About the author
Erika Gasser is the author of Vexed with Devils: Manhood and Witchcraft in Old and New England, published by New York University Press and listed here in two editions, from 2017 and 2019. The book examines cases of witchcraft accusation and demonic possession from early modern England through the last official witch trials in colonial New England, focusing on how gender, and masculinity in particular, shaped the symptoms attributed to possession and the way accusations were made and received. Rather than surveying the subject broadly, it works closely through documented cases to trace how possession was understood, diagnosed, and gendered by the communities involved. The book is written for an academic and history-minded readership interested in the social and cultural history of witchcraft accusation, situating Gasser's work within scholarly rather than practitioner-oriented writing on witchcraft.
📖 Where to start with Erika Gasser
💬 What our editors say about Erika Gasser's books
“Gasser provides a rigorous academic recontextualization of witchcraft phenomena, arguing that these events were deeply intertwined with the maintenance of male authority. While intellectually stimulating for those studying gender…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Vexed with Devils: Manhood and Witchcraft in Old and New England - Ingram Academic Gasser, Erika
“Gasser provides a meticulously researched cultural history that successfully shifts the analytical lens toward male anxieties in early modern England and colonial New England. While intellectually robust and groundbreaking in its…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on Vexed with Devils: Manhood and Witchcraft in Old and New England - Ingram Academic Gasser, Erika
