The Dumb Dutchman

Witchcraft in Pennsylvania

In my home town, when I was a child, witch lore was our first teaching. The power of witches, my parents believed, was far-reaching; they declared emphatically that witches could and did cast spells from a great distance on either persons or animals. They recited tales by the score, brought to America from the old country, of witches who changed form at will, and who could change their victims from human to animal forms. They taught us never to look a strange person straight in the eyes, or anyone whom we did not know very well. We repeated the Lord’s name in the presence of anyone of ill repute, and made the sign of the Cross to protect ourselves from all manner of evil. The Crucifix was in many a purse and pocket (tho the community was non-Catholic) and, of course, the inevitable charm against witches was there also.

The Tryer, or hex-doctor, must practise a rigorous spiritual life, and must know the Bible from the first to the last pages, since many passages from it are used for healing. And he (or she) must have at command the cure-prayers which have been handed down thru the generations. In my home town the German language was used for all prayers and incantations.

(A transcription of H. O. Waltermeyer on Pennsylvania Dutch traditions of hex doctoring and witchcraft, provided by associate Anne Howard, who also contributed her own story of witchcraft in Pennsylvania.)

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH HEX SIGNS