Just north of Columbia, South Carolina, lies the little-known town of Winnsboro. Often called the “Charleston of the Upcountry,” this quaint small town is rich in historical tradition. Victorian buildings are scattered throughout the city, and much of the business district is listed in the National Historic Register. One can view the town clock, visit the Railroad Museum, or experience southern hospitality at a relaxing bed and breakfast. On the surface, Winnsboro appears to be a quiet and picturesque southern community.

Unlike most other southern towns, however, Winnsboro harbors a disturbing eighteenth-century secret. In 1792, the Winnsboro area was plagued by witchcraft. A century after Salem and 300 years after the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum, a witch panic took center stage as superstition dominated the American embodiment of the Enlightenment. Livestock died, women levitated, and men morphed into animals. Spells were cast, people were cursed, and Satanic masses were held.

As claims of the supernatural accumulated, confused residents grew desperate for answers. Dominated by mob rule, Hending Smith, Mary Inglemen, and Sally Smith were arrested for witchcraft in Fairfield County. As punishment, they were tortured and burned for their crimes. When the pandemonium finally ceased, three citizens of our early republic were left with significant injuries and lasting emotional and physical scars.

To this day, the people of Fairfield County still talk about the events that unfolded nearly 230 years ago. Old spooks and ghost stories make for good conversation on the streets of Winnsboro. Furthermore, some locals claim the spirit of Mary Ingleman haunts the Fairfield County Courthouse, waiting and plotting her revenge.

Although these stories are entertaining during the Halloween season, how much do we know about the events that took place in fall of 1792? Did supernatural phenomena really take place, as many locals believed? Or can we successfully explain these strange events with modern science and historical analysis?

What follows is an examination of the events that transpired in 1792 and a methodology to debunk claims of supernatural witchcraft. To date, there are three sources that detail the strange happenings that took place in Fairfield County, South Carolina. Most information comes from a manuscript written by Philip Pearson, transcribed sometime in the mid-nineteenth century. An exact chronology of the events is difficult to piece together, but I will do my best to place the alleged events in their appropriate historical context and offer explanations for the paranormal occurrences. Furthermore, the witch panic in 1792 is a historical anachronism. The apex of witch panics culminated within decades of the Protestant Revolution. For this to happen in the wake of American Independence (a movement based on Enlightenment principles) is truly an anomaly.

In many ways, however, the events serve as a metaphor for the division between Enlightenment principles and superstition. It seems appropriate that we witnessed a clash between reason and fantasy only a few years into our fledgling republic. The dichotomy between skepticism and superstition, as we know, continues well into the twenty-first century. The events of 1792, unfortunately, were a portent of future conflicts between these combative groups.

 

Illness and Death of Livestock

According to Philip Pearson, author of History of Fairfield County, South Carolina, witches had inhabited Fairfield County for decades. However, they were largely innocuous; their spells were viewed as mere pranks rather than maleficarum. But in 1792, these pranks elevated to noxious levels that caused chaos within the community.

The first “paranormal” event involved community livestock. Many farm animals inexplicably became sick and died. Per the testimony of Adam Free, Mary Ingleman was the perpetrator; she elevated a cow off the ground and subsequently slammed it down, thereby breaking its neck. Reportedly, the same cow began to lactate blood from its udder.

There are several reasons livestock might suddenly die. In fact, inexplicable death of livestock sparked many witch panics throughout history. Essex witches, for example, were known to drown oxen and drive sow psychotic (Hickey 1990, 132). In 1566, Agnes Waterhouse was said to have a cat, named Satan, kill hogs, cows, and geese and thwart dairy production (Gibson 2004).

The likely cause of illness in livestock was toxic plant consumption. Plants that contain high levels of alkaloids, such as ryegrass, can affect the wellbeing of many farm animals (Hickey 1990, 132). Furthermore, ryegrass grows in cooler seasons in South Carolina. It could have been consumed by livestock during autumn, when other fodder was limited due to seasonal temperature changes.

