But by the mid-1400s, Pope Innocent VIII, faced with challenges within the church, went after heretics — including witches. By 1515, 500 witches were burned in the city of Geneva.

On Halloween, Jason Myers makes a pilgrimage to his hometown of Salem, Mass. to attend a witches' costume ball that's been held annually since 1970. (Photo: Jason Myers) ...

(RNS) — As Halloween approaches, the Rev. David Collins, a Jesuit professor of history at Georgetown University, takes us back to a time in European history when witches were persecuted and ...