6. The Witchcraft Act of 1736 made it okay to be a witch, but illegal to pretend to be one
Witchcraft used to be illegal around the world. In England, witchcraft became a criminal (rather than ecclesiastical) offense after the Witchcraft Act of 1604. But when the furore over witches died down, a new age of enlightenment took over. Thus, the 1736 Witchcraft Act took a different stance. This repealed the preceding legislation that punished witchcraft with death. However, it had an interesting caveat. The Act made it illegal for anyone to ‘pretend to exercise or use any kind of witchcraft. In other words, being a witch was fine, but pretending to be one got you a year in prison!
