This thesis is meant to study 17th century courts and their actions at three locations. These locations include Salem in Massachusetts, Livonia during the Swedish rule and Ångermanland in Sweden. The focus cases will include witchcraft, more specifically maleficium which is the form of witchcraft that contemporaries’ often believed could hurt people physically. The thesis will also include a comparison of the three chosen locations which will take part in the discussion. There I will compare the view witchcraft, laws and how the religion played a part. In order to do this study I have gathered books that includes the legal documents from Salem, court cases from Livonia and literature that handles the history of the locations. My findings have shown that the three areas are in general very similar, despite being far apart. People view witches similarly and the courts act thereafter. The laws tend to favor the death penalty although it’s not always used.