Episode 20: The Malleus Maleficarum (part 2)

24 Jun

Incels and Modern Witch Hunts

The dark history of witch hunts has some unsettling parallels with modern misogynistic violence. Tonight’s episode continues our discussion on Heinrich Kramer’s witch-hunting manual, the “Malleus Maleficarum”, with a critical look at its legacy, especially as it relates to incel culture and the manosphere.

Last week, we discussed the cultural contexts surrounding the early modern witch hunts, particularly those inspired by the Malleus Maleficarum. Kramer, a Dominican monk, penned this treatise filled with misogynistic theories and fraudulent claims to build a case against women, whom he accused of forming pacts with Satan. Its widespread dissemination of this book, aided by the recent invention of the printing press, ignited a fervour of witch hunts across Europe and North America, leading to the execution of tens of thousands of people—mostly women.

There are chilling parallels between Heinrich Kramer’s war on women and the 2014 Isla Vista killings carried out by Elliot Rodger. Rodger’s violent rampage, which resulted in the deaths of six people and injuries to 14 others, was driven by deep-seated misogyny and a sense of entitlement. His manifesto, “My Twisted World,” echoed sentiments eerily similar to those in the Malleus Maleficarum, blaming women for his personal grievances and advocating for their subjugation.

Steph: Before we begin, a quick content warning: Paranormal Pajama Party is a podcast about scary stories and legends, but there’s nothing scarier than the patriarchy.
When discussing tales in which women are often the villains, we’ll have to unpack some stories in which women are the victims.
This episode contains the usual amount of cursing. Get it? Because it’s an episode about witches? But also, yeah there will be swear words, as well as terrorism, weapons, murder and serious injury, suicide, and so, so, so much sexism.
This episode mentions online communities where people with socially unacceptable interests lurk. If that sounds like the kind of thing you’d be into, but definitely not in an incel way, please check out the podcast’s Instagram page or follow it on Threads – the handle is ParanormalPJParty. I enjoy goth memes and Scooby Doo jokes. See you there!
[Pause]
“Witch-Burning”, by Mary Elizabeth Counselman, originally published in Weird Tales in 1936.
They burned a witch in Bingham Square
Last Friday afternoon.
The faggot-smoke was blacker than
The shadows on the moon;
The licking flames were strangely green
Like fox-fire on the fen …
And she who cursed the godly folk
Will never curse again.
They burned a witch in Bingham Square
Before the village gate.
A housewife raised a skinny hand
To damn her, tense with hate.
A huckster threw a jagged stone—
Her pallid cheek ran red …
But there was something scornful in
The way she held her head.
They burned a witch in Bingham Square;
Her eyes were terror-wild.
She was a slight, a comely maid,
No taller than a child.
They bound her fast against the stake
And laughed to see her fear …
Her red lips muttered secret words
That no one dared to hear.
They burned a witch in Bingham Square—
But ‘ere she swooned with pain
And ‘ere her bones were sodden ash
Beneath the sudden rain,
She set her mark upon that throng…
For time can not erase
The echo of her anguished cries,
The memory of her face.
[MUSIC]
Steph: Hi! I’m Steph, and this is Paranormal Pajama Party, the podcast that brings you classic ghost stories and legends featuring female phantoms and femme fatales. Together, we’ll brush the cobwebs off these terrifying tales to shed some light on their origins and learn what they can tell us about the deep-rooted fears society projects onto women.
Last week on the podcast, we got into the chilling history of early modern witch hunts in Europe and North America. Specifically, we looked at the Malleus Maleficarum, a notorious book written by Dominican monk Heinrich Kramer. Banished from an Austrian town for being a sex-obsessed weirdo, he assuaged his bruised ego by compiling a volume of religious documents, fraudulent material, and bonkers misogynistic theories to build a case against women. Kramer wrote that women – yes, every last one of us – are about three seconds away from renouncing God and entering into an astounding sex pact with Satan.
Thanks to the recent rise of the printing press, Kramer’s bloodthirsty book found a large audience quickly. And for complicated socio-economic factors we touched on briefly in the previous episode, the Malleus Maleficarum seems to have been the spark that lit the tinderbox, igniting hundreds of years of witch hunts.
[GASPS]
Steph: Oh gosh, sorry, ladies. That was a poor choice of words. I shouldn’t have gone with the fire metaphor. You remember tonight’s guests, don’t you? The witch hunts resulted in the executions of tens of thousands of people for witchcraft. Most of those people were poor or socially outcast women, thanks to deep-rooted patriarchal systems that often view us as troublemakers or burdens.
And lucky for us, a few of them are here with us tonight. And boy, are they hot under the collar.
[More gasps]
Steph: Sorry! Sorry. Too soon, I understand.