Another possibility is that Fairfield livestock consumed plants heavy in glycosides. Cyanogenetic glycoside intoxication mimics reactions to that of cyanide poisoning (Hickey 1990, 132). Victims can foam at the mouth and suddenly die. Not only are glycosides common in many grass types, but plants such as foxglove and oleander also contain glycosides and grow in many parts of South Carolina.

An alternative, of course, could be the intentional sabotage of another’s livestock. For example, in the late sixteenth century, Alice Nokes of Lambourne was found guilty and subsequently hanged for “attacking a horse” as a revenge plot (Gibson 2004). Although the chemical components of toxic plants were not well understood, eighteenth-century commoners could have been privy to certain herbal poisons. It is possible a dispute between neighbors resulted in the intentional killing of another’s livestock via poison or physical abuse.

Many early Americans depended on livestock for economic survival. Cattle, swine, and other animals were a source of food, clothing, and trade. Their waste could be used as fertilizer to augment crop production. To lose one’s livestock was an enormous economic setback and could financially bankrupt a family and their homestead.

Germ theory and modern medical diagnostics were unknown to early Americans. For example, we now know animals experience psychosomatic symptoms when confronted with threats. Chickens can stop producing eggs, pigs may stop breeding, and milk production in cows can decrease when under distress (Bever 2012, 38). Animal trauma and anxiety can even affect the taste and color of meat. Animal stress can lead to a “rapid breakdown of muscle glycogen” (Freund 2011). As a result, the meat lightens in color and turns acidic in taste (Freund 2011).

In addition, it is not uncommon for cows to produce milk containing elements of blood. Mastitis and other bacterial infections can cause inflammation to the mammary gland, triggering soreness and redness. As a result, blood and pus can contaminate milk production (Casal 2015).

Considering the socioeconomic and survival factors linked to livestock, it is only natural that early Americans looked for answers in an attempt to thwart future illness and death. Livestock was more than a commodity; it was a means of subsistence. A dairy cow suddenly ceasing to produce milk or abruptly dying was a potentially life-changing event. Early farmers found explanations within the parameters of their historical time and space. In a society inundated with superstition, maleficium becomes a logical explanation.

The Power of Curse

In the Fall of 1792, the Henley sisters of Fairfield County began to exhibit strange behavior that frightened their community. According to one account, they were both “bitten on the neck and shoulders” then “stuck over with pins and splinters” (Pearson n.d., 6). Additionally, the girls appeared to have been possessed by malevolent spirits. The “exertions of four strong men” could not tame the remarkable strength of the Henley sisters. According to another testimony, both were “rising up and clinging to the ceiling.”

Also, Mary Ingleman supposedly placed an odious hex on Martha Holly, causing her to violently vomit “balls of hair with pins sticking out” (Pearson n.d., 8). Splinters and pins were stuck over her neck and shoulders that significantly “deprived her [of] peace and comfort” (8).

While it is impossible to diagnose Holly and the Henley sisters with absolute certainty, any number of ailments could have afflicted these girls. A likely possibility is that these girls were suffering from ergot poisoning, causing significant hallucinations and disorientation. Ergot is a fungus that grows on grains and can mimic the effects of LSD (Horgan 2020). It can also cause muscle spasms and crawling sensations on one’s skin.

Although difficult to know for certain, Mary Ingleman may have given ergot-infested bread (accidentally or intentionally) to some of the victims. This explanation might clarify the complaint made by Jacob Free, grandson of the accused. According to Jacob:

His grandmother turned him into a horse and rode him six miles to Major Pearson’s apple orchard on [the] Broad River. Whilst she was filling her bag with apples, his eye was attracted [to] the beautiful red apples that hung over him. He put up his long horse-head to obtain a stealthy supply, and whilst attempting to do so, she drove a hand into his cheek, from the effects of which he did not soon recover. (Pearson n.d., 8–9)

Ergot thrives in warm and wet climates, and the hot and humid summers in midland South Carolina can certainly produce it. Perhaps Ingleman gave her grandson some toxic bread, causing Free to experience severe delusions.

