This original study combines two classic themes of social anthropology in a new synthesis: the study of witchcraft and sorcery, and the study of rumors and gossip. To do this, the authors propose two approaches: first, they analyze the fundamental importance of rumors and gossip as catalysts that give rise to accusations of witchcraft and sorcery. Next, they show the role of rumors and gossip in the genesis of social and political violence, both in peasant rebellions and in witch hunts. In this sense, the examples that support the authors' argument come from Africa, Europe, India, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka. Also included are analyzes of numerous witch trials in England and Scotland in the 17th century, accounts of witch and vampire hunts in colonial and contemporary Africa, and rumors of building sacrifices in Indonesia. Entertaining, precise and synthetic, we are, without a doubt, before one of the best contributions to the study of witchcraft in recent decades.