Witches of Pennsylvania: Occult History & Lore

by Thomas White

Since William Penn presided over the state's only official witch trial in 1684, witchcraft and folk magic have been a part of the history of the Keystone State.
English and German settlers brought their beliefs in magic with them from the Old World--sometimes with dangerous consequences. In 1802, an Allegheny County judge helped an accused witch escape an angry mob. Susan Mummey was not so fortunate. In 1934, she was shot and killed in her home by a young Schuylkill County man who was convinced that she had cursed him. In other regions of the state, views on folk magic were more complex. While hex doctors were feared in the Pennsylvania German tradition, powwowers were and are revered for their abilities to heal, lift curses and find lost objects. Folklorist Thomas White traces the history and lore of witchcraft and the occult that quietly live on in Pennsylvania even today.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Folklore, Occult, Witchcraft, Witches, American History

112 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2013

About the author

Thomas White is the university archivist and curator of special collections in the Gumberg Library at Duquesne University. He is also an adjunct lecturer in Duquesne's History Department and an adjunct professor of history at La Roche College. White received a master's degree in public history from Duquesne University. Besides the folklore and history of Pennsylvania, his areas of interest include public history and American cultural history. He is the author of Legends and Lore of Western Pennsylvania, Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania, Ghosts of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh and Forgotten Tales of Philadelphia (co-authored with Edward White), all published by The History Press.

Reviews

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book did not keep my attention though the information was intriguing. Stories of witches, hex doctors, folk magic, and legends from the 1600s to more recent times.

[Lunka ♫ ꩜ ☽ ⛧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a very cool thing. As cool as the previous book by this author about ghosts, monsters and miracles of Pennsylvania, which I read earlier. I love the dark tales of Pennsylvania in this author's research, it’s so informative and so exciting at the same time!

[Eileen O'Finlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witches of Pennsylvania: Occult History Lore is a short, concise book that offers insights into the origins of witch and hex culture in Pennsylvania, how it differed greatly from the more famous Salem witches, and relates several stories about witchcraft in Pennsylvania.

I am very familiar with the history of the Salem witch hysteria, but I had virtually no knowledge of witch lore anywhere else in America. It was interesting to read about how differently suspected witches were viewed in Pennsylvania. The Quaker, William Penn, the state's founder, obviously had a major influence on the much more benign view taken of witches in Pennsylvania as opposed to that of the Puritans of Salem. Pennsylvania also had its share of "hex doctors" who were consulted for their abilities to undue the curses of witches and both feared and revered.

This is not an in-depth study of the anthropoligical or folkloric belief and understanding of witches and witchcraft nor is it meant to be. It skims the surface, but whets the appetite for more.

[Lisa Hollenbach · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lost me at the assertion that witches are evil and worship Satan

There are great local stories in this book, however, the author provides an inaccurate and harmful depiction of witchcraft, which then informs his entire narrative. I expect more from an educated historian. While he refrains from passing the same judgment on Native religion and magic, as well as voudun or hoodoo, due to cultural nuances with which he is not familiar, he clearly believes he is a correct messenger to further propagate harmful stereotypes of witches, who happen to be primarily women. This ruined the book for me and completely erased his authority on the matter.

[The Local Spooky Hermit · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh something small that caught my attention at CVS. An essay worth of history tidbits from my state. I like the occult and history of places my lazy butt can easily get to if i want. It's a starter if i wanna get more into local lore which I would like.

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book about the history of "witches" and folk healers of PA.

[Bookwormgyrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick insight of witchcraft in Pennsylvania. It was ok. A bit dry to read.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice collection of credible witch stories from PA.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, this was an interesting little read, but it felt somewhat underdeveloped. I wanted so much more detail and historical context.

[Theophanea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where: Scribd
Form:ebook
Rating: 4.5/5
Opinion: Recommend.

This was actually so refreshing to read! I'm from Pennsylvania so PA folklore and occult history is my jam, which is why I picked this book up to read. I went in, I'll admit, not expecting anything good. As is usual with "history" books about the occult, the writer tends to super impose their own feelings and religions into the tone of their writing. This usually leads to them making disparaging remarks and notes that aren't necessarily true.

Not Mr. White though! From the beginning to the end, not once did he make me feel like anything he was writing about was tinged by opinion, religious or not. It was full of information I didn't even know, images, and stuck to fact and what was considered as fact. I am really appreciative of this.

I would have liked to see some more history that wasn't completely surrounding the PA-Dutch/German braucherei, but I wasn't mad about the exclusion of them. My only suggestion wold be to possibly change the title of the book to fit the material better, because it was very, very much dutch/german witch centered.

