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The first recorded witchcraft trial was in 1654 when Mary Lee was accused. Unlike the Salem Witch Trials, Maryland required more evidence before sentencing. There was not enough to convict Mary Lee of witchcraft and she was acquitted. -
Elizabeth Richardson, good friends with Colonel John Washington, great-grandfather of George Washington, was accused of being a sea witch. It was thought she had caused unfavorable weather and sea conditions. Unfortunately, although John voiced how ludicrous the accusations were, he was unable to arrive in time for the trial which lead to Elizabeth's execution. No charges were filed against the crew. -
Rebecca Fowler was accused of "familiarity with the devil". She turned out to be the only person who was ever formally executed for practicing witchcraft. -
Moll Dyer was accused and convicted of practicing witchcraft. In 1697, it was believed Ms. Dyer single-handedly summoned evil spirits to bring about an influenza outbreak. She was never formally sentenced to death, but was driven from her home and died of exposure to the elements. -
Spinster Virtue Violl was arrested in Talbot County on suspicion of witchcraft, taken to Annapolis, and was tried for her crime of making lame the tongue of another spinster woman. She was jailed for over a month before she was found not guilty and released. -
Over seventy-five years after Virtue's trial, Caty Coburn of Talbot County, was harassed by the locals for being deformed and hideous and therefore must be a witch. She was never formally accused, but Caty was a poor, elderly woman who lived on the edge of a cemetery. Whispers and legends were created simply due to the fact she was not like everyone else. -
Alexander Kirk of Cecil County was accused of witchcraft by the Methodist Church. An appeal was brought before the quarterly conference and instead of being jailed, he was excommunicated. -
After the Manson murders, society went on high alert. They began accusing their neighbors of being "devil worshippers" and forming satanic cults for having mental health issues, listening to heavy metal music, and playing DD. -
Inspired by the legends surrounding what happened to Moll Dyer, filmmakers Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez release the docufiction The Blair Witch Project. It not only spoke about how being a witch is being the subject of rumor, witches are also defined as walking away from societal norms and the fear of others. -
Heather Bagnall, a delegate from Anne Arundel County is trying to pass a vote to clear the names of the victims of the trials. This also brings to light how people are still being persecuted for unjust reasons.