There is, to date, only one complete English translation of De Praestigiis Daemonum.
It was translated by John Shea and published by the Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies (MRTS) center at Binghamton University in 1990 under the title: Pseudomonarchia Daemonum (The False Kingdom of the Demons)? Wait—careful: Pseudomonarchia Daemonum is actually a separate appendix or excerpt. For the complete De Praestigiis, the Shea translation is the gold standard.
Title: On the Illusions of the Demons: De Praestigiis Daemonum
Translator: John Shea (with an introduction by George Mora)
Publisher: MRTS (State University of New York at Binghamton)
Edition: often cited as Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, Volume 90 (1991)
This edition runs to over 700 pages, includes Weyer’s appendices on poisons and demonic hierarchies, and is the definitive scholarly edition.
Here is the crucial truth you need to know. Let us break down the English translation landscape.
Because of growing interest in the history of psychiatry, there are rumors that a digital English edition is in the works at Open Book Publishers or Oxford Scholarly Editions. As of 2025, nothing has been officially released. Keep an eye on Project Muse and JSTOR.
If you want, I can:
Which of those would you like next?
The 1991 English translation of Johann Weyer’s De Praestigiis Daemonum is titled "Witches, Devils, and Doctors in the Renaissance," a 790-page work arguing that alleged witchcraft was largely due to mental illness. While complete PDF downloads are restricted by copyright, the text is available for loan via the Internet Archive.
The primary English translation of Johann Weyer's 1563 work De praestigiis daemonum (On the Tricks of Demons) is titled Witches, Devils, and Doctors in the Renaissance.
Translated by John Shea and edited by George Mora, this version is widely regarded as the definitive full English text. Internet Archive Where to Find the PDF and Full Text Internet Archive:
You can find the full 790-page 1991 translation for borrowing or digital viewing on the Internet Archive
A community-uploaded version of the text, often titled simply "De Praestigiis Daemonum," is frequently available on Library Resources:
The physical and digital copies are held at major institutions like Berkeley Law Wellcome Collection Available Versions
Title: The Whisper of the Index
Dr. Lena Petrova, a historian of early modern science, stared at the microfilm reader. The 16th-century Latin text swam before her tired eyes: De Praestigiis Daemonum, et Incantationibus ac Veneficiis — On the Tricks of Demons, and Incantations and Poisons.
Johann Weyer’s infamous book. Published in 1563, it was the first systematic attempt to argue that accused witches were not evil sorcerers, but mentally ill victims of demonic illusion. For this, Weyer was hailed as a pioneer of psychiatry by some, and a demonic apologist by others. Every scholar knew of it. Few had read the complete, unexpurgated Latin edition.
Lena needed the only known English translation, a clandestine Victorian-era version by a disgraced occultist named Algernon Blackwood-Hay. It was never formally published. According to legend, Blackwood-Hay had finished the translation, added a hundred pages of his own feverish commentary, and then… vanished. His manor burned down. The only surviving copy was rumored to exist as a scanned PDF, hidden on a forgotten corner of the internet.
Her quest had begun as dry bibliography. A footnote in a 1972 essay. A whisper on a historians’ forum: “The Praestigiis PDF… the real one… look for the file named ‘Weyers_Mirror.pdf’ on the old TOR sites.”
For three months, she found nothing but dead links and corrupted files. Then, last night, an anonymous email. No subject. No text. Just a link: an IP address ending in .onion.
Now, in her dimly lit study, she didn’t use TOR. She was too cautious—or too cowardly. Instead, she had asked a colleague in cyber-forensics to pull the file and scrub it. The result was a clean, 847-page PDF sitting on a USB drive.
She double-clicked.
The title page was exquisite: hand-drawn woodcuts of demons whispering into human ears, their faces a mixture of mockery and pity. Then the translator’s preface by Blackwood-Hay.
“To read Weyer is to hold a mirror to the abyss of the human mind. He believed demons had no real power—only the power to deceive. But is not deception the oldest and truest power of all? I have finished his work. I have understood his hidden chapter. And I have added my own. Let the reader beware: the tricks of demons are nothing compared to the tricks a man plays upon himself.”
Lena frowned. Hidden chapter? The known Latin text had 6 books. This translation had a seventh. She scrolled past Weyer’s arguments—the clinical descriptions of melancholia, the rational debunkings of shape-shifting and flight. It was brilliant, humane, and strange.
