12 Crazy Reasons Why Your Ancestors Were Accused Of Witchcraft

6. Having Pets

Due to the mass panic and hysteria that the witch trials created, pets weren't really seen as pets anymore, but a person's familiar. A familiar is an animal that can take a variety of forms which appears to someone who is in need; if they are poor, grieving, or struggling to survive, their familiar will appear to them in order to help them by blessing them with magical powers. Naturally, there were some animals which people were more suspicious of than others. Cats, particularly those with black fur were seen as being a sort of reincarnation of Satan as the colour was synonymous with evil. Dogs also weren't trusted of being actual canines, but the devil in disguise (as were some birds, frogs and iguanas). So if you owned any of these animals, you were more likely going to be accused of being a witch.