Legends 56: Ringed In

Summary

Lore Legends: Episode 56 - "Ringed In"

Release Date: June 23, 2025

Introduction

In this chilling episode of Lore, host Aaron Mahnke delves into the dark and superstitious corners of Pennsylvania’s history, uncovering tales of witchcraft, paranoia, and tragic misunderstandings. Titled "Ringed In," the episode unfolds two primary narratives: the tragic story of Susan Mummy in Ringtown and the haunting account of Emma Kildee in Stoney Creek Valley. Through meticulous research and evocative storytelling, Mahnke brings to life the eerie legends that demonstrate how fear and superstition can devastate communities and individuals alike.

---

I. The Witch of Ringtown: Susan Mummy's Tragic Fate

Timestamp: [06:08] - [17:58]

The episode opens with the story of Susan Mummy, a woman living in the small hamlet of Ringtown, Pennsylvania. Susan, depicted as a difficult and abrasive member of her community, becomes the central figure in a tragic tale of superstition and blame.

• Premonition and Tragedy

  In December, Susan's husband, Henry Mummy, works at the local DuPont Powder Company. Despite his wife’s premonition urging him to stay home, Henry heads to work and tragically dies in a factory explosion. Susan and her children are left to fend for themselves in a community already traumatized by the disaster.

  Quote:
  Aaron Mahnke: “Susan's premonition had come true.”
  [07:03]

• Community Blame and Superstition

  The townspeople, already grieving, turn their frustration towards Susan, blaming her for bringing the tragedy upon them through witchcraft. Despite Susan selling her services as a healer, the community’s resentment grows, leading to her eviction and eventual murder.

  Quote:
  Narrator: “Ringtown's residents grew suspicious... they thought that she had hexed him.”
  [09:07]

• Albert Shinsky's Descent

  Albert Shinsky, a local man suffering from severe paranoid delusions believed he was cursed by Susan. Convinced that killing her would lift the hex, Shinsky murders Susan in 1934. His subsequent arrest and diagnosis with schizophrenia reflect the era's limited understanding of mental health.

  Quote:
  Shinsky: “I can face anything. Thank God. I am a man again.”
  [15:24]

• Aftermath and Legacy

  Despite being declared mentally unfit, Shinsky spends decades in psychiatric care before his death, never facing trial. The cottage where Susan was killed burns down mysteriously shortly after his release, leaving lingering questions about retribution and justice.

  Quote:
  Narrator: “Some people can't help but wonder if Shinsky took one final trip to the home of the witch of Ringtown and burned her memory to the ground.”
  [18:28]

---

II. The Curse of Stoney Creek Valley: Emma Kildee and Mrs. Boyer

Timestamp: [25:00] - [30:08]

Transitioning from the ghostly tale of Ringtown, Mahnke introduces another haunting story from the late 19th century in Stoney Creek Valley, Pennsylvania. This narrative centers around Emma Kildee, a young girl afflicted by mysterious ailments, and Mrs. Boyer, the neighbor accused of witchcraft.

• Emma's Mysterious Illness

  In 1877, Emma Kildee exhibits unexplainable symptoms, including speaking in Pennsylvania Dutch—a language she never learned. Desperate for a cure, her father, William, consults astrologers and witch doctors who attribute her illness to a curse.

  Quote:
  Narrator: “For them, it was the only thing that made sense.”
  [26:13]

• Accusations Against Mrs. Boyer

  The Kildee family suspicions fall on Mrs. Boyer after a witch doctor’s ritual implicates her as the source of Emma's curse. Despite Mrs. Boyer’s denial, the community’s superstitions lead to increased tensions and eventual legal action.

  Quote:
  Shinsky: “I run around and around trying to shake off that grip. I couldn't do it.”
  [13:29]

• The Lawsuit and Community Frenzy

  In 1880, the Kildees file a lawsuit against witch doctor Armstrong McLean for slander, hoping to clear the stain against Mrs. Boyer. The courtroom becomes a spectacle, revealing the deep-seated fears and prejudices of the community.

