Witches, Skeletons, Ghosts & Grave Robbers
Local Legends, Lore, & History
Local Legends, Lore, & History
HISTORY
 Eight years before the Salem Witch Trials, two women in Pennsylvania were tried for witchcraft..
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 Children, on a 1952 school trip, being shown the skull of the Hessian solider found in a walled off room of Lochabar in Antes Fort, Lycoming County |
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A Skeleton Discovered In Milton in 1900 On April 25, 1900, the remains of a "very young child" were found in an "unused closet" (another account says "outhouse") at the Freight Station at Milton. Officer Rhodes was sent to investigate.(If the remains were ever identified, I can find no report of it.)
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In 1887, a man wearing half a mask roamed the streets of Sunbury, asking those he came upon if they could see a scar on his head. The local paper interviewed what appears to be most of the town, reporting their thoughts on the spook.
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 Towards the end of his life, the eccentric archaeologist, historian, architect, and collector Henry Chapman Mercer (1856-1930) channeled his antiquarian interests and his love of Gothic literature into November Night Tales (1928), a volume of highly imaginative weird tales in the mode of M.R. James. |
 Some believe that Mark Twain's "A Curious Dream" is about the Williamsport Cemetery |
 Although not meant to be a Halloween tale, this 1894 description of going down into a coal mine near Scranton, written by Stephen Crane [author of Red Badge of Courage] is by far one of the most haunting pieces I've read in awhile. |
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LEGENDS & GHOST STORIES
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And his ghosts yearly ride to collect his bones. |
 How An Irish Legend Brought Us Carved Pumpkins For Halloween
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By Henry Shoemaker A tale of a werewolf in love with a very young shepherdess. |
 Written by Charles Steese, for the Daily Item, 1953 Debunking Old Local Ghost Stories With The Union County Sheriff, John Middlesworth |
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 That somehow gets mixed up into a ridiculously fake story about "Allison's Grave". |
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MORE STORIES:
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According to legend, If, on the night of the Harvest Moon, you stand on the grave of Katy Vandine, and knock on the tree beside it, her ghost, dressed in shimmering white, will walk down the hill towards you.
You may also hear her crying from inside the church, or even hear her call your name.
As the legend goes, young Katie had an affair with a married man. To save himself recrimination, he accused Katie of witchcraft. Unmarried, pregnant, and accused of being a witch, Katy Vandine hung herself from a tree by the church.
An alternate tale says that Katy was engaged to be married, but her fiancé, a soldier, died in battle. Distraught, Katy hung herself in her wedding dress.
None of this appears to have any historical accuracy, but a 2002 book by L.A. Flick perpetuates the legend. In truth, Catherine Vandine attended services in that church right up until she died of natural causes, at age 87.
The Face In The Window In Lewisburg, Pa
According to legend, around the time of the civil war, a black man died in what is today the Dale Engle Walker house in Lewisburg. Afterward, his image repeatedly appeared in a window on the second floor.
The tale brought so many curiosity seekers to the grounds that years later, an owner remodeled the upstairs of the home and removed the window, to discourage the trespassers hoping to see the image.
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P.O.of A. Masquerade Party October 29 1917
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Published in the Lewisburg Journal, January 1908
John George Hohman
Long Lost Friend, 1819
"The Spook Book" (Superstitions)
"To win every game engaged in.—
Tie the heart of a bat with a red
silken string to the right arm, and you
will win every game at cards you
play."
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On March 7, 1760, the Goshen
Monthly Meeting of Friends (Chester
county, Pa.) disowned Robert Jones
for injury done to a poor woman, who
was popularly believed to be a witch.
He had driven her out of her house
and otherwise abused her.
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A Halloween Vandalism Warning
From The Sunbury Daily Item, 1943
All Hallows Eve
From the 1872 Northumberland County Democrat
Hallow Eve is a day that is particularly observed by young people, as on it various arts of divination are employed to learn who art. to be future husbands and wives.
It is believed in many parts of the British Isles that ghosts, fairies and spirits walk abroad, and that while the purpose of some is good, that of others is evil.
In the evening it is the custom for assemblages to take place at family firesides, where fortune-telling, recital of stories, and dances serve to pass away the evening. One of the principal amusements is suspending from the ceiling cross sticks, at each alternate end of which is a lighted candle or an apple, which is kept rapidly revolving around, inviting candidates to compete for the grateful prize. The result is that many only succeed in scorching their hands, but the pleasure of being laughed at is considered sufficient recompense.
Another amusement is placing coin in a bucket of water where all have the privilege of immersing their heads and making attempts to seize the shining silver in their teeth. Nuts are used in profusion.
There is a custom of placing three of the fruit on the bars of the grates naming the nuts after sweethearts, If the nut cracks or jumps, the lover will prove unfaithful, an if it begins to blaze or burn, ho has a regard for the person making the trial. If the nuts named after the girl or young man burn together they will be married.
Another custom much observed is that of placing three dishes in a row. These are respectively filled with clean and foul water and one is empty. The parties, blindfolded, advance respectively and dip their fingers into one. If in the clean they will be married to a virgin, if in the foul not to a virgin but to some one else, and if in the empty the party will remain siDgle or die without being wedded.
There are many other customs all having reference to the matter of future husbands and wives, and tseekiDg protection from the influence of evil spirits.
The observance of Hallow Eve, like many others that prevail in Europe, has been transplanted to this country and there is no doubt that in many households in every part ot the country there will be the usual merry makings.
In Ireland and Scotland, though many ancient customs have fallen into disuse, All Hallow is still reckoned among tho most joydul anniversaries. People of these nationalities in America will revive the merry scenes of their younger days, and their descendants will join heartily in the pastimes of the occasion.
Burns has depicted these in his poem. "All Hallow E'en." "He says: "It is thought to be a night when all the supernatural beings who people space and earth and air are in search of mishief. and it is, also, the grand anniversary of the more benignant fairies, whose occupation is to baffle the evil genius in his wicked pursuits."
The origin of the custom is not known but it is thought to extend back to the time of the Druids.
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An article on Ghosts, Published in the Lewisburg Journal, 1903
The Lewisburg Journal, 1909
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The Spook Of Spook Hill - Pennsylvania Mountain Stories, by Shoemaker
The Old Righters Ghost - Pennsylvania Mountain Stories, by Shoemaker
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