History PlayingWith / WitchHunt

* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': There is a church sect in charge of hunting witches that not only employs [[HunterOfHisOwnKind witches]], but as a rule sends out two-man teams of witch and TheWitchHunter to [[TheyFightCrime complete operations.]] This strict professionalism prevents mob rule, covers the weaknesses of either individual, and (hopefully) puts a damper on bigotry from either side as they're meant to work together.

** Parson Bob and his followers sincerely believe that witches exist, can do what is claimed, and are AlwaysChaoticEvil. Thus it's perfectly sensible to search them out no matter what it takes. Also, the [[ScienceMarchesOn germ theory of disease hasn't been invented yet.]]

* '''Played For Drama''': Dinkytown suffers a bad harvest. [[PreacherMan Parson Bob]] believes this to be the work of witches hexing the fields, and urges the townsfolk to find out who the witches are. Innocent people are accused, and some are even executed after torture makes them falsely confess. Then they [[BrokenMasquerade uncover]] a [[WitchSpecies real witch]], [[BullyingADragon who uses her]] [[DealWithTheDevil demonic powers]] [[BullyingADragon to decimate Dinkytown in the process of escaping justice]]. In the aftermath, the surviving townsfolk have to deal not only with whatever lingering {{Curse}}s the witch left behind, but the [[FridgeLogic burning question]], [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone "Why didn't any of those]] ''[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone other]]'' [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone witches do that?"]]

* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': There is a church sect in charge of hunting witches that not only employs [[HunterOfHisOwnKind witches]], but as a rule sends out two-man teams of witch and WitchHunter [[TheyFightCrime to complete operations.]] This strict professionalism prevents mob rule, covers the weaknesses of either individual, and (hopefully) puts a damper on bigotry from either side as they're meant to work together.

* '''Invoked''': The High Witch Council cast spells on certain people to drive public opinion against witches. Those witches will be forced to obey the orders of the Council if they want to life.

** Witches run around casting curses and hexes on random people in broad daylight, yet no one ever considers the fact that witches might be problem.

%%* '''Implied''': ???
%%* '''Plotted A Good Waste''': ???

* '''Downplayed''': Someone's been stealing lunches out of the Tropeco break room's refrigerator. Manager Bob goes around the office accusing people with suspicious crumbs near their desks of being the culprit.

** Witches run around casting curses and hexes on random people in broad daylight, yet no one ever considers the fact that witches might be a problem.

* '''Invoked''': This trope is usually invoked by the person who starts the witch hunt.

* '''Reconstructed''': A reconstructed WitchHunt would be a hunt for real witches, with witches as dangerous demon-worshippers and trials that fairly determine whether or not a person is a witch. Vigilance, not paranoia.

* '''Inverted''': A group of hidden witches secretly hunt and kill members of the Dinkytown community.

** Witches and magic do exist, but they arn't what people think. The magic they use if different from the accused power that is making everybodies' life worse. They might even use magic that counters the problem.

** [[SmugSnake Magistrate Charles]] is [[DevilInPlainSight secretly]] a witch (What? The term was gender neutral for most of its history), and is using his formal authority and easy access to the ear of [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Parson Bob]] to whip the muggles into a witch hunting frenzy so he can [[ThePurge eliminate his rivals in the Dinkytown coven]].

* '''Exaggerated''': {{Eagleland}}'s economy is tanking, so President Bush, desperate to draw blame away from his own policies, declares that it happened because of hidden terrorists who "hate Eagleland" and are no doubt in the pay of a certain foreign government. He orders a nationwide crackdown on terrorists, with broad new powers granted to government agencies to carry out seek and destroy missions. A media blitz warns that "anyone" could be a terrorist, though those who refuse to swear loyalty to President Bob and his party are singled out as likely terrorists. Children are encouraged to report "unusual" behavior in their parents and neighbors.

* '''Exaggerated''': {{Eagleland}}'s economy is tanking, so President Bob, desperate to draw blame away from his own policies, declares that it happened because of hidden witches who "hate Eagleland" and are no doubt in the pay of a certain foreign government. He orders a nationwide crackdown on witches, with broad new powers granted to government agencies to carry out seek and destroy missions. A media blitz warns that "anyone" could be a witch, though those who refuse to swear loyalty to President Bob and his party are singled out as likely witches. Children are encouraged to report "witchlike" behavior in their parents and neighbors.

** [[SmugSnake Magistrate Charles]] is [[DevilInPlainSight secretly]] a witch (What? The term was gender neutral for most of its history), and has used his formal authority and easy access to the ear of Parson Bob to whip the muggles into a witch hunting frenzy so he can [[ThePurge eliminate his rivals in the Dinkytown coven]].

** Magistrate Charles is secretly a witch (What? The term was gender neutral for most of its history), and has whipped up the hysteria as a means to [[ThePurge consolidate his power in the coven]].

* '''Exploited''': Goodwife Alice, once the witch hunt is in full swing, accuses her elderly aunt of witchcraft in hopes of getting the old lady executed and inheriting her land.

* '''Downplayed''': ???

* '''Exploited''': ???

* '''Deconstructed''': The WitchHunt trope itself is a deconstruction of mob mentality and the desire to scapegoat unpopular members of the community for its problems.
* '''Reconstructed''': A reconstructed WitchHunt would be a hunt for real witches, with witches as dangerous demon-worshippers and trials that fairly determine whether or not a person is a witch. Vigilance, not paranoia.

* '''Played For Laughs:''' {{The Chew Toy}} is accused of being a witch.
* '''Played For Drama:''' Dinkytown suffers a bad harvest. [[PreacherMan Parson Bob]] believes this to be the work of witches hexing the fields, and urges the townsfolk to find out who the witches are. Innocent people are accused, and some are even executed after torture makes them falsely confess. Then they [[BrokenMasquerade uncover]] a [[WitchSpecies real witch]], [[BullyingADragon who uses her]] [[DealWithTheDevil demonic powers]] [[BullyingADragon to decimate Dinkytown in the process of escaping justice]]. In the aftermath, the surviving townsfolk have to deal not only with whatever lingering {{Curse}}s the witch left behind, but the [[FridgeLogic burning question]], [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone "Why didn't any of those]] ''[[MyGodWhatHaveIDone other]]'' [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone witches do that?"]]

* '''Justified''': Parson Bob and his followers sincerely believe that witches exist, can do what is claimed, and are AlwaysChaoticEvil. Thus it's perfectly sensible to search them out no matter what it takes. Also, the [[ScienceMarchesOn germ theory of disease hasn't been invented yet.]]

* '''Enforced''': ???

* '''Enforced''': The government passes laws requiring communities to search for witches on a regular basis.

* '''Played For Drama:'''