Meet the Witch of Monongahela, Pennsylvania’s Legendary “Black Hero”

Deep in the woods of Fayette County, near the river that gave it its name, lived a witch.

Whether or not she rode a broom was never mentioned, but she was capable of flying by swinging and then launching herself from a giant cradle in which she slept. Rattlesnakes guarded his door to ward off unwanted visitors. And even though she helped those who asked her for help, their milk would suddenly turn sour if they made her angry. Some were even dead.

The woman was Mary “Moll” Derry, the witch of Monongahela.

The period when Mary was allegedly swinging out of her cradle and cursing people was – according to Tara Isabella Burton in her book “Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World (2020) – a time when there was a little more magic in the world.

Spells and charms were not as far removed from science as they are today, and they were intertwined with everyday life, from household chores to popular culture.

Folk magic, in fact, could be found everywhere, from medical practices to the almanacs by which people lived. Duquesne University archivist and curator Thomas White explains in “The Witch of the Monongahela: Folk Magic in Early Western Pennsylvania” (2020) how in Pennsylvania it was common to write and pass on such charms as if they were family recipes.

“Folk magic and folk healing (and of course belief in witchcraft) have been common in all cultures since the dawn of time,” White said via email. “This slowly began to decline with the rise of the Industrial Revolution and, more importantly in the United States, with the Progressive movement of the early 20th century. »

Many of these rituals were introduced by Europeans who decided to try their luck in the new world. Mary Derry – born in Germany between 1760 and 1768, according to the few records available – was one of these immigrants, arriving on the shores of the colonies as the wife of a Hessian soldier hired by the British to fight in the war of independence. (This gave rise to one of her other nicknames, the Fortune Teller of the Revolution.)

It’s hard to say what kind of supernatural reputation Mary had – if any – when she arrived here. But at some point, Mary’s husband (called Valentine in some accounts and Jacob in others) decided to side with the settlers instead. The family eventually settled in George Township by way of Loudon County, Virginia.

It is important to note how Pennsylvania may have played a significant role in shaping the legend of Mary: the colony at the time was lenient toward religious practices of all kinds, including witchcraft.

You see, the Puritans – with their Salem witch trials – in no way reflected the rest of the colonies, which had many more accounts of witchcraft, according to White. These just never got as much attention as Salem did, leading them to go unnoticed in general.

“In Pennsylvania, William Penn did not allow the execution of witches, which ironically probably led to more work for practitioners of folk magic,” White said. “Belief in folk magic was still strong, and if the colonies (and later the state) did not eliminate witches, people would turn to traditional healers for protection.”

However, it is not because magic was a little more present at the time that those who were associated with it were always well received. And while her Pike Township counterpart, Mountain Mary, was seen in a more benevolent light, Mary Derry’s image became distorted over the years, transforming her, in White’s words, into a “dark heroine of legend “.

In other words, no longer a witch.

Interestingly, her husband also had a magical reputation. An old article titled “The Mountain Hunter” published in the Daily Standard describes his use of an ointment or powder that he rubbed on himself – and walked in a circle – before a hunt, suggesting his success might be linked to supernatural prowess rather than supernatural prowess. just pure skill.

But initially, White says, the Witch of Monongahela was your run-of-the-mill healer. Mary divined people’s futures through ground coffee rather than tea, and offered the usual medicinal help and protection from harm to anyone who came to her door. She also sold a little whiskey as a side dish.

One of the most famous legends about Mary even involves her warning – spontaneously – a young girl that she would be killed by her fiancé. Unfortunately, this actually happened, sending the community into a spiral. Although the true narrative occurred long after Mary’s death, it highlights a side of her that is, well, lighter than your usual old devil worshiper.

But then came the story of the “curse”.

Three men, White writes, came across Mary and decided to cool off a bit. She – not seeming to suffer fools – predicted in turn how each of them would die at the end of the vise before the end of the year.

Sure enough, that’s exactly what the men did, one by one. And, lest you think this story is pure fiction, two of these men’s deaths were documented at the time.

Again, each of them committed criminal behavior – including murder – before being hanged. One could argue that Mary was just a shrewd judge of character who might have been aware of these guys’ reputations.

Slowly, over time, White writes how Mary’s image began to become this twisted, crony, satanic stereotype. The legend of the Monongahela Witch eventually became intertwined with that of other area witches, such as Moll Dell.

One day, for example, two children got lost in the woods. After failing to find them, the search team called upon a “mountain witch” to find them by peering into a magic mirror known as the “Erdspiegel”.

This tragedy is a true tale better known as “The Lost Children of the Alleghenies”, although Mary Derry had no connection with helping the search party. Unfortunately, it was too late when the children were discovered and a shrine erected at the spot where they were found can still be visited.

Mary “Moll” Derry died on June 17, 1843, in the mountain home she and her husband had built decades earlier.

But, in many ways, Mary was kept alive by the stories that still circulate in the area where she once lived.

Editor’s note: Welcome to the world of “Paranormal PA,” a PennLive series that delves into the stories of spirits grown in Pennsylvania; cryptids; oddities and legends; and the unexplained. Register here to receive our Paranormal PA newsletter in your inbox.