  Quote:
  William Kildy: “I firmly believe that Mrs. Boyer is a witch, that she bewitched my daughter.”
  [28:53]

• Dismissal and Relocation

  The judge dismisses the case due to lack of evidence, and the Kildee family, fearing further accusations, moves away from Stoney Creek Valley. The unresolved tension culminates in the mysterious burning of Mrs. Boyer’s house, symbolizing the lingering fear and unresolved vendettas.

  Quote:
  Narrator: “What we do know is that no matter what was truly wrong with Emma, it wasn't Mrs. Boyer's fault.”
  [30:03]

---

Conclusion

Aaron Mahnke’s "Ringed In" masterfully intertwines these two tragic tales, illustrating how fear, superstition, and misunderstanding can lead to devastating consequences. Through the stories of Susan Mummy and Emma Kildee, the episode sheds light on the dark side of human nature and the historical stigmatization of those deemed ‘other’ or 'different.' Mahnke leaves listeners pondering the thin line between myth and reality, and the lasting impact of prejudice on individuals and communities.

Quote:
Aaron Mahnke: “It's easy to see where the confusion came from.”
[04:33]

---

Notable Quotes

• Susan Mummy's Tragedy:
  “Susan's premonition had come true.”
  — Aaron Mahnke
  [07:03]

• Albert Shinsky's Conviction:
  “I can face anything. Thank God. I am a man again.”
  — Albert Shinsky
  [15:24]

• William Kildy's Accusation:
  “I firmly believe that Mrs. Boyer is a witch, that she bewitched my daughter.”
  — William Kildy
  [28:53]

---

Final Thoughts

"Ringed In" serves as a somber reminder of the power of belief and the human tendency to seek explanations, even through dark and unfounded means. By exploring these lesser-known legends, Lore not only entertains but also educates, encouraging listeners to reflect on historical injustices borne out of fear and misunderstanding.

Transcript

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Aaron Manke]

The weather was warm even in December.

[Narrator]

That was one of the many things that Kermit Tyler loved about being stationed in Hawaii. The Air Force pilot had waited a long time to transfer to the base in Oahu. The sun, the sand, the surf, it.

[Aaron Manke]

Had all been calling his name.

[Narrator]

And finally he was here. So when Tyler left the house to start his early morning shift at Fort Shafter in December, he figured that it would just be another day in paradise. This was only his second shift at.

[Aaron Manke]

The Fort Shafter Information Center. He was first and foremost a pilot.

[Narrator]

But one of the Air Force majors had decided that even the pilots needed to know how to read the new radar systems that told them who was.

[Aaron Manke]

Coming and going from the island. So now it was Tyler's turn to learn. As he drove, he listened to a radio station that was playing Hawaiian music.

[Narrator]

Tyler remembered that a friend had told him that when bombers were flying from the mainland to Hawaii, they were guided by this particular radio station. It played the music straight through for the entirety of their journey with no breaks for commercials. So that morning, as the music played.

[Aaron Manke]

On with no interruptions, Tyler realized that there must be a squadron of bombers on their way.

[Narrator]

At 7:15am The Fort Shafter Information center got a call from a radar station.

[Aaron Manke]

On the other end of the island.

[Narrator]

Reporting what they called the largest blip they'd ever seen. Remembering the Hawaiian music, Kermit Tyler nodded.

[Aaron Manke]

To himself and assumed that it was a particularly big group of American bombers.

[Narrator]

Coming in from California. He radioed back, telling them not to worry.

[Aaron Manke]

Less than an hour later, that blip arrived.

[Narrator]

It turns out that it wasn't a.

[Aaron Manke]

Group of American planes at all.

[Narrator]

It was the Japanese, and they had.

[Aaron Manke]

Come to bomb Pearl Harbor.

[Narrator]

Tragedy, almost by definition, usually comes out.

[Aaron Manke]

Of nowhere, catching us off guard.

[Narrator]

We rarely know what form it will take or how bad the results will be. One thing we do know, however, is that there is nothing more dangerous than making an assumption.

[Aaron Manke]

I'm Aaron Manke, and this is Lore Legends. Few people really know what they are.

[Narrator]

Drive through the Pennsylvania countryside, and there.

