Fear of fire, flood, and plague. Fear of invasion by the infidel. Fear of purgatory and of death. Fear of witchcraft. These are just some of the events and crises that haunted the early modern world, Drawing on British and Continental examples, this fascinating and well-integrated collection of essays explores the panoply of personal and communal tragedies that tormented and terrified both elite and popular communities in this period. Groundbreaking new research explores how strategies were formed for dealing both practically and psychologically with these fears. Various authors unearth amazing stories, telling of, among other things, the creation of the first fire: service in France, dog-massacres in times of plague in England, and flood emergency plans in Holland.