RATS!

What, historically, do rats and witches have in common? Firstly, they appear to be almost indestructible, and secondly, they put the fear of the gods into humankind!
Miraculously, witchcraft, in its broadest sense survived the Inquisition - that is, the persecution by the Church of anyone accused of heresy. Heresy being applied to any belief or theory that was strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of the Church of Rome.