[Aaron Manke]

Is a good chance that you'll see.

[Narrator]

A lot of elaborate stars painted on.

[Aaron Manke]

The sides of barns.

[Narrator]

They're a form of Pennsylvania Dutch folk.

[Aaron Manke]

Art, and they're called hex signs.

[Narrator]

Now, these stars don't actually hex people.

[Aaron Manke]

They're just beautiful pieces of art from a unique American subculture. But over the years, they've inspired a lot of suspicion.

[Narrator]

No one knows when they were first created or who started painting them on.

[Aaron Manke]

The sides of barns. Even their symbolism has been lost to time, leaving us to interpret them.

[Narrator]

Some believe that the four pointed stars represent the points on a compass, and others say that they represent the four seasons. Similarly, the twelve pointed stars could represent the twelve disciples of Christ or the.

[Aaron Manke]

Twelve tribes of Israel.

[Narrator]

Really, it's unclear. All that said, though, for generations, they.

[Aaron Manke]

Have been a cultural touchstone for the Pennsylvania Dutch communities.

[Narrator]

Now, they weren't actually called hex signs until a journalist coined that term in the 1920s.

[Aaron Manke]

Originally, it's believed that these painted stars were tied to Christian symbolism.

[Narrator]

But as tourism picked up in Pennsylvania in the 20th century, some visitors assumed.

[Aaron Manke]

For whatever reason, that they had more.

[Narrator]

To do with witchcraft. Tourists thought that these stars might be.

[Aaron Manke]

Protecting the barns against witches.

[Narrator]

One travel guide called them, and I qu demonic lightning rods. Another associated them with poltergeists, and I quote, pretty much the whole hoodoo brood.

[Aaron Manke]

It's easy to see where the confusion came from.

[Narrator]

To an outsider's eye, these painted symbols might look a little satanic. Of course, they weren't. They were just folk art.

[Aaron Manke]

But nobody bothered asking the locals about them before they were branded with superstition.

[Narrator]

The hex signs were hex free. Of course, that isn't to say that the Pennsylvania Dutch didn't have any supernatural.

[Aaron Manke]

Protections for their barns. They did.

[Narrator]

They were just much less obvious. For example, some farmers drilled a hole.

[Aaron Manke]

Over their barn door where they hid a scrap of paper with a Bible verse on it.

[Narrator]

Others buried iron under their doorways, since they believed that witches couldn't cross iron. And some magical practices extended outside the farm. Pennsylvania Dutch folk magic was called pow wowing, or hexerai, and it was unique.

[Aaron Manke]

To Pennsylvania, complete with unusual rituals for.

[Narrator]

Just about any problem you could think of. Powwow practitioners believed that you could heal a child with whooping cough by dropping.

[Aaron Manke]

Them into a grain hopper.

[Narrator]

A birthmark could be removed by passing.

[Aaron Manke]

A dead man's hand over it.

[Narrator]

Accidents could be prevented by wearing a wolf's right eye inside your sleeve.

[Aaron Manke]

Now, for the most part, it was all innocent.

[Narrator]

But sometimes powwow could turn deadly. Usually, though, it wasn't because someone was.

[Aaron Manke]

Using magic to hurt someone else.

[Narrator]

It was because someone believed that they were being targeted by a witch and.

[Aaron Manke]

They wanted to break the hex.

[Narrator]

On July 5th of 1910, Susanna mummy.

[Aaron Manke]

Begged her husband not to go to work.

[Narrator]

For years, Henry Mummy had worked down.

[Aaron Manke]

At the local DuPont Powder Company in.

[Narrator]

The little hamlet of Ringtown, Pennsylvania, where.

[Aaron Manke]

The population never rose above 1,000. A position at the gunpowder mill was the best job anyone could hope for. It was decent money, money that their family needed.

[Narrator]

Even in a rural area with a.

[Aaron Manke]

Low cost of living.

[Narrator]

Henry and Susanna Mummy, or as she.

[Aaron Manke]

Would usually be called Susan, still had bills to pay.

