The Tyler County Witch

Sistersville's Oakwood Cemetery
From Find-a-Grave user, Becky Doan

Today's Witchy Wednesday blog comes from the August 10, 1871 edition of the Wheeling Daily Register, and tells a tragic story of a young lady from Tyler County, WV, who believes she is being physically attacked by a witch. The story, which apparently originally showed up in the Wetzel Independent, unfortunately doesn't give the name of the girl, her physician, or provides any follow-up as to her condition.

But y'all know me and curiosity led me down a rabbit hole to see if I could find out who she could be. Unfortunately, that rabbit hole ended where so many of my little research trips do----nowhere, lol. But, I DID find only one death certificate on file online that could fit the scenario.  A fifteen year old girl from Tyler County named Susan B. Cotton passed away on August 21, 1871 from what was listed as 'lung fever.' Could Susan have been the young girl described in the article? If she was...was she really under a witch's spell, or was she suffering from some unknown medical condition?

Susan is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Sistersville, WV, which interestingly enough is home to one of West Virginia's creepiest cemetery legends, The Stocking Lady! But, whether or not Susan is the young lady in question, here is the tale of the Tyler Witch as it originally appeared in 1871:

There is a young lady in Tyler County, West Va., that claims to be bewitched by an old lady, a neighbor.  The first indications were discovered in the latter part of May.  She seems to be strangely affected, having spasms or fits, which come on her about once every two weeks, lasting from 8 o'clock in the evening until about 4 o'clock the next morning. She says that during her spells the witch sits on her headpost and spits in her face, and her friends say that her face will be wet with water, and no one knows how it gets there.  She talks but little or none during her spells, and she says she knows all that is passing, but cannot make her wants known, nor can they force her jaws apart to get medicine down. She seems to be perfectly exhausted when just over a spell, and asserts positively that she will die in the next spasm. Her physician, who is one of the best in the county, says he can do nothing for her. --Wetzel Independent

Please join me over on Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State Facebook page if you have any information on the Tyler County Witch, or if you have any theories as to what the young lady in question was actually experiencing.  Stay spooky, stay witchy, stay weird! 

Witchcraft in Bluefield, West Virginia

Bluefield, WV in 1890
Source: WV History on View

Bluefield, by West Virginia standards, is a decent-sized city, located in Mercer County. It sits in the southeastern part of the state, bordering Virginia, and is home to Bluefield State. It's also home to a strange tale of witchcraft, chronicled in a 1936 newspaper article:

Witch stories still are believed, it has been found. At least, the story of mysterious happenings near Bluefield is taken seriously.

It seems that many years ago, a small boy suddenly stopped eating, although he was not ill. Every few days, however, a certain neighbor would visit the boy's home to feed him, and the boy 'would eat like a pig,' according to reports, for this man only and no one else.

The boy's father thought of a way to get to the bottom of the mystery. He drew a picture of the man and tacked it to the wall. He then drove a nail through the head.

The man failed to appear the following day. It developed that he had been stricken suddenly with a splitting headache. The father then withdrew the nail from the picture---and the man's headache mysteriously disappeared. The boy regained his appetite and never again was troubled by a lack of it. 

To this day people familiar with the story believe that the man had placed some sort of spell over the boy, "just for fun," and the driving of the nail through his likeness caused him to release his strangle hold on the boy. 

Throughout Appalachian folklore, you'll find tales of similar apotropaic measures against witchcraft. An iron nail being driven through a likeness of a suspected witch, an effigy of that witch, or even the witch's footprint, can be beneficial in binding a witch's powers and causing physical harm. What I personally haven't seen much of is tales about taking a child's appetite, but coming to feed them. I'm not sure what the end game for such an action would be, unless it's just 'for fun,' as the article surmises. This is one of those stories where I'd love to know more...such as what the relationship between this unnamed man and the family was before the boy's affliction, and was the food being eaten brought from the man's home, or was it food prepared by the boy's family? But, maybe I'm reading too much into what is otherwise just a fascinating tale told of Appalachian witchcraft! If you're interesting in learning more about the protective elements of pins/needles/nails, check out THIS LINK. 

Happy Witchy Wednesday!

The Charleston Daily Mail

26 January 1936

Louisville's Witches' Tree

Louisville Witches' Tree (Source)

Gnarled, twisted, strangely-shaped trees can be spooky enough on their own.  However, its when they are given a supernatural back story and explanation that they catch my attention!  That's the case with this creepy old tree in Kentucky's Old Louisville District.

You can find the tree at the corner of Sixth Street and Park Avenue, among the breathtaking architecture of the area's Victorian era homes.  Local author, David Domine, who has written extensively about the haunted history of Old Louisville, tells the legend of the Witches' Tree.  According to that legend, there used to be a grand maple tree growing on the spot of today's tree.  In 1889, this tree was a favorite meeting place for a coven of witches in the area. The witches would meet at the mighty maple tree and cast spells, brew potions, and generally do whatever it is that witches would do.

Unfortunately, the city wasn't too fond of this coven of witches.  However, they WERE fond of the maple tree, believing it would make the ideal May Pole for that year's annual May Day celebration.  The witches warned the town that they'd be sorry if they cut down the tree.  But, the warning was ignored, and the tree was cut down and fashioned into a May Pole.  Meanwhile, the witches found a new location on the outskirts of town to practice...and to plot their revenge.

Exactly 11 months after the maple tree was cut down for use as a May Pole, a catastrophic tornado ripped through Louisville.  The storm hit on March 27, 1890 at 8:30 p.m. It only lasted about 5 minutes, but left a path of death and destruction through Old Louisville.  During the chaos, lightning struck the tree stump---the only thing remaining of the old maple.

As the town struggled to clean up and put the pieces back together after the tornado, something began happening with the tree stump.  From its remains grew a new tree, a tree twisted and gnarled and full of knots.  Locals believed that the witches had conjured the tornado to get revenge on the town for cutting down the maple tree.  The strange and unusual tree that grew in its place was a reminder that the town chose poorly for their May Pole that year.

Today, visitors flock to the area to get a glimpse of the tree for themselves.  They also leave offerings at the tree, possibly for a small blessing of good fortune, and possibly as a reminder of what happens when you cross a coven of witches!

Further Reading and Info
The Witches' Tree Facebook Page
Legend of the Witches' Tree by Katie Molck (October 26, 2015)
1890 Louisville Cyclone--The Filson Historical Society

Storm damage of Union Depot (Source)

Witchy Wednesday: Blue Moon Edition

Today is a special day for lunar lovers! It is a rare Blue Moon AND Blood Moon/Total Lunar Eclipse rolled into one! And, since its Wednesday, I wanted to share this stunning picture. It's been shared around the internet so much that I cannot find its original source in order to give credit. If you know who created this beautiful representation of a full moon, let me know!

The next Blue Moon (second full moon within a calendar month) will occur on March 31, 2018. If you're interested in reading more about Blue Moons, check out this awesome article from EarthSky.