Originally a comment by Artymorty on But are you?

It’s so creepy because it’s so paranoid. Signalling that there’s a kind of diffuse, spectral force of terror out there. The world is just so, so full of evil people! But I’m not one of them! I’m safe!

The real force of terror is the idea itself — the paranoia that at any moment you could be marked as One of Them instead of One of Us, the Good People. So you must be vigilant and demonstrate your commitment to Us, against Them.

It’s the Crucible. The poster might as well say:

I am not a witch.

If you are

in any way

afraid

of being harmed by a witch

or you suspect

that someone’s a witch

let me know.

I’ll prove I’m not a witch

by joining in the witch hunt.