[Narrator]

They had to keep their little farmhouse and they had to put food on the table for their daughter Amy and their young adopted niece, Tovilia.

[Aaron Manke]

Tovelia was a recent added expense.

[Narrator]

The poor girl had suffered from spinal.

[Aaron Manke]

Meningitis and it left her with long term chronic issues.

[Narrator]

Sources are vague about her health problems, but it's clear that she was frail and that she probably wouldn't be able.

[Aaron Manke]

To work much once she grew up.

[Narrator]

The family was more than happy to take her in, but it still meant.

[Aaron Manke]

That they had an extra mouth to feed, which required more money.

[Narrator]

So no, Henry wasn't about to miss his shift because his wife had some kind of a crazy dream.

[Aaron Manke]

But Susan was insistent she told her husband that it wasn't a dream at all. It was a premonition.

[Narrator]

She just knew deep in her gut that if he went to work that.

[Aaron Manke]

Day, he would die.

[Narrator]

But she had no real proof. Just those anxieties and anxiety couldn't pay the bills.

[Aaron Manke]

So Henry shook her off and clocked in at his job.

[Narrator]

Later that day, the Dupont Powder Company exploded.

[Aaron Manke]

Susan's premonition had come true.

[Narrator]

Henry was thrown 50ft from the building.

[Aaron Manke]

Landing on top of an apple tree.

[Narrator]

He died from his injuries, and Susan.

[Aaron Manke]

And her children were left to fend for themselves.

[Narrator]

Now, normally, this would have been a time when most communities came together to.

[Aaron Manke]

Provide for the grieving family.

[Narrator]

But a huge percentage of Ringtown's population.

[Aaron Manke]

Had also lost loved ones in the gunpowder mill explosion.

[Narrator]

No one was in a place where.

[Aaron Manke]

They could take care of the mummy family.

[Narrator]

But more importantly, they also just didn't want to. Susan Mummy, you see, was a difficult woman, and that's putting it lightly. She was loyal to those she loved.

[Aaron Manke]

But those she loved were few and far between.

[Narrator]

For the most part, she spent her days arguing with her neighbors, picking fights.

[Aaron Manke]

Over the Smallest things. She was loud, abrasive, and meddlesome. And there wasn't much love lost between her and the rest of the Ringtown community.

[Narrator]

So instead of comforting Susan, they blamed her. And to be honest, she was an easy scapegoat.

[Aaron Manke]

Before her husband died, it seems that she had told everyone about her vision. So when it actually came true, Ringtown's residents grew suspicious.

[Narrator]

Now, they didn't believe that she had.

[Aaron Manke]

Predicted her husband's death. They thought that she had hexed him. And then her hex had gotten everyone else at Dupont killed as well.

[Narrator]

Yes, it might have been the 20th century, but it seems Ringtown was stuck in the past because the community decided.

[Aaron Manke]

That Susan was a witch. And based on that assumption, she became the town pariah.

[Narrator]

No one wanted to get too close to her, fearing that they would be hexed as well. Some of her neighbors even went as far as to claim that she had.

[Aaron Manke]

Set the evil eye on them or.

[Narrator]

That she had cursed their livestock. Regardless, everyone was happy to use her.

[Aaron Manke]

When they needed her.

[Narrator]

Like most women accused of witchcraft, Susan.

[Aaron Manke]

Had an affinity for medicine. And so, to make ends meet after.

[Narrator]

Losing the family's main breadwinner, Susan sold.

[Aaron Manke]

Her services as a healer. But she didn't make enough money to keep her home.

[Narrator]

In the 1920s, she was evicted from.

[Aaron Manke]

The farmhouse she had once shared with Henry and her kids.

[Narrator]

True to form, Susan didn't make it easy for them. After she was kicked out, she moved right back in.

[Aaron Manke]

And so, in an effort to get her to stay away, the new owners.

[Narrator]

Took all of the furniture and then.

[Aaron Manke]

Burned the house to the ground.

[Narrator]

But Susan didn't let that stop her.

[Aaron Manke]

She went back to the site of.

[Narrator]

The now destroyed house, and right there on top of the ashes, she erected a tent. When police raided her ramshackle shelter, they.