Any number of mental illnesses could cause such aberrant behavior. The Henley sisters might have suffered from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, PTSD, or borderline personality disorder. Dementia or Parkinson’s Disease may have affected their behavior, causing hallucinations.

Finally, one cannot discount the power of belief. In a society deluged with superstition, if people believe they are recipients of a curse, certain somatic aliments can occur. In what psychologists call somatoform disorders, physical illness can be a byproduct of mental instability. If one believes they have been bewitched, physical symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, pain, and sexual dysfunction can develop (Bever 2012, 12). Chronic anxiety can cause severe insomnia, leading to a state of psychosis. Lack of sleep can also lead to sleep paralysis. If the victims excessively worried about maleficium, they could have developed mental illness leading to extreme hallucination and other maladies.

Satanism and Women

To demonstrate the awesome power of Mary Ingleman, Fairfield’s John Eric, a magician and au fait demonic conjurer, publicly summoned the devil and trapped him in a chimney. According to accounts, Eric “slipped his hand in his pocket, took out a quantity of asafetida [and] threw it into the edge of the fire” (Pearson n.d., 15). A rancid odor permeated the room, and Eric cried out, “the Devil [has] come, don’t you smell him. He always comes with a dreadful odor. Run out and you will all see him go up the chimney” (Pearson n.d., 15–16).

The devil was (and still is) a dominant force within Christian society. Most early Americans did not have scientific explanations for misfortune, particularly in remote communities such as Fairfield County. Either one has fallen out of favor with God or has been bewitched by demonic forces. Women were assumed to be disproportionately predisposed to the wiles of Satan.

After all, it was Eve who surrendered to the temptations of the serpent and is, therefore, responsible for mankind’s original sin. The medieval Canon Episcopi provides a good example of how the Church views women and their vulnerably to evil temptations. According to the Episcopi, women who claimed to fly at night with the goddess Holda were instead sufferers of demonic chicanery (Bever 2012, 69). The medieval Church viewed paganism as akin to devil worship, with women being the likely victims.

According to sixteenth-century German pastors Wilhelm Bidembach and Matthäus Alber, “If one wanted to burn all such malevolent women, one would not have enough wood and fire” (qtd. in Bever 2012, 70). Unfortunately, this statement is strikingly accurate. Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, close to 60,000 people were executed for witchcraft. Of this number, women made up at least 75–85 percent of those executed (McKay and Wiesner-Hanks 2017, 420).

It appears American witch panics were no different. Thirteen of the nineteen hangings in Salem were of women. Of the eleven witch hangings in Connecticut in the mid-seventeenth century, nine were women. Following this trend, it’s not surprising that two of three witches in Fairfield County were women.

Even as we approach the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, women are still vulnerable to claims of demonic activity. Pop culture loves to portray young women as vulnerable agents of demonic possession. The Exorcist, The Last Exorcism, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Devil Inside, The Possession, and The Conjuring films all display women (or pubescent girls) as susceptible to the temptations of the devil (Gaudette 2017). The Exorcism of Emily Rose was based on a true but botched exorcism involving a young girl named Anneliese Michel. The Conjuring (both I and II) are based on the “true” stories of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren; both movies involve females. The Entity was also based on the “true” story of Doris Bither. Rather than being possessed, Bither was repeatedly raped by invisible apparitions (see Benjamin Radford’s article in this issue).

Western culture and superstition ascribe women as vulnerable and damaged. As nineteenth-century French historian Jules Michelet wrote, “Fifteen or twenty days of twenty-eight … a woman is not only invalid but a wounded one. She ceaselessly suffers from love’s eternal wound” (qtd. in Cole and Symes 2014, 646). Historically, it appears women are biologically predisposed to the tricks of Satan because they are “wounded” and do not possess the mental and physical fortitude to withstand the aggressive temptations of the devil.