This week, we’re going to do something a little bit different on the podcast. Because the whole time I was researching the Malleus Maleficarum and Heinrich Kramer, and trying to figure out what the hell his problem was – actually, now that I think about it, I guess Hell was part of his problem – I kept thinking of another deadly misogynist. And the more I read about the witch hunts, the more I realised that, 250-plus years later, not nearly enough has changed. We’re still dealing with hateful, anti-woman ideologies. And innocent women are still being killed. The parallels between past and present are real – and they are dark.
On May 23, 2014, a 22-year-old man named Elliot Rodger went on a violent rampage in Isla Vista, Santa Barbara, California.
His attacks began in his own apartment, where he ambushed, stabbed and killed his two roommates and one of their friends.
He then changed out of his blood-soaked clothes, showered, and went on a Starbucks run. While waiting for his triple-vanilla latte, he texted his mother. He emailed a 137-page manifesto called “My Twisted World” to his friends and family members. He uploaded a video titled “Elliot Rodger’s Retribution” to his YouTube channel. And then he got in his car with three semi-automatic pistols, extra ammunition and a can of gasoline to begin his so-called “war on women.”
First, he tried and failed to enter a sorority house with the gasoline and his guns. Frustrated, he got back in the car and drove until he spotted three young women. He fired several rounds out his passenger window, killing two and injuring the third.
He continued his rampage down Pardall Road, where he shot into the window of a closed coffee shop, and then into a deli mart, where he killed a 20-year-old man. Driving on, he continued shooting pedestrians and cyclists on the road and began to purposely strike people with his vehicle. Eventually, after a shoot-out with sheriff’s deputies, he took his own life with a gunshot to the head. In total, Rodger killed six other people and injured 14 more.
As law enforcement unpacked his background, manifesto, and YouTube rants, a picture began to emerge.
Rodger had struggled throughout his life to make friends due to ongoing mental health difficulties, becoming immensely jealous and angry with anyone he thought might be having a better life than him. Unfortunately, he repeatedly refused to take medication or be sent to a residential facility for treatment.
He struggled especially in his relationships with women. Rodger was deeply ashamed of being a virgin and was desperate for a girlfriend. As early as 2011, he was assaulting couples who provoked his jealousy just by being together in public. His usual MO was to throw some kind of beverage at happy couples from his moving car.
Online, he posted videos of himself secretly following couples while complaining about how lonely he was. He subscribed to men’s rights channels and was a member of misogynist forums. His search history revealed an interest in the Nazis – especially Hitler’s charisma – and the torture methods of the Spanish Inquisition.
And online, Rodger did find a community: the incels, or involuntary celibates.
The name of this subculture, which is mostly comprised of straight, white men, was, ironically, coined by a queer woman. In 1997, a woman named Alana started a hand-coded HTML website for her fellow “involuntary celibates” – people having trouble dating. It grew into a mailing list and a peer-support site that invited anyone experiencing dating woes to participate in the conversation. Alana is not a mental health expert, and was not equipped to deal with the emotions and generalisations that poured out of the site’s users. She stepped away from the site and handed it over to others around 2000.
If you know someone who claims they’ve been “red-pilled”, you probably know about the loose collection of online communities known as the manosphere.
Parts of the manosphere have a lot in common with feminism, and some of our goals actually complement each other.
We’re both sceptical of the traditional expectations placed on genders. We’re both trying to highlight and resolve gender-based issues that are often a result of those problematic gendered expectations. For example, feminists are trying to tackle gender-based violence, and men’s rights activists correctly point out that male victims of domestic violence are often overlooked and under-supported. We both want to change social systems to address these injustices.
But things start to fall apart in our approach to creating change. While feminism is rooted in the belief that patriarchy harms all genders, members of the manosphere frequently perceive the situation as a zero-sum game, where gains for women equate to losses for men.
The starkest difference, however, is that while radical feminist ideologies can sometimes involve intense rhetoric, male supremacists kill. They perpetrate organised, ideologically driven terrorism against women.
There are certainly men’s rights advocates trying to find common ground and work towards equality for everyone. Unfortunately, their work is associated with and overshadowed by extremist subcultures that kill people. And that’s why the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified male supremacy as a hate group.
In the years since Alana handed over control of her website, the incel community has been co-opted into the manosphere and morphed into male supremacy, quickly evolving into one of its most violent and radicalised factions.