[Aaron Manke]

Found multiple shotguns and an axe.

[Narrator]

Apparently, Susan did not come to play, and she didn't get to stay either. The police smashed her makeshift home with.

[Aaron Manke]

The same ax they found inside and then sent her packing.

[Narrator]

Susan eventually moved into a new cottage.

[Aaron Manke]

And took in boarders to help cover her expenses. In 1934, a boarder named Jacob Rice was living with Susan and her adopted daughter Tovilia.

[Narrator]

While he was staying with them, Jacob.

[Aaron Manke]

Injured his foot, and Susan offered to help him through the healing process.

[Narrator]

On the night of March 17, Susan and Tovilia were in the cottage kitchen.

[Aaron Manke]

Helping Jacob replace the bandages on his foot when a blast ripped through the walls. At that exact same time, a gust of wind swept through the open kitchen window.

[Narrator]

Extinguishing the lamps and plunging the entire room into darkness.

[Aaron Manke]

And that's when a second crack rang out. And now they could tell what the sound was. It was gunfire. Jacob called out, but he heard no response from anyone else. Only the quiet, panicked sounds of Tourvillea whimpering in the limping across the room. He fetched a lamp and lit it, only to illuminate a horrific scene.

[Narrator]

Taviglia was shell shocked, but safe.

[Aaron Manke]

Susan, however, was dead. The witch of Ringtown had been murdered in cold blood.

[Narrator]

Anyone in Ringtown could have killed Susan.

[Aaron Manke]

After all, everyone had assumed that she was a witch. And there are a lot of possible motivations out there to murder a handmaiden of the devil.

[Narrator]

Luckily, the police didn't actually have to search for long. They were quickly tipped off with promising evidence.

[Aaron Manke]

On the night that she had died, a car had been blocking the road only half a mile from her cottage. A group of young people on their.

[Narrator]

Way to a local dance actually had to move it out of the way.

[Aaron Manke]

So that their own car could pass by.

[Narrator]

They told the police that it had been a Ford sedan and even gave.

[Aaron Manke]

Them a partial license plate number.

[Narrator]

With that information, the police were able.

[Aaron Manke]

To track the car down and identify its owner.

[Narrator]

The sedan belonged to a 24 year old local man named Albert Shinsky, who.

[Aaron Manke]

As it turned out, was very easy to find. Shinsky hadn't gone into hiding, you see, when police came to question him on.

[Narrator]

March 31, 1934, he answered the door, no problem.

[Aaron Manke]

And within a matter of minutes, he confessed to killing Susan. He didn't have anything to fear.

[Narrator]

He knew that he had just been acting in self defense. You see, Albert Schinsky believed that Susan, as he put it, had me hexed. He said that when he was a teenager, he and his family lived next door to Susan. At one point, there was some kind.

[Aaron Manke]

Of dispute over their cows.

[Narrator]

Either Susan had blamed him for letting her cows escape, or for letting some of his family's cows into her field. Either way, she was livid. According to Shinsky, Susan had declared, I'll.

[Aaron Manke]

Get you for this.

[Narrator]

He also claimed that, and I quote, she caught me with her eyes.

[Aaron Manke]

It felt as though someone had me by the throat.

[Narrator]

I ran around and around trying to shake off that grip. I couldn't do it.

[Aaron Manke]

And from that moment on, she had put her evil powers over him and they had ruined his entire life.

[Narrator]

Because of the hex, Shinsuke couldn't sleep. He was weak and unable to do hard labor.

[Aaron Manke]

He'd been unable to get married. And things got even Worse, After Susan.

[Narrator]

Allegedly sent down a black cat from the skies, Shinsky claimed that this feline was gigantic, with bright green eyes and a face that somehow looked like Susan's.

[Aaron Manke]

The cat visited him several nights a month for years on end, attacking and clawing at him.

[Narrator]

All of his wounds would disappear by.

[Aaron Manke]

The morning, but his memories of how he had gotten them remained vivid.

[Narrator]

Shinsky did everything he could to break.

[Aaron Manke]

The hex and end his torment.

