While the Salem witch trials may be the most well-known, witch trials took place all over the world in the 15th - 18th centuries. Scotland's first witch trials took place when storms threatened the sinking of ships carrying King James VI of Scotland and his future wife. Blame focussed on so-called witches, sparking a determination in the King to hunt, torture and eliminate them. Witches: Truth Behind The Trials begins Wednesday 30th October at 8pm on National Geographic UK. | National Geographic

Salem is famous for the witch trials that took place there in 1692. Historians explore the broken politics, complex history and local rivalries that resulted in mass hysteria and the supposed bewitchment of girls from the village, that led to mass scale accusations of witchcraft. Tune in to Witches: Truth Behind The Trials on Wednesdays at 8pm on National Geographic UK. | National Geographic UK

The strange tale of how the most famous witch hunt in history began | Channel 4

Elizabeth Clarke was the first woman persecuted by the witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins in 1645 in Essex, England. Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne roamed East Anglia, investigating and torturing so-called witches in exchange for money. They even brought the women to the assizes, where judges from London would decide if the accused witches would be found guilty, and executed. Watch Witches: Truth Behind The Trials on Wednesdays at 8pm on National Geographic UK. | National Geographic UK