. The more dead, the better. Still, it seems it also goofed by [[Boss Arena Idiocy|having a working fire hose conveniently nearby.]]

* The majority of ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' magic users -- andusers—and ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' psykers -- endpsykers—end up in this manner. Unusually for this trope, many of the witches actually ''are'' in contact with malign supernatural beings.

** Another inquisitor offered a nice quick death from his sword (practically considered a wonderful gift in this [[Crapsack World]]) to a host of accused already bound on their pyres if any one of them would confess -- unfortunatelyconfess—unfortunately none did, or even could, as he had drugged every single one beforehand. They burned to death, and the inquisitor just made a passing thought about how he was saving their souls. Bastard.

* The generic ''[[Dungeons and& Dragons]]'' module "The Apocalypse Stone" has a sort of [[Subversion]]. As part of a, the player characters come upon a town where they are about to "burn the witch". They must (to pass a test of character they don't know about, anyway) find out the truth about her guilt. At first it appears she is innocent, and the missing child she's accused of killing can be found elsewhere - but looking into it more carefully reveals that yes, she is still a witch who's into human sacrifice and worships a devil. Mind you, even if the burning takes place, the local good-aligned community leader intends to quickly strangle her under the cover of smoke instead, so that's another aspect that's subverted.

* In ''[[Something *Positive]]'', a young woman [https://web.archive.org/web/20140101024142/http://somethingpositive.net/sp04242002.shtml boasts of having been burned to death in Salem] in another life for [[Anachronism Stew|being a Wiccan]], but that [[Heroic Sacrifice|she died praising Wicca and the Goddess]]. Davan, of course, [[Deadpan Snarker|tears her story apart]]. In three panels.

*** This particular omission is likely because that would have required an entire extra panel, especially since most places burned witches -- alivewitches—alive or merely as corpse disposal -- becausedisposal—because they were wary of what might come of burying a witch. (See the Lovecraft example in the Literary section.)

** Also subverted. Early in the story, the protagonist is told that girls with the Spark are especially vulnerable, and tend to disappear more quickly than boys. We later find out that, it's a subversion: rather than being killed as witches, most of them were probably kidnapped by Sturmhalten soldiers as soon as their Spark developed, so that Prince Aaronev, a Spark himself, could use them for his experiment to bring back the Other. Including his own daughter.

* A variation occurs in [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103073752/http://humon.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2avbmz this] comic from ''[[Scandinavia and The World]]'', in which Denmark and Norway sit Sister Finland ("the witch") on a burning maypole as part of midsummer celebration.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYlvTyc28I&feature=relmfu This] from [[5 -Second Films]].

* Being burned as a witch is [[Mary Poppins]]'s nightmare according to a ''[[Cracked.com|Cracked]]'' Photoplasty: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130922181633/http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_334_24-nightmares-famous-fictional-characters_p24/#8 24 Nightmares of Famous Fictional Characters].

* In the ''[[Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures|Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'' episode "Ice will burn," the people from the underground caverns threaten to throw Jessie and Katrina to the smoldering lava as [[Human Sacrifice|Human Sacrifices]]s, thinking they are witches.

* Lampshaded in ''[[Rango]]'' when the [[Cargo Cult]] water pipe fails to produce water -- thewater—the first reaction of one of the townfolk is to point to Rango and shout "Burn the witch!"

* An utterly bizarre example occuredoccurred with the death of the two last [[wikipedia:Great auk|Great Auks]]; appearentlyapparently the last two individuals were killed because their capture occuredoccurred at the same time a storm came, leading the sailors to think the birds were witches.

* [[Older Than Print]]: Saint [[Joan of Arc]] was burned at the stake. Though the charge was witchcraftheresy, what the English really burned her for was leading the French to freedom in men's clothes. And heresy, can't forget heresy. It was also probably coerced crossdressing, at least while in prison. Before her capture by the English she had been wearing men's clothing and this was one of the things she was condemned for. After her abjuration she had to wear women's clothing. It's suspected that one day her guards took all her clothes away and left some men's clothing in their place. [[Sadistic Choice|She had a choice between going naked and risking being raped (repeatedly) or putting on the men's clothing]]. She chose to put on the men's clothes and this was perceived as evidence that she was no longer repentant and so should be burned.

* In [[Real Life]] the methods for dealing with suspected witches varied greatly between areas and eras. During [[The High Middle Ages|the Middle Ages proper]] witchcraft wasn't a major crime -- malevolentcrime—malevolent magic was treated essentially as subsection of poisoning, and punished accordingly, death-leading "magic" with death, though not burning one, while lesser offenses could only lead to a fine. Only with [[The Late Middle Ages]] and the publication of the infamous ''[[Malleus Maleficarum|Malleus]] [[wikipedia:Malleus Maleficarum|Maleficarum]]'' did the mass witch hunts begin, and after the Reformation they gained rapid popularity on both sides of the fence, as religious paranoia rose to ridiculous degrees. In England and America witches were usually simply hanged, and sometimes burned ''[[Rasputinian Death|post mortem]]'' to prevent them from coming [[The Undead|back as undead]], but in the continental Europe burning alive was a very popular method of execution for witches and heretics alike -- thealike—the distinction between the two was often narrow to say the least. The Spanish Inquisition was better than its reputation as far as those accused of witchcraft were concerned -- theconcerned—the Grand Inquisitor himself pronouncing the tales of mass "sabbats" unlikely and unsupported by any evidence -- andevidence—and most accused survived with "minor" torture and fairly small official punishment, as the Inquisition was more concerned about Moors (Spain having only regained control of the last Outpost of Granada in 1492 with various rebellions by Muslims in Southern Spain occurring on and off for the next hundred years) than peasant superstitions. Most of the witch-trials were performed by secular courts or minor clergy with little idea how to perform any actual investigation, though in Protestant countries even higher levels of clergy sometimes got themselves involved. Martin Luther was recorded saying something to the effect of: "I would gladly burn them myself". Interestingly enough, getting convicted of witchcraft didn't mean an automatic death sentence. In England and Wales, the vast majority of those accused of witchcraft were pardoned. Apparently people liked a good trial, but couldn't be bothered to actually carry out the sentence. Thank you, [[Stephen Fry]].

* Interestingly, the passage quoted at the top of this page is actually a rather iffy translation. The term "witch" is a more recent invention of the English language, and of course no particular method of execution was prescribed. The word used in the original language roughly translates to "sorceress" with "[[Mind Rape|one who twists the minds of others]] for personal gain" connotations. Therefore, only people who specifically mess with other people's heads via possibly supernatural means should die; [[Manipulative Bastard|Manipulative Bastards]]s, [[Evil Lawyer Joke|lawyers]] and psychiatrists might qualify....