[Narrator]

He tried to bleed himself. He starved himself. He asked priests to pray for him. He even held handstands as long as he possibly could, hoping that standing upside down would annoy the evil spirit and.

[Aaron Manke]

It would leave his body alone.

[Narrator]

But nothing worked. Until he finally went to a powwow.

[Aaron Manke]

Doctor, which was the name for a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch folk healer.

[Narrator]

The powwow doctor gave him some small solutions, like sleeping with a board under his mattress and chanting God's name to.

[Aaron Manke]

Drive away the black cat.

[Narrator]

But he warned Shinsuke that the only way to truly break the hex was to kill Susan. It took Shinsuke years to work up the courage, but finally, he claimed that he was visited by an angel who simply told him, kill her. And that was all he needed to.

[Aaron Manke]

Send him over the edge.

[Narrator]

He began to plan the murder. He borrowed a gun from a friend, crafted a set of homemade bul, and.

[Aaron Manke]

Then set out to kill the witch of Ringtown valley.

[Narrator]

He didn't regret what he'd done. In fact, according to Shinsky, he'd had his first good night of sleep in seven years.

[Aaron Manke]

After his arrest.

[Narrator]

Speaking with one newspaper, he declared, now.

[Aaron Manke]

I can face anything.

[Narrator]

Thank God.

[Aaron Manke]

I am a man again.

[Narrator]

It's clear now that Evshinsky wasn't lying about his experiences.

[Aaron Manke]

He was a man in need of professional medical assistance.

[Narrator]

But that wouldn't have made a good.

[Aaron Manke]

Story for the media. No.

[Narrator]

Instead, the newspapers focused on mocking the Pennsylvania Dutch. They sensationalized the local belief in witchcraft, highlighting hex signs on the barns and claiming that Schinsky's homemade bullets could drive away the devil. Then things took a very prejudiced turn, with most newspapers blaming German immigrants for.

[Aaron Manke]

Bringing superstition about witches into America.

[Narrator]

As you would imagine, the story of Susan mummy's murder blew up all across the country. But despite the biased reporting, Albert Schinsky.

[Aaron Manke]

Wasn'T just written off as an uneducated backwater murderer. No.

[Narrator]

Instead, he was carefully examined by experts. And within months, he was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Instead of going to court, he was sent to the Fairview criminal insane hospital. The doctors there diagnosed him with what they called dementia praecox, which caused someone to have hallucinations and suffer through paranoid delusions, because today we know it better as schizophrenia. Shinsky was told that he would have to stay in Fairview until his doctors.

[Aaron Manke]

Deemed him safe enough to stand trial. But as the years passed by, that day never came.

[Narrator]

Both in 1947 and in 1962, Albert.

[Aaron Manke]

Petitioned to be released. But he was denied both times by his doctors.

[Narrator]

And so Albert stayed there year after.

[Aaron Manke]

Year, with almost no hope of ever getting out.

[Narrator]

41 years after Albert killed Susan, he was moved. The transfer landed him at the Warnersville mental hospital, but the doctors there completely.

[Aaron Manke]

Disagreed with the assessment of the Fairview doctors.

[Narrator]

Within a matter of weeks, they said.

[Aaron Manke]

That Albert Schinsky was mentally fit for trial.

[Narrator]

According to one doctor, he still believed.

[Aaron Manke]

In the existence of witches, but he was completely healthy otherwise, and he had no other outlandish beliefs or behaviors.

[Narrator]

Shinsky was eager to be let out, too, saying, I was a stupid, foolish, superstitious young man when I did the.

[Aaron Manke]

Murder, but I do think I've been punished enough.

[Narrator]

In 1976, Shinsky was finally put on.

[Aaron Manke]

Trial for Susan mummy's murder.

[Narrator]

Well, kind of. The trial actually ended before it could really begin because none of the witnesses were still alive. So the case was just dismissed. Shinsky was released to live with a.

[Aaron Manke]

Family member, and he never had his day in court.

[Narrator]

He died in 1983 as a free man, although some speculate that his last.

[Aaron Manke]

Years weren't 100% peaceful.

