When we think of early America and the supernatural, we tend to think of the plot of a blockbuster movie: the witch frenzy and trials of Salem, the Lost Colony of Roanoke that left the single clue of “Croatoan”, or the elusive Jersey Devil that roams the Pine Barrens. Pennsylvania, however, deserves its place alongside the classics of Massachusetts and Virginia – not because its supernatural tales border on the fanatical, but because supernatural practices and folklore were simply a part of everyday life in Penn’s Woods.
Since Henry Hudson sailed into the Delaware Bay with the Dutch East India Company in 1609, Southern Pennsylvania has seen a troubled history of disastrous journeys, unexplained occurrences, and tragic endings. What cultural, religious, and social conditions paved the way for how Pennsylvanians related to the supernatural? How did cultural tensions between settlers lead to a level violence unheard of in a colony that was, by vast majority, pacifist Quaker? How have these tales of botched hangings, corpse medicine, and disturbed graves changed over time, depending on who is telling the story – and why does that matter?
$5.00 program only or free with regular museum admission.
Dark History of Penn’s Woods: Murder, Madness, and Misadventure in Southeastern Pennsylvania will be available for purchase in the Sigal Museum Store.
About Jennifer L. Green:
Jennifer L. Green graduated from University of Delaware with majors in anthropology and history, and earned her Master’s degree in American History at West Chester University of Pennsylvania. She has conducted research and written for websites like ExplorePAHistory.com and the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, and has worked at historic sites throughout Chester and Delaware counties. She is the Director of Education at the Chester County History Center in West Chester, PA.
This program is being funded in whole or in part with funding from the Hotel Tax Grant Program through the County of Northampton Department of Community & Economic Development.