James believing in their (witches) influence, and Bacon partly sharing in the belief. Macbeth appeared in this year mixed up with Bacon’s inquiries into witchcraft. Ignatius Donnelly.--The Cryptogram. From the accession of James I., witchcraft became the master superstition of the age. The woman accused of witchcraft was practically beyond the pale of the law; the mere fact of accusation was equal to condemnation.