[Narrator]

You see, shortly after he was released.

[Aaron Manke]

In 1976, the cottage where Susan had been killed was mysteriously burned to ashes. Local authorities believe the cause to be arson. The perpetrator, however, was never caught.

[Narrator]

And naturally, some people can't help but wonder if Shinsky took one final trip to the home of the witch of.

[Aaron Manke]

Ringtown and burned her memory to the ground. I hope today's dive into a weird corner of American legend has left you with some new ideas about witchcraft. Most of us tend to dress witch trial stories up in European details or set them within the English countryside.

[Narrator]

The witch of Ringtown, though, shows just how far those fears and prejudices managed to travel. But that wasn't the only community in.

[Aaron Manke]

Pennsylvania to deal with a panic of that type.

[Narrator]

In fact, we've put together one last.

[Aaron Manke]

Story from another town entirely, and I.

[Narrator]

Think you're going to love it.

[Aaron Manke]

Stick around through this brief sponsored break to hear all about it.

[Ad Voice]

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[Narrator]

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[Ad Voice]

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[Aaron Manke]

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[Narrator]

The Salem witch trials might be the poster child, but they're actually late to the game. By the late 17th century, witch hunts were a fad that had mostly come and gone.

[Aaron Manke]

The Western world was more enlightened, and fewer people were blaming what they didn't.

[Narrator]

Understand on the devil. That's actually one of the reasons that.

[Aaron Manke]

Salem captured the world's attention.

[Narrator]

Mass executions for witchcraft just weren't done anymore. But nearly 200 years after those witch trials in Salem, it would seem that.

[Aaron Manke]

Some pockets of America still didn't get the memo.

[Narrator]

Because in the late 19th century, Stoney Creek Valley, Pennsylvania was still being called a a witch belief ridden community by contemporary newspapers. And in 1877, they had a little witch problem. It all started when a young local girl named Emma Kildee fell ill. And.

[Aaron Manke]

She wasn't dealing with your average head cold. Apparently, her body was in pain.

[Narrator]

She was making, and I quote, noises and faces like a cat and a dog. And most unusually of all, she was speaking in Pennsylvania Dutch, a language that.

[Aaron Manke]

She did not know. Her father, William, was beside himself with worry. He hired doctor after doctor, but none of them could help his daughter.

[Narrator]

Finally, he went to an astrologer who.

[Aaron Manke]

Told him that Emma had been bewitched.

[Narrator]

And the family accepted this diagnosis immediately. For them, it was the only thing that made sense.

[Aaron Manke]

And so they transitioned their focus from.

[Narrator]

Healing Emma to finding the witch. Emma's half sister went to a witch doctor for advice.

[Aaron Manke]

He told her to look into a bucket of water.

[Narrator]

The reflection would show the witch who was responsible for laying the curse. When she looked into that water, she.

[Aaron Manke]

Saw the old withered face of their neighbor, Mrs. Boyer. The family decided not to confront Mrs. Boyer, presumably to avoid getting bewitched themselves.

[Narrator]

Instead, William Kildy went to another witch doctor named Armstrong McLean. And he told William that he had broken the spell and that Emma would.

[Aaron Manke]

Be healed by sunset.

[Narrator]

And he was right. When William returned home that night, Emma was completely cured.

[Aaron Manke]

And Emma stayed healthy for another two years. But then, in 1879, she fell ill again.

[Narrator]

William went to Armstrong McCain for a second bit of guidance.

[Aaron Manke]

And once again, the witch doctor laid the blame on Mrs. Boyer for bewitching Emma.

[Narrator]

This time, though, he gave Emma some medicine. He then took out a bundle of papers containing herbs, roots, and white powder. He filled a bottle with water, adding.

[Aaron Manke]

The herbs and powder. After that ritual was done, he asked the kill days for a hammer. He took the hammer outside for a while.

[Narrator]

Then when he returned, he announced, now I will kill the witch.

[Aaron Manke]

He lightly tapped Emma on the head with the hammer, and after that, she was healed.

[Narrator]

This time, Emma's cure lasted until January of 1880. That was the month that she traveled.

