Witches, devils and demonic possession have been a part of humanity since before recorded history, and haven't changed much in content or principle from the middle ages to the present (make that 1922 Sweden). European culture is rooted in the belief in a supernatural universe where God and the Angels dwell in the heavens and demons and devils infest the interior of the Earth. In the Middle Ages, organized religion in Europe unleashed a reign of terror on whole populations through organized witch hunts. Thousands of women were victimized simply for being old, ugly and misunderstood. Actually practicing folk medicine wasn't necessary, as being prosecuted, tortured and burned as a witch was a process begun by denunciation, with conviction a foregone conclusion. Witch hysteria would start with the initial denounced victim naming other 'witches' under torture (often her own denouncers) until scores of local women unlucky to be distrusted (for being old) or envied (for being beautiful) would die horrible deaths at the hands of merciless inquisitors. Nowadays, society has better ways to deal with women with real problems. Old people are tended to in clean and philanthropic homes, and young women suffering from 'hysteria' and other psychic disorders are better understood by modern psychologists.