The Witch of Monogahela

Photo taken at Depreciation Lands Museum

Sometimes it's the smaller towns that have the richest history. Including haunted history.

One such town is one hidden among the steel city of Pittsburgh, PA, just among the Monongahela River. The town of Monongahela.

Now those of you that follow me on social media, my blogs and my website, you likely know that I am a re-enactor of history at the Depreciation Lands Museum in AllisonPark, among a couple other sites and reenactment groups. I have also spoken about The Deacon, the museum's benevolent resident ghost, which I will be doing a full video on for my new vlogging channel, Tiffany After Hours.
Now every Halloween, the museum puts on their Lantern Tours each year with an ever changing theme. A couple years ago, the theme was a dramatized reenacting of the witch trial of real life 17th century accused 'witch', Mary Bliss Parsons in Colonial America.

And I had the honor of portraying Mary Parsons.

Now as I was reading over the script for the Mary Parsons witch trial tour and doing research, I came across another interesting figure (also portrayed in the lantern tours event); Mary or "Moll" Derry, who was also known as the Fortune Teller of the Revolution and/or The Witch of Monongahela.

According to a brief description in a sample from Thomas White's book, Witches of Pennsylvania: Occult History and Lore (a book I definitely recommend reading), Derry was born in Germany during the year 1760. During the Revolutionary War, she moved to America with her husband, who was a Hessian soldier.
After the war ended, they moved to Fayette County in the 1790s. It is said that Derry lived in Georges Township until her death from old age in 1843 (which would have made her 83 at the time of her death).

Throughout her lifetime, Derry was said to have told fortunes, removed hexes, and cured ailments. There is even a story of how she tried to help a young woman by warning that young woman of what seemed to be an abusive fiance. Unfortunately, the young woman did not listen and she was later found dead. Derry was also said to have a vengeful side to her, and pity the fools that dared cross her. There are many stories of curses and affliction place upon those that angered Derry, from farmers having their livestock mysteriously perish to men that tormented her having their lives cut short by hanging.
Either way, her reputation as "the most well-known witch of the western side of the [Pennsylvania] state" made her a legend long before her earthly life ended.
What is even more curious is that in a time that is known to severely frown upon practices of any type of magic, Derry (and probably even others) managed to somehow slip beneath the radar of the witchhunts and trials. It is suggested that perhaps people feared crossing her just that much. It definitely makes you wonder. Then again, history really is a giant, mysterious labyrinth with many different and unexpected twists and turns.

I will be talking more of Moll Derry and the legends behind her on my new Tiffany After Hours channel. Swