Was She a Witch—or Just Their Neighbor? | Witches of the Midwest

Long after Salem, stories of witches were still moving through the American Midwest—through farmhouses, city boarding houses, small-town gossip, folk remedies, strange coincidences, and eventually even the U.S. mail. In this episode of Voices From The Attic, we explore the strange history and folklore surrounding the Witches of the Midwest. In 1871, crowds gathered at a Southern Illinois farm to watch two teenage sisters who claimed an old woman had bewitched them. In Cincinnati, neighborhood children became convinced that an elderly German immigrant reading an old book by candlelight was a witch. And in Rochester, Indiana, Irene Ray developed such a frightening reputation that illnesses, crop failures, fires, deaths, and other misfortunes were blamed on her—until residents actually demanded authorities prosecute her for witchcraft. But the story of Midwestern witchcraft doesn't end with accusations and old legends. We also dig into recorded Illinois witch folklore, the complicated history of folk healers and “wise women,” modern Wicca and contemporary Midwestern witchcraft, Wisconsin's Circle Sanctuary, Chicago occult shops, and the remarkable story of L. W. de Laurence—the Chicago publisher who turned occult books and grimoires into a mail-order empire whose influence traveled far beyond the Midwest. Finally, we visit Whitewater, Wisconsin: the so-called “Second Salem,” where witches, a mysterious tower, a supernatural triangle, and a forgotten Spiritualist school became tangled together in local legend. Were these really witches? Or does the stranger story begin with the people who believed they were? Welcome to Voices From The Attic.