Then she reached Book VII.
It was not by Weyer. It was Blackwood-Hay’s commentary. But it wasn’t academic. It was a diary.
“June 14, 1887. The PDF is not a copy. It is a vessel. Each time it is opened, the reader sees not the same words, but the words they most fear to be true. For Weyer was wrong: demons do not need to cast spells. They only need to convince you that your own doubts are their whispers. Tonight, I saw my wife’s face in the margin. She has been dead for ten years. She asked me: ‘Why did you let me die?’ I have no answer. The PDF will remember my answer for the next reader.”
Lena’s hand trembled on the mouse. She scrolled faster. de praestigiis daemonum english translation pdf
“July 3. The translation is done. But I am not. The book has translated me. I am no longer Algernon. I am the index. I am the footnote that never ends. To close the file is to agree to forget. But forgetting is a trick. And I am tired of tricks.”
The last page was blank except for a single line of text in the center: “Do you see your own question here, Dr. Petrova?”
Lena jerked back. She had never told anyone her name in connection with this search. The email was anonymous. The file was scrubbed.
She tried to close the PDF. It wouldn’t close. She tried to force-quit the reader. The screen flickered. Then the words began to change.
The title De Praestigiis Daemonum rearranged itself. The letters swam. When they settled, they read: De Praestigiis Mentis — On the Tricks of the Mind.
And beneath it, a new line: “You wanted the English translation. What you found was a translation of yourself.”
Lena reached for the USB drive to pull it out. But the drive was warm. Almost hot. And from her laptop’s speakers, very softly, she heard a whisper—not in Latin, not in English, but in the voice of her own dead father, asking a question she had never answered.
She closed the laptop. The whisper stopped. But she knew: the PDF was still open. It was always open. It was just waiting for her to look again.
And the file name on the USB drive had changed. It now read: Petrovas_Mirror.pdf.
End of story.
The Witchcraft Treatise: Understanding "De Praestigiis Daemonum"
In the 16th century, the Catholic Church was grappling with the issue of witchcraft, and one of the key texts that emerged during this period was "De Praestigiis Daemonum" (On the Tricks of Demons). Written by Heinrich Kramer, a German Catholic clergyman, in 1563, this treatise on witchcraft and demonology would go on to become a foundational text in the field.
The Original Latin Text
The original Latin text of "De Praestigiis Daemonum" was widely circulated and influential in its time. Kramer drew on his experience as a judge in witch trials, as well as his knowledge of theology and canon law, to create a comprehensive guide to the nature of witches, their pacts with demons, and the ways in which they could be prosecuted. There is, to date, only one complete English
English Translation and Impact
In recent years, an English translation of "De Praestigiis Daemonum" has become available in PDF format, making this important historical text accessible to a wider audience. The translation provides a fascinating glimpse into the mindset of 16th-century Catholic authorities on the subject of witchcraft.
For those interested in the history of witchcraft and demonology, "De Praestigiis Daemonum" offers valuable insights into the theological and juridical frameworks that underpinned the witch hunts of the Early Modern period. Kramer's text also sheds light on the everyday fears and superstitions of the time, revealing a world in which demonic intervention was seen as a very real possibility.
Key Themes and Takeaways
Some of the key themes explored in "De Praestigiis Daemonum" include:
Conclusion
The availability of an English translation of "De Praestigiis Daemonum" in PDF format is a significant boon for scholars and researchers interested in the history of witchcraft and demonology. This treatise provides a unique window into the intellectual and cultural currents of 16th-century Europe, and its themes and ideas continue to resonate today.
If you're interested in exploring this topic further, I recommend downloading the PDF and delving into the world of 16th-century witchcraft and demonology.
To satisfy your curiosity while you locate a copy, here is what Weyer covers in the full work:
Finding a quality English translation is crucial. The text was originally written in a dense, rhetorical Latin. The most respected modern English edition is translated by John Shea (published by Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies).
If you find a PDF of older translations (like the 17th-century partial translations), be prepared for archaic English and difficult syntax.
Most searches for "de praestigiis daemonum english translation pdf" lead to two dead ends:
If you see a PDF claiming to be "Weyer’s complete book in English" that is only 100 pages long, it is either the demon list or a summary. The real text is 700+ pages.