And incels love Elliot Rodger. As I mentioned, he was active in a number of online forums and once his manifesto and final video were shared, the hero-worship began. It hasn’t stopped. Although several of the forums and subreddits he belonged to have since been shut down, incel culture is alive and well, and Rodger is their greatest martyr. On the Wikipedia page outlining mass murders and violence committed by incels, I counted nine perpetrators who specifically mentioned admiring Rodger in the lead-up to their crimes.
In his manifesto, “My Twisted World,” Rodger outlined his frustrations over his love life and concluded that women were to blame. He described us as a “plague” and advocated that all our rights be revoked – especially our right to choose our partners, which we should leave up to, quote, civilised men of intelligence (meaning people like him). Rodger said that female wickedness should be somehow contained – otherwise, the world would fall into degeneracy.
In his manifesto, the Malleus Maleficarum, the voluntary celibate Heinrich Kramer forged a document purportedly by the theological faculty at the University of Cologne that said in part, “It should be ensured that this treatise will become known to learned and zealous men, who will then, on the basis of it, provide various healthy and appropriate advice for the extermination of sorceresses…” And as you’ll recall from part one of this series, by “sorceresses”, Kramer meant, “all women.”
We can’t be trusted to choose our partners, Kramer said, because we’ll inevitably choose Satan: “It is normal for all witches ‘to perform filthy carnal acts with demons’… ‘not for the sake of pleasure, but for the sake of corrupting’”. Meanwhile, poor bewitched men would become impotent and feel like they’d been castrated.
He also painted a picture of a world turned upside down by women, which would bring about the apocalypse foretold in the Bible.
When I was researching the Malleus Malleficarum, at first I thought it was bizarre how many parallels I was picking up between Kramer and contemporary incel rhetoric. And then I started to realise that it’s not bizarre at all. It makes perfect sense, actually. It’s just evidence that this kind of extreme, violent misogyny has been around for a long, long time.
There’s a violence prevention theory called “the path to intended violence” that describes a sequence of separate, recognisable behaviours that perpetrators of mass violence such as school shootings take. Elliot Rodger followed the steps in preparing for his attack on Isla Vista. It looks to me like Heinrich Kramer followed them too, in writing the treatise that became the handbook for accusing, torturing and executing women accused of witchcraft.
The first step on the path to intended violence is feeling a grievance. Sometimes it’s a perceived sense of injustice, threat or loss, sometimes it’s due to a desire for fame, and sometimes it’s about getting revenge. It can also be a mix of all of these things.
In Rodgers’ case, this was his longstanding belief that women owed him something and were withholding it from him. He called himself a supreme gentleman and couldn’t fathom why women weren’t attracted to him.
There were also a couple of incidents shortly before his attack that further exacerbated this sense of injustice – he thought one of his roommates had stolen some candles from him, and even called the cops on him, and on the night of his 22nd birthday, he got into a fight at a party after drunkenly trying to push women off a 10-foot ledge when no one would talk to him.
Like Rodger, Heinrich Kramer also had a history of blaming women for his lust.
As we talked about in the last episode, just before writing the Malleus Maleficarum, Kramer had been insulted and then embarrassed by a woman named Helena Scheuberin. She cursed at him and stopped attending his sermons. When he accused her of witchcraft but was apparently unable to question her on anything other than her sex life, the local bishop ended the tribunal abruptly and banished him from the area.
Step two on the path to intended violence is developing an idea that only violence can resolve your injury. This could take the form of discussions with others, or modelling yourself after other assailants, as the incels who’ve followed in Rodger’s footsteps have done.
Rodger’s belief that an act of terrorism was the solution was underscored by what he was reading and the content he was posting on incel forums, where violent language and fantasies are par for the course. He surrounded himself with an online echo chamber endlessly repeating calls for misogynistic brutality.
This is harder to prove in Kramer’s case because he was doing his thing 538 years ago, and fortunately for all of us, he didn’t have access to YouTube. But we do know that he was immersed in a social and religious system that continually affirmed his belief that women were inherently evil. We also know that theologians of the time agreed that the punishment for heresy was death. And we know that it was a generally violent era.
Psychologist and author Stephen Pinker says, “Statistics aside, accounts of daily life in medieval and early modern Europe reveal a society soaked in blood and gore… Religious instruction included prurient descriptions of how the saints of both sexes were tortured and mutilated in ingenious ways. Corpses broken on the wheel, hanging from gibbets, or rotting in iron cages where the sinner had been left to die of exposure and starvation were a common part of the landscape.”
