Episode 177 Witch Legends of the South

Across the South, the word witch has been used to explain what people fear and cannot control. For generations, healers, midwives, conjurers and root workers carried knowledge their communities needed, yet often faced suspicion when tragedy struck. In this episode of Southern Mysteries, we explore the real lives and southern legends behind those branded as witches. From colonial courts to mountain cabins and coastal swamps, these stories reveal how the line between healing and haunting has always been thin and how fear can turn ordinary people into figures of folklore. Join the Community on Patreon: Want more Southern Mysteries? You can hear the Southern Mysteries show archive of 60+ episodes along with Patron exclusive podcast, Audacious: Tales of American Crime and more when you become a patron of the show. You can immediately access exclusive content now at patreon.com/southernmysteries 🎧 Explore More Southern Mysteries Visit SouthernMysteries.com for more episodes and source lists. 📱 Follow on Social Media: Facebook: Southern Mysteries Podcast TikTok @southernmysteries Instagram: @southernmysteries Email: southernmysteriespodcast@gmail.com  Episode Sources Anderson, Jeffery E. Conjure in African American Society. Louisiana State University Press, 2005. American Folklife Center, Library of Congress — regional oral history collections on conjure, hoodoo, and midwifery. Anniston Hot Blast and Birmingham Age-Herald (Alabama newspapers), 1880s witchcraft coverage. Deep South Magazine. “Julia ‘Aunt Julie’ Brown: Debunking Her Voodoo Priestess Mythos.” Encyclopedia of Louisiana. “Marie Laveau.” Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Encyclopedia Virginia. “Sherwood, Grace (ca. 1660–1740).” Federal Writers’ Project. South Carolina Slave Narratives. Library of Congress, 1938. Ferry Plantation House Museum archives, Virginia Beach, Virginia. Fett, Sharla M. Working Cures: Healing, Health, and Power on Southern Slave Plantations. University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Foxfire 2: Houses and Appalachian Traditions. Edited by Eliot Wigginton. Anchor Books, 1973. Historic New Orleans Collection. “Julia Brown: Hoodoo, Hurricanes, and a Storm-Swamped Ruddock.” L’Observateur (St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana). “Voodoo Queen and Forces Unseen.” Library of Virginia. “The Case of Grace Sherwood, 1706.” Princess Anne County Court Records. Louisiana State Museum archives, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, New Orleans, Louisiana. Long, Carolyn Morrow. A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau. University Press of Florida, 2006. Martha Ward. Voodoo Queen: The Spirited Lives of Marie Laveau. University Press of Mississippi, 2004. McTeer, J.E. Fifty Years as a Low Country Witch Doctor. University of South Carolina Press, 1971. Mental Floss. “The Legend and Truth o