I read on r/todayilearned about Jane Wenham, a woman who was accused of witchcraft in the year 1712, and witnesses accused her of flying on a broomstick, when the judge's response was that there was no law against flying.
My question is, why and how did the concept die out in Europe?
If you can answer the same questions about the USA, that would be a bonus as well.
P.S. a similar question was posted six months ago but went unanswered, & maybe someone has gained knowledge on the subject during that time.
In Spain, the concept of witchcraft died out in 1614. Some years prior there had been the trial of the witches of Zugarramurdi, where a bunch of "witches" had been sentenced to death and executed.
One of the judges who took part in the trial, though he had joined late, revised the procedure, and submitted it to the Supreme Council of the Inquisition, with allegations of judicial malpractice and procedural errors. The Supreme Council revised the procedure in extenso and agreed with Alonso de Salazar's conclusions. The statement issued by the Supreme Council explicitly said that witchcraft did not exist but that the alleged witchcraft was nothing else but collective and/or individual hysteria, as well as neighbours denouncing neighbours in bad faith. The families of the witches of Zugarramurdi were restored in their rights and honour, and the sambenitos taken out.
This was the end of witchcraft persecutions in Spain, that had taken the lives of more than 50 people up to that moment. Alonso de Salazar FrÃas would go down in History as "the witches' defendant".
There's always more to be said, but you may be interested in /u/OwlOfDerision's answer to When did people stop believing in witches? What was the cause of this?.