So to Kramer, violence would have seemed like the most obvious answer to his grievance with women, and a necessary step to cleanse society of our evil ways.
Step three down the path is researching and planning the attack. This is when perpetrators collect specific information about their targets and may engage in stalking.
Elliot Rodger researched which sorority he wanted to attack and would sit outside it in his car, watching the students.
Kramer’s preparation was a little more academic. The Malleus is kind of like this podcast – a collection of information pulled from other material. (Obviously, there are a few differences between the two. This podcast is pro-woman, for one thing. Also, instead of wanting to murder Helena Scheuberin, I want a T-shirt with her face on it.)
Heinrich makes some of his own arguments in the main section of the book – which sets out to prove witchcraft exists, the forms it takes, remedies for it, and step-by-step instructions for prosecuting a witch – but it’s also a compendium of the so-called science of demonology, which he began researching after his banishment from Innsbruck.
The fourth step is making preparations for the attack. This might mean getting your costume together and finding weapons. It’s also the time for “final act” behaviours.
Rodger’s final preparations included sending his manifesto to the people in his address book and posting his final YouTube video. Investigators also discovered his bed had been stabbed to shreds while he practised attacking his roommates and their friend with a knife.
I think we can say that the forged section of the Malleus Maleficarum, in which Kramer pretended that every member of a group of esteemed Catholic theologians 100% endorsed and supported every part of his argument and methodology, was his way of ensuring his weapons were in place. In the main section of the book, he also outlines the various torture methods required to be used to extract confessions from accused witches. So while he wasn’t literally gathering weapons, he was describing the ones he would need and laying the groundwork for the justification of their use.
Step five is breaching the target’s security.
Rodger attempted to access the sorority he’d targeted, but luckily, he was foiled. Unfortunately, he then went after extremely vulnerable pedestrians and unarmed, unaware people going about their day-to-day business from the safety of his vehicle.
In Kramer’s case, I think his efforts to obtain a papal bull granting him the authority to hunt and prosecute witches speak to this step. You know in cop shows, when the FBI shows up and is like, “This is across state lines, buddy, so it’s our case now”? That’s the kind of jurisdictional confusion that Kramer was trying to avoid. A local bishop had foiled his campaign against Helena. The papal bull ensured that it would never happen again and that no one was safe.
The final step of the pathway to intended violence is the attack itself. I’ve already described how Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured 14 others, and last week’s episode outlines the fallout of Kramer’s work. Kramer always intended the Malleus to be a guide for a systematic approach to identifying, trying and exterminating the women he believed to be witches. Its popularity opened the door to tens of thousands of people being tried and executed for witchcraft on two continents.
There’s one thing I haven’t mentioned about the Malleus Maleficarum, and that’s that 33 years after it was first printed, a second author was added. This was especially odd because the author, Jacob Sprenger, had also been dead for 24 years. Scholars aren’t sure Sprenger had much to do with the writing of the Malleus at all, which is why I haven’t mentioned him, but he is mentioned in the papal bull at the beginning of the book as another clergyman granted witch-hunting powers by the pope.
Some researchers believe that Sprenger was actively trying to stop Kramer from, you know, murdering all the women in the Rhineland. He certainly took a more passive role than Kramer did. We know that Kramer was involved in witch trials, but we don’t have any evidence that Sprenger was. That being said, he seems to have been involved in the Malleus in some way, and in the development of the misogynistic worldview – that women are man’s evil opposite – that underpins the whole thing.
I mention him now because the same people behind the path to intended violence theory have another theory about extremist groups: there are howlers, and there are hunters.
Hunters are those who commit violent acts, while howlers make threats but rarely follow through.
Kramer was undoubtedly a hunter, actively pursuing his targets. Rodger also fits this category, having meticulously planned and executed his attack.
On the other hand, Sprenger is a howler—more involved in the theoretical justification of violence rather than its execution. And I would say that his equivalent in the modern context can be found online in “manfluencers”, whose loud, misogynistic views fuel the ideological fire. I think Sprenger’s contemporary equivalent is someone like psychologist Jordan Peterson, whose ideas about a “crisis of masculinity” have contributed to the manosphere’s sense of grievance brought on by feminism.