[Aaron Manke]

To a wedding with her family, a journey that took her right past Mrs. Boyer's house.

[Narrator]

Now, look old Mrs. Boyer may truly have been a deeply unpleasant woman, but my money is on the fact that by this point, she had probably heard that the Kildees were calling her a witch behind her back. According to the Kildy family, a furious.

[Aaron Manke]

Mrs. Boyer stormed into the middle of the road and began yelling at Emma in Pennsylvania Dutch.

[Narrator]

Emma fell ill again the very next.

[Aaron Manke]

Day, and this time the witch doctor said that if the medicine didn't keep.

[Narrator]

Her safe, then it would never work again. After Emma's third bewitchment diagnosis, the Stoney Creek Valley community shunned the Boyer family.

[Aaron Manke]

In their eyes, the proof was Mrs. Boyer had to be a witch.

[Narrator]

But the Boyer family disagreed, and so they filed a lawsuit against the witch doctor, Armstrong McCain, for slander. On March 30th of 1880, a hearing was held for the case, and to be honest, this was probably the most exciting thing to have happened in Stony.

[Aaron Manke]

Creek Valley for years.

[Narrator]

So naturally, roads were full of spectators.

[Aaron Manke]

All of whom had come to watch the proceedings and almost all of whom believed in witches.

[Narrator]

When William Kildy took the stand, he.

[Aaron Manke]

Told the judges all about their struggles with breaking Emma's curse.

[Narrator]

Then he declared that an apparition of.

[Aaron Manke]

Mrs. Boyer had appeared on Emma's bed the night before the trial.

[Narrator]

According to him, she declared, I have her now, and I will kill her. The judge, though, was unimpressed with William's story.

[Aaron Manke]

He asked if the man really could.

[Narrator]

And I quote, be deluded with such stuff. William Kildy replied, squire, I firmly believe that Mrs. Boyer is a witch, that she bewitched my daughter, and I have spent nearly all my means in the past three years to have her cured. The judge moved to questioning McCain. The witch doctor told him about everything he had done to cure Emma, and.

[Aaron Manke]

The judge was just as unmoved by his logic as he had been by William's.

[Narrator]

He ordered McCain to stand trial for slander. After the hearing, Emma claimed to still be tormented by Mrs. Boyer, and so in an effort to protect her, the.

[Aaron Manke]

Kildy family packed up and moved away.

[Narrator]

From Stoney Creek Valley. Before the trial could begin, the charges.

[Aaron Manke]

Against McCain were dropped, and as far as we know, that was the end of the matter.

[Narrator]

No one knows where the Kildies went.

[Aaron Manke]

Or if Emma's torment continued after they moved away.

[Narrator]

What we do know is that no matter what was truly wrong with emma.

[Aaron Manke]

It wasn't Mrs. Boyer's fault.

[Narrator]

But knowing how superstitious Stony Creek Valley was, it's unlikely that many people there would agree.

[Aaron Manke]

And once again, a Pennsylvania woman's life was ruined because everyone assumed she was a wife.

[Narrator]

This episode of Lore Legends was produced.

[Aaron Manke]

By me, Aaron Manke, with writing by Alex Robinson and research by Cassandra de.

[Narrator]

Alma don't like hearing the ads? I've got a solution for you.

[Aaron Manke]

There is a paid version of Lore on Apple Podcasts and patreon that is 100% AD free.

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Subscribers also get exclusive weekly mini episodes called Lore Bytes. It's a bargain for all of that ad free storytelling and a great way.

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To support this show and the team behind it. For more information about those ad free.

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Options, head over to lorepodcast.com support lore is also much more than just a podcast.

[Aaron Manke]

There's the three volume World of Lore book series available in print, ebook and.

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Audiobook, plus two seasons of our television.

[Aaron Manke]

Adaptation on Amazon Prime. Learn more [e-mail] youm can also follow.

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This show on various social media platforms like Blue sky and YouTube.

[Aaron Manke]

Just search for lore podcast all one.

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Word and then click that follow button. And when you do, say hi.

[Aaron Manke]

I like it when people say hi. And as always, thanks for listening.

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