DrThomas Waters

I’m a historian who is utterly fascinated by people’s magical beliefs, acts, and experiences. For almost 25 years, I’ve had the privilege of researching and writing about the history of magic. I began this work by studying the harmful type of witchcraft in modern Britain and the British Empire. From there I moved on to study the comparative, global, and long-term history of magic, from prehistory to the present.

If you’re interested in my research and writing, about magic and its roles in human life, you may enjoy these accessible books and articles:

Magick: Decoding the Visual Culture of Spells, Illusions and Psychic Powers (Thames & Hudson, 2026)

Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern Times (Yale, 2019)

'Irish cursing and the art of magic: 1750-2018'. Past & Present, 247 (2020), pp. 113-149

At Imperial, I teach history in several forms. For undergraduates, I convene the module ‘Revolutions and the Making of the Modern World’. Over two semesters, the course explores the comparative history of revolutions from the eighteenth century to the present. I also teach and supervise humanities research projects, along with dissertations in the history of medicine.

Since 2018, I have designed and taught the 20-week evening class ‘Spellbound: A History of Witchcraft and Magic’. For the 2026-7 academic year, Spellbound will run online on Wednesday evenings, and in-person on at Imperial’s South Kensington campus on Monday evenings. You can learn more here:

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/evening-classes/winter-courses-list/spellbound-history-of-magic-classroom/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/evening-classes/winter-courses-list/spellbound-history-of-magic-online/

Publications:

Magick: Decoding the Visual Culture of Spells, Illusions and Psychic Powers (Thames & Hudson, 2026).

'Practices and Practitioners', in Andrew Sneddon (ed. A Cultural History of Magic. Vol. 4: In the Age of Enlightenment (Bloomsbury, 2025).

'Irish cursing and the art of magic: 1750-2018'. Past & Present, 247 (2020), pp. 113-149.

Cursed Britain: A History of Witchcraft and Black Magic in Modern Times (Yale, 2019).

‘Maleficent witchcraft in Britain since 1900’. History Workshop Journal, 80 (2015), pp. 99-122.

‘Magic and the British middle classes: 1750-1900’. Journal of British Studies, 54 (2015), pp. 632-653.

‘“They seem to have all died out”: witches and witchcraft in Lark Rise to Candleford and the English countryside, c. 1830-1930’. Historical Research, 87 (2014), pp. 134-153.

‘Belief in witchcraft in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, c. 1860-1900: the evidence of the newspaper archive’. Midland History, 34 (2009), pp. 98-116.