Chief witness Isaac Collins felt the wrath of Ingleman’s Satanic powers. While hunting at “McTyre’s old field,” he noticed a sizeable deer and attempted to fire his rifle. His weapon would not discharge. Finally, after he inserted a “sliver of silver,” he successfully unloaded his rifle. The deer suddenly morphed into an injured black cat and consequently tottered away. Later, while working in a cornfield, an injured Mary Ingleman approached Isaac Collins. With her arm in a sling, she said to Collins, “This is your work.” According to Collins, Ingleman “was the deer, the black cat, and again herself” (Pearson n.d., 9–11).

Collins further testified that “Mary Ingleman turned him into a horse and rode him to a great witch convention” (Pearson n.d., 10). As they galloped to the assembly of witches, the devil approached and said, “Mother Ingleman, you have a splendid horse” (Pearson n.d., 11). Ingleman replied, “This is that rascal Collins” (Pearson n.d., 11).

Women are “prey” to the predatory instincts of the devil. Because women are subservient in our Christian patriarchy, the only way they can challenge male domination is to invoke the supernatural powers of Satan. Isaac Collins was probably a powerful man in Fairfield County. Normally, his power and wealth would permit him to dominate the socioeconomic aspects of society. However, when faced with failure (such as, perhaps, a fruitless hunt), the only plausible explanation could be supernatural chicanery invoked by a woman such as Mary Ingleman.

Prejudice and Medicine

Perhaps Mary Ingleman was not a witch but rather a victim of intolerance. According to Pearson’s account, she was reportedly “of German extraction” and “probably a native of Germany” (Pearson n.d., 17). Pelham Lyles, of the Fairfield County Museum, argues that Ingleman might have practiced the Dunker faith (or the German Baptist Brethren), which—in an overwhelmingly English society—may have subjected her to prejudice and ridicule.

Furthermore, Ingleman could have dabbled with pre-Christian paganism. This was not unheard of in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In 1796, for example, denizens of Beutelsbach, Germany, sacrificed a live bull in an effort to ward off hoof-and-mouth disease (McKay and Wiesner-Hanks 2017, 601). Priests in eighteenth-century France were known to berate parishioners who participated in pagan bonfire ceremonies during Lent, which were intended to ward off illness and augment crop production (McKay and Wiesner-Hanks 2017, 601). If Ingleman experimented with pagan rituals not sanctioned by the church, she might have attracted church leaders looking for reprisal.

In addition, according to Pearson, “Her knowledge of pharmacy was considerable” (Pearson n.d., 17). Late eighteenth-century apothecaries were hardly regulated, especially in rural communities in North America. Ingleman could have been the community herbalist, a skill she acquired while living in Germany. Perhaps these medications were seen as odd, foreign, or occult to some in the community.

Many eighteenth-century medicines were more toxic than beneficial. For instance, many medicines contained mercury and arsenic. Hemlock and deadly nightshade were commonly used in certain medicinal elixirs (Morris n.d.). Ingelman may have accidentally given a deadly concoction of herbs and poisons to an ailing individual, sparking accusations of witchcraft.

The Witch Trial

Did the devil and his witches plague rural South Carolina in 1792, causing possession, levitation, and animal mutilation? Many eighteenth-century citizens of Fairfield County certainly thought supernatural forces were at play. At Thomas Hill’s Barn, approximately five miles from the county courthouse, arguments were made against the accused. In the end, the evidence against the three witches was sufficient, and Mary Ingleman, Hending Smith, and Sally Smith were found guilty of witchcraft. According to one account, all three victims were subsequently whipped “in the most shocking manner.” Then “hot coals were applied to their extremities, till [sic] signs of life were scarcely discernable” (“Paris; Boston …” 1792, 3–4).

