Halloween Countdown 2019, Day 8

[eldritchhobbit]

Have you heard of Leah Smock?

Leah Smock, it seems, was the last woman who was burned in the United States for being a witch. Born in 1818, Smock gained the reputation in Meade County, Kentucky, for being able to see into the future and make accurate predictions about who in the community was soon to die. Her solitary nature and unusual perceptiveness made others afraid.



She died on August 21, 1840, and local legend has it that she was burned to death in a shed by her suspicious and fearful neighbors. She is buried in the Elizabeth Dailey Graveyard in Battletown, Kentucky, and she is often referred to as the “Battletown Witch.”

As you might imagine, given the tragedy of her short life and violent death, many stories suggest that the young woman does not rest peacefully.

To quote “Tales of Leah Smock’s Ghost Haunt Meade” from The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky (on October 31, 1975):

“The old folks for miles around grew up hearing tales of Leah and her witchcraft, about how you’re apt to see her yet, if you go past the graveyard after dark.”

The legends of her death and subsequent hauntings have inspired books (such as
Battletown Witch: Leah Smock, the Evolution of Witchcraft, and the Last Witch Burning in America and Burned as a Witch: The Legend of Leah Smock) and even a 2016 film, Leah Smock: The Legend Awakens.

You can visit Leah Smock’s gravesite on Find A Grave.

Here is Order 59′s tribute to the legend of Leah Smock, “Battletown Witch.”

"Order 59 Battletown Witch" (Watch on YouTube)