I don’t want to make it sound like misogyny is only perpetuated by men. Once the witch-hunting craze struck, trials were often brought on by quarrels between neighbours. Many sources I read about the early modern witch hunts pointed out that women often accused other women of being witches.
I think there are a few explanations for this. In these small communities, women would have been the ones involved in domestic and local affairs, and therefore more likely to be involved in conflicts over resources or social status.
This would’ve been made worse by the patriarchal social structures at the time, when aligning with male authorities and conforming to social norms might offer protection or advantages. Accusing another woman could’ve been a way to gain favour in a bad situation.
Or it could have been a survival strategy – in a climate of fear, women could divert attention from themselves and avoid being targeted by pointing fingers at others.
Internalised misogyny is one of the most insidious aspects of patriarchal oppression. It turns women against women. And even today, after waves and waves of feminism, we still see this happening.
The best modern example I can think of is YouTuber Pearl Davis, a content creator who advocates for traditional gender roles and is highly critical of modern feminism. She emphasises that women should embrace submissive roles, and blames women for relationship issues, arguing that our behaviour and expectations are unrealistic. This has made her a popular figure among the manosphere – not because men like or respect her, but because she’s a tokenistic mouthpiece amplifying their messages.
But Davis doesn’t seem to realise that tokens get spent. By devaluing women’s roles outside of traditional structures, reinforcing negative stereotypes, and critiquing female empowerment, she’s desperately trying to appeal to the same misogynists who wouldn’t think twice about including her in another attack on women.
I don’t want to sound paranoid, but the more I look around, the more I see history repeating itself in scary ways.
We talked last week about how the transition from feudalism to capitalism disrupted the traditional social structures, which led to non-conforming women being scapegoated. I don’t know if you’ve tried to buy anything or find a job recently. We’ve hit some economically precarious times again, and it’s often marginalised groups like immigrants who are scapegoated and blamed for wider problems today.
The rise of capitalism also reduced communal support systems, leading to individualistic, us vs. them mentalities. Since then, this individualism has exacerbated social isolation – exactly the kind of environment in which subcultures like incels thrive.
And the reason they’ve all connected in the first place is thanks to the internet. Kramer used the printing press to enable the rapid spread of his Malleus Maleficarum, but there’s nothing quicker than social media. Gutenberg, Zuckerberg – same, same.
Only I think Zuckerberg’s idea is more dangerous because social media’s accessibility, interactivity, and speed make it incredibly powerful. The printing press had limitations in reach and it’s not like a pamphlet is particularly interactive. But the the internet lets us build virtual communities of people all over the world, in real-time, and often under the cover of anonymity. Pair that with algorithms amplifying content based on engagement, and not the actual message, and things get really frightening. That’s how misogyny and other forms of hate are normalised and perpetuated.
As we’ve seen, the consequences of these ideologies are devastating. We have to recognise these patterns and address the underlying beliefs and factors before they erupt into violence and tragedy.
Surprising no one, I guess my larger point is that the accused witches in this story weren’t the evil ones after all. The real evil lurks inside the individuals who encourage and enact violence against other humans, whether in the form of witch hunts, incel-related terrorist attacks, or any other attack on a group of marginalised people.
We don’t have to accept that this is where things are headed again. There’s research showing that deradicalisation programs can be effective, for example. But more than anything, I think it’s going to take a societal shift – challenging and changing the underlying beliefs about gender, power, and entitlement.
So the next time someone claims they’re the victim of a witch hunt, please consider whose side they would’ve been on historically. Using religion, misogyny, and traditional gender roles to control women’s bodies is a total Heinrich manoeuvre.
Ooo, Heinrich. Ya burnt.
[MUSIC]
Steph: It’s time for lights out at the Paranormal Pajama Party. That’s enough thinking about witch-hunts for me for like… ever, so next week we’re changing the subject to a classic scary story from America’s saddest, spookiest writer – Edgar Allan Poe.
To learn more about the path to intended violence, hunters and howlers, or the manosphere (but bleh – why would you want to?), check out my sources in the show notes.
Follow @ParanormalPJParty on Instagram to see visuals from today’s episode.
I’ll be back next week with more spine-tingling tales and critical discussion. In the meantime, don’t forget: Ghosts have stories. Women have voices. Dare to listen.
[MUSIC FADES OUT]