All in all, a quick, interesting read about witchcraft/folklore in history.

[Ray Perdue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly interesting and well-written. Far more interesting than the title would indicate. The author covers some of the history and beliefs of the folk magic practitioners of so-called Pennsylvania Dutch and how these ideas fit into the rest of their lives and religions.
I first heard about "powwowing/powwowers" listening to the True Crime History podcast covering the infamous Hex Murders of the 1920s/30s. The author of this book dedicated a chapter to discuss those events and how the media ran wild with it.
And if you are discussing witches in America them you have to talk about the Satanic Panic of the 1980s/90s.
Overall an interesting book about a topic that is little known outside of Pennsylvania.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many others, I impulse-bought this book at CVS. I thought it would be good October reading. My expectations were pretty low, but this book turned out to be well-researched. It has a number of sources consulted at the back of the book, although it would have helped if the sources were organized by chapter or if the main text had footnotes.

I'm not originally from PA; I enjoyed learning about the Penn. German people's unique approaches to the occult. I especially liked the parts about my area of PA, the Lehigh Valley. I hope to get out to Hexenkopf one night.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though less gripping than its sister volume, and more repetitive at times, this book nonetheless provides a fascinating in-depth look at the history of hex magic, witchcraft and folk healing among the Pennsylvania Dutch. Those of us who live in Pennsylvania know there's more to this subculture than Dwight Schrute and his bears and beets.

[Robert Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and in some ways superficial, this was still a good overview of "witchcraft" in Pennsylvania, treating the parts dealing with folk medicine with respect (and some reasonable skepticism), and the "hocus pocus" parts as the nonsense they are. Careful historical research was used to destroy a few of the more absurd stories and urban legends.

[renee hollon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read if you are looking for stories of witches and urban legends

I am more into instructional reading but this book is very interesting from a historical aspect was a good quick read I would recommend it if you are looking for historical information and information about the Pennsylvania Dutch community and culture

[Chrissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past summer my husband and I drove across the state of Pennsylvania to New Jersey. Along the way, we passed through several counties that are definitely more rural than Pittsburgh, and I became sort of intrigued. That curiosity led me to this book. I thought it was so fascinating how differently the Pennsylvania Dutch "witches" were treated versus Salem. Or Europe. Cool book!

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't so much an overview of witchcraft in PA as it is an overview of German/Pennsylvania Dutch beliefs about witchcraft and folk magic, and stories about supposed witches being persecuted by their neighbors (also focused solely on German/Pennsylvania Dutch people).

He also often writes about beliefs and stories as if they are fact, which is not at all academic.

[Sheena Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and well-researched. It was a nice surprise to see so many stories connected to Lawrence County - speaking of which, it taught me more about the Mary Black legend that I heard so often as a kid.

[Miranda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to be honest, this is a book about nothing. There was only 1 trial of witchcraft in the state, and the rest of the stories mentioned were just weird stories that kind of had a witch accusation in them.

The author briefly touches on the magic brought to PA by the Dutch, but does not dive into any information on it. Instead he continually mentioned a different book by another author.

It was a book with a lot of words that said nothing.

[Madison Blackwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was an interesting read. It breaks down the history of witches by PA county and touches on legends that have lived on. If you enjoy history and/or witch legends, this is a good book to try.

[Jennifer Schubert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I expected this to be a booklet of folk tales and witch stories. Instead it was a mediocre high school research paper about witch craft in PA with little depth or imagination. It did not keep my attention or interest and was not a fun or intriguing read; it was dry and choppy.

[Jennifer Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up to learn about local witch history, but this mainly focuses on the Germans that came to Pennsylvania. I was looking more for the ones already here. It's still interesting, just not what I was looking for.

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories from old Pennsylvania. A good start if you’re interested in the subject.

[Kayla Hardie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s really hard to rate a book based off of legends and history...

[Aubrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Informative, but not sensationalized.

[Jamie Bruno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish we could do half stars. It would be a three and a half for me. Interesting read and how paranormal culture evolved. Not much about bucks county tho.

[Emily Dudkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative but very easy to get distracted.

[L M C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information in here about the different beliefs and relious systems that were brought to PA with the German, Dutch, and European settlers.

[Taj Magruder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so important to me because it's how I first learned about powwow and the 1934 murder of Susan Mummey -- which I decided to write my debut novel about.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry, but very interesting and informative. I love learning about local history and folklore. Especially the spooky stuff!