Reginald Scot (or Scott) (c. 1538 – 9 October 1599) was an Englishman and Member of Parliament, the author of The Discoverie of Witchcraft, which was published in 1584.

Subsequently, Scot married a second wife, a widow named Alice Collyar, who had a daughter called Mary by her former husband.

[3] In the last half of the sixteenth century, an active theological debate continued from various pulpits throughout Europe – Calvinist, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic – between those who supported the skeptical Episcopi/Providential tradition and those who believed that witches could obtain real supernatural powers through an agreement or pact with the devil.

[6] An intriguing clue to this theory is the name Abraham Fleming written backwards (Gnimelf Maharba) in Scot's lengthy bibliography in the front pages of the Discoverie.

In 1574 he published his Perfect Platform of a Hop-garden, and necessary instructions for the making and maintenance thereof, with Notes and Rules for Reformation of all Abuses.

The work, which is dedicated to Serjeant William Lovelace of Bethersden in Kent, is the first practical treatise on hop culture in England; the processes are illustrated by woodcuts.

He set himself to prove that the belief in witchcraft and magic was rejected alike by reason and religion, and that spiritualistic manifestations were either wilful impostures or illusions due to mental disturbance in the observers.