Witch: a person (especially a woman) who is credited with having usually malignant supernatural powers- Merriam Webster

Witches have been both feared and respected throughout history. The real “witch hunts” did not begin until the 15th century after the publication of Malleus Maleficarum or The Hammer of the Witches, written by a German religious zealot named Heinrich Kramer. The United States is best known for the Salem Witch Trials, but there are records and accounts of witchcraft, witch trials, and spinsters living alone in the woods spanning from Maine to Florida.