Regardless of what transpired in the fall of 1792, it’s important to properly analyze the strange occurrences in Fairfield County. According to a 2019 survey, close to 45 percent of Americans still believe in ghosts and demons (Scott 2019). Even prominent doctors and psychiatrists are among this confounding statistic. Stella Immanuel, one of America’s so-called “Frontline Doctors,” a small group that embraces a range of conspiracy theories, once claimed uterine disorder endometriosis was caused by intercourse with demons while sleeping (Andrews and Paquette 2020). Ivy League–trained psychiatrist Richard Gallagher claims demonic possession exists, and he acts as a “consultant” on cases of possession (Blake 2017). Even Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, the former chair of Columbia’s psychiatry department, has entertained demonic possession. Throughout his tenure as an expert psychiatrist, Lieberman has seen cases that “could not be explained in terms of normal human physiology or natural laws” (Mariani 2018).

Although we are not burning innocent victims, witch panics still occur in modern America. The Satanic panic of the 1980s and Miller v. Davis are prime examples of supernatural-inspired moral panics. The Vatican still offers courses on exorcisms, as demonic possession appears to be on the rise. For a mere $370, Christians can learn the trade of casting out the devil from expert priests in Rome (“Exorcism” 2018). Jerry Falwell even blamed homosexuals, abortion activists, and the ACLU for the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Critical thinking and skepticism are core elements of historical analysis and science. As a society, we need to properly analyze historical claims of the paranormal in an effort to combat modern theologically induced moral panics. Only by revisiting historical assertions of the paranormal can we begin to reshape and debunk contemporary accusations of the supernatural, especially those endorsed by “expert” psychiatrists and medical doctors. Let us not forget: when so-called doyens of medicine invoke the paranormal rather than empirical evidence, patients go undiagnosed and continue to suffer.

References

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Bever, Edward. 2012. The Realities of Witchcraft and Popular Magic in Early Modern Europe. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillian.

Blake, John. 2017. When exorcists need help, they call him. CNN (August 4). Available online at https://www.cnn.com/2017/08/04/health/exorcism-doctor/index.html.

Casal, Margret. 2015. Mastitis. In Deborah Silverstein and Kate Hopper (eds.). Small Animal Critical Care Medicine. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Inc.

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Exorcism: Vatican course opens doors to 250 priests. 2018. BBC News (April 17). Available online at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43697573.

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Gaudette, Emily. 2017. In most films about demonic possession, women are simply vessels. Bitch Media (October 10). Available online at https://www.bitchmedia.org/post/in-most-films-about-demonic-possession-women-are-simply-vessels.

Gibson, Marion. 2004. Essex witches. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Available online at https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-70257.

Hickey, Sally. 1990. Fatal feeds?: Plants, livestock losses and witchcraft accusations in Tudor and Stuart Britain. Folklore 101(2): 131–42. Available online at http://www.jstor.org/stable/1260316.

Horgan, John. 2020. St. Anthony’s Fire. World History Encyclopedia. Available online at  https://www.worldhistory.org/St_Anthony’s_Fire/.

Mariani, Mike. 2018. Why are exorcisms on the rise? The Atlantic (December). Available online at https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/12/catholic-exorcisms-on-the-rise/573943/.

McKay, Crowston, and Perry Wiesner-Hanks. 2017. A History of Western Society, 12th Edition, Vol I. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s Macmillian Learning.

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“Paris; Boston; August; National Assembly; Mayor; King.” South Carolina Gazette. Columbia, South Carolina. no. 35, November 10, 1792: [3]. NewsBank: Access World News—Historical and Current.

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Scott, H. Allen. 2019. More than 45 percent of Americans believe demons and ghosts are real: Survey. Newsweek (October 21). Available online at https://www.newsweek.com/more-45-percent-americans-believe-demons-ghosts-are-real-survey-1466743.