Rodger’s involvement with online incel communities (involuntary celibates) provided a modern platform for his extremist views. These forums, part of the manosphere, which promotes misogynistic and often violent ideologies, helped radicalise Rodger and validated his belief that women were to blame for his failures.

The path to intended violence

To dig deeper into the parallels between Rodger and Kramer, this episode explores the “path to intended violence,” a theory describing the steps perpetrators of mass violence typically follow. Both Kramer and Rodger fit this model, starting with a personal grievance, escalating to the belief that violence is the solution, and culminating in meticulously planned attacks. This pattern underscores the deep-rooted and enduring nature of violent misogyny.

Hunters and howlers

In the context of violence, “howlers” and “hunters” represent two distinct types of participants. Howlers are individuals who incite fear and hysteria through their vocal accusations and public denunciations. They raise alarm and spread rumours to create a climate of fear and suspicion. Howlers often incite others to act, setting the stage for more direct forms of persecution. During the witch hunts, Kramer’s possible co-author, Jacob Sprenger, was a howler.

In contrast, hunters are the individuals who take direct action based on the hysteria and fear spread by the howlers. While they may also share the beliefs of the howlers, their role is more about implementing the resulting actions of the hysteria. hey were responsible for the trials, tortures, and executions that defined this dark period. Kramer, heavily involved in the trials of his time, was a hunter.

These roles continue to perpetuate misogyny and violence. Modern howlers include influential figures like certain ex-presidents, YouTubers, and online personalities who use their platforms to spread misogynistic ideologies, as well as social media users who incite online harassment campaigns against women or marginalised groups.

Modern hunters take direct action based on the incitement of howlers, such as participants in violent rallies, online harassers, or those who commit physical acts of violence. Extremists who carry out attacks inspired by the ideologies and rhetoric spread by influential howlers also fall into this category. They see themselves as defenders of a cause, justifying their actions through the lens of the fear and anger instilled by howlers.

The internet’s role in modern extremism

The episode closes with a discussion on the role of the internet in spreading and normalising hate. Social media platforms and online communities enable the rapid dissemination of extremist ideologies, creating echo chambers that amplify and validate misogynistic views. This accessibility and interactivity make the internet a powerful tool for radicalisation, much like the printing press in Kramer’s time.

Recognising and combating misogyny

The violent misogyny of the past is far from eradicated. It has evolved and adapted to modern platforms, continuing to pose a significant threat. Recognising these patterns and addressing the underlying beliefs about gender, power, and entitlement is crucial in preventing future violence.