the beginning of a history paper

in my lifetime i have hardly been exposed to magic. my last illusion of the existence of magic ended at about age 6 with a casual message to the truth of Santa, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy before bed. what replaced my belief of a character in my world who had powers no one else did to help me in my life and my knowledge of good, who by faith in, although typically not bestowing random presents under my pillow, tree, or basket, works by laws that are most often in my favor. It is then that I stumbled upon the idea of the witch. What is? If we all accept that there is no thing as magic, what made everyone want to burn and persecute witches but not Santa or a fairy? granted Santa Claus didn't exist in the middle ages, so it's possible he could've been a target of persecution, however, I plan to explore the idea of a witch in the middle-early modern ages and the ideas of a person labeled witch.