The Witches of Ohio: Where History Ends and Folklore Begins

Ohio never had its own Salem witch trials. But that doesn’t mean Ohio escaped the fear of witchcraft.In this episode of GITN: The Strange Side of Reality, Phil and Travis dig into the strange history of witches in Ohio—from an 1823 fortune-telling case and early Ohio “witch doctors” to a bizarre silver-bullet ritual, the execution of Wyandot leader Leatherlips, the terrifying legend of Mary Stockum, and the mysterious Witch’s Ball in an Ohio cemetery.But there’s a problem.The deeper we get into these stories, the more the historical evidence begins to change.Some cases have names, dates, court records and witnesses. Others survive almost entirely as folklore filled with murdered children, burned witches, severed heads, wandering ghosts and cursed graves.So what actually happened?And where does documented Ohio history end and legend begin?Tonight we investigate:• Abigail Church and Ohio’s so-called “only witchcraft case”• The witches and witch doctors of Jefferson County• Mrs. Daugherty and the strange silver-bullet ritual• Leatherlips — witchcraft accusation, politics and execution• The disturbing legend of Mary Stockum• The Witch’s Ball of Myrtle Hill Cemetery• How real people and events slowly become supernatural legendsThe farther we travel from the historical record, the stranger these stories become.Welcome to GITN Podcast — The Strange Side of Reality.