Discover the true story of Moll Dyer and the witches of Southern Maryland... if you dare... Despite the attention that Salem receives, they were far from the only town to organize a witch hunt in colonial America. Rebecca Fowler was tried as a witch in St. Mary's in 1685, and in 1674, John Cowman became the only man ever charged with witchcraft in Maryland. In Moll Dyer's case, locals took the law into their own hands. According to legend, Moll Dyer was chased from her burning home by a mob in St. Mary's County in the year 1697, left to die in the dark and cold. Was she just an ordinary woman blamed for problems beyond her control? Or was she a witch whose curse lingers on? Author Lynn Buonviri uses period records and local lore to discover the truth behind the legend of Moll Dyer and her curse.

Moll Dyer prays she can leave her troubles behind when she immigrates to the new world, but a paranormal threat grows, and soon follows her across the ocean to Maryland. Colonial life in the Old Line state was tough on both man and woman. Hunger, disease, Indian attacks, and drought tested the resolve of the settlers daily, but troubles for the Dyers included the threat of a succubus on a mission! Will the demonic call initiated by her family prove too much to resist as she labors to rebuild her life in a distant land? The legend of Moll Dyer originated in earliest colonial Maryland. Despite 300 years of civilization, and scientific reason, Moll's name is still often heard there, especially around campfires late at night, or as a warning to misbehaving little people. Her spirit is often seen as a wisp of unnatural fog in the swampy woodlands near her homestead, with her half wolf companion at her side. This is her story.

Does a witch's ghost haunt a park in Annapolis? Why should Baltimore really be called Charm City? What weird stories and traditions regarding witches in the Chesapeake region are true and where did the others originate? What is the real history of witchcraft in early Maryland? How were accusations of witchcraft handled by the authorities? Why did Maryland not suffer the same fate as Salem in 1692?Reviewing early Maryland records, newspaper articles, and other accounts from the 17th to the early 20th century, this book answers these questions and more, while revealing Maryland's fascinating witch-related history.

Take a journey to the dark side of Southern Maryland, one of the most haunted spots in America, and visit with the ghosts and otherworldly specters of the area. Southern Maryland is one of the most haunted spots in America. From pre-colonial settlements to modern times, the tales of every era of its history are often dark and sometimes bloody. Brave readers will meet the many otherworldly specters that loved the area too much to leave, like the spirit of the witch Moll Dyer or the nun reclaiming her ancestral home. Learn the haunted history of Sotterley Plantation and the stories of the ghosts that remained after the Civil War. Author David W. Thompson takes the reader on a spooky journey through Southern Maryland's long history.

Ghosts and other supernatural phenomena are widely represented throughout modern culture. They can be found in any number of entertainment, commercial, and other contexts, but popular media or commodified representations of ghosts can be quite different from the beliefs people hold about them, based on tradition or direct experience. Personal belief and cultural tradition on the one hand, and popular and commercial representation on the other, nevertheless continually feed each other. They frequently share space in how people think about the supernatural. In Haunting Experiences, three well-known folklorists seek to broaden the discussion of ghost lore by examining it from a variety of angles in various modern contexts. Diane E. Goldstein, Sylvia Ann Grider, and Jeannie Banks Thomas take ghosts seriously, as they draw on contemporary scholarship that emphasizes both the basis of belief in experience (rather than mere fantasy) and the usefulness of ghost stories. They look closely at the narrative role of such lore in matters such as socialization and gender. And they unravel the complex mix of mass media, commodification, and popular culture that today puts old spirits into new contexts.

How dark do you like your fiction? Are the terrors of day to day life enough? Or does it take the creature hidden in the dark woods to stir your blood? Perhaps, a visit back in time to face the Wendigo will quench your thirst? Fairies are sweet, gentle creatures...right? Are you brave enough to turn the page? Don't close your eyes or cut out the lights! 'Possum Stew is a collection of short stories from multi-award winning paranormal and dark fiction author David W. Thompson. Beginning with the New Year, it follows the seasons through all the major holidays. From dark tales inspired by ancient mythology to those flavored with cutting edge technology, they provide dark fiction treats that are impossible to forget. So how much spectral spice do you desire? You'll find it here.

In 1824 in Washington, D.C., Ann Mattingly, widowed sister of the city's mayor, was miraculously cured of a ravaging cancer. Just days, or perhaps even hours, from her predicted demise, she arose from her sickbed free from agonizing pain and able to enjoy an additional thirty-one years of life. The Mattingly miracle purportedly came through the intervention of a charismatic German cleric, Prince Alexander Hohenlohe, who was credited already with hundreds of cures across Europe and Great Britain. Though nearly forgotten today, Mattingly's astonishing healing became a polarizing event. It heralded a rising tide of anti-Catholicism in the United States that would culminate in violence over the next two decades. Nancy L. Schultz deftly weaves analysis of this episode in American social and religious history together with the astonishing personal stories of both Ann Mattingly and the healer Prince Hohenlohe, around whom a cult was arising in Europe. Schultz's riveting book brings to light an early episode in the ongoing battle between faith and reason in the United States.