American Witches

The history of American witches is way weirder than you ever imagined. From bewitched pigs hell-bent on revenge to gruesome twentieth-century murders, American Witches reveals strange incidents of witchcraft that have long been swept under the rug as bizarre sidenotes to history.

On a tour through history that’s both whimsical and startling, we’ll encounter seventeenth-century children flying around inside their New England home “like geese.” We’ll meet a father-son team of pious Puritans who embarked on a mission that involved undressing ladies and overseeing hangings. And on the eve of the Civil War, we’ll accompany a reporter as he dons a dress and goes searching for witches in New York City’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

Entertainingly readable and rich in amazing details often left out of today’s texts, American Witches casts a flickering torchlight into the dark corners of American history.

Susan Fair is most at home exploring the crossroads of weirdness and history. She has written for a number of outlets, including Blue Ridge Country, the Gettysburg Experience, Cryptomundo, the Rumpus, and several newspapers. She is the author of Mysteries & Lore of Western Maryland. She works for a public library and at the Boonsboro Museum of History, which houses relics of weird history, including an actual witch’s spell book. Susan lives on the shoulder of South Mountain in western Maryland.

“A LOT of wicked fun!” —Eduardo Sánchez, director of The Blair Witch Project

“Way more fun than a standard history book but based on impressive knowledge, American Witches gives a darkly hilarious tour of magical belief in America through the centuries. With a magical gift of her own, Fair serves up even the cruelest and most violent attacks on suspected witches with a light touch and an irresistible dose of humor. Totally witchcraft!” —Valerie Kivelson, professor of history at the University of Michigan and author of Desperate Magic

“Fair goes beyond the broomstick to describe in lively and wickedly funny fashion why witches and the black arts have captured our imagination—in good ways and bad—almost from the moment Europeans began arriving on our shores. American Witches is also a sound history that reminds us of the dangers that ignorance and fear of the unknown can foist upon (probably) innocent and unsuspecting minorities.” —Tim Rowland, New York Times bestselling author of Strange and Obscure Stories of the Civil War

“From Alse Young to Mary Baker Eddy, Susan Fair introduces us to the players, perceptions, and persecutions of the American witch phenomenon and walks us through the history behind the accusations.” —Lisa Graves, author of the Women in History series