Prior to becoming King James I of England, James VI of Scotland was known to be a highly superstitious man with strong beliefs in the existence of witches. He published Daemonologie (1597) which uses canonical law to justify witchcraft persecution.
The King James Bible further followed these superstitious
footsteps. It is famous for the contested translation of Exodus
22:18, which James asserted was "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live". This passage would come to provide scriptural justification
for witchcraft persecution.