East Wheeling Babies Bewitched

In October of 1874, tragedy struck the East Wheeling, WV neighborhood along Alley 16. Seven babies from seven different families took ill with an unknown malady, resulting in the death of one of them. It was feared that the remaining six would also not survive, but instead of calling in a medical doctor to treat the children, the superstitious families turned to a different route.

Believing the babies were bewitched, a woman “known to possess much influence with superstitious persons” was called in to drive out the evil spirits that were making the babies sick. Among the ‘treatment’ was turning the children’s left stocking inside out, and advising the families to keep their doors locked, their keyholes blocked, and to avoid loaning anything to each other for fear that it could contain an attached evil spirit. 

The author of the article, which appeared in the 30 October 1874 edition of the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer  did not hold back, saying how absurd and humiliating this belief in witchcraft is, and that these poor babies are surely to suffer because of their parents’ ignorance.  To add further insult to injury, in the month following, this story got picked up by newspapers around the country, all of which were eager to share how ignorant and superstitious those West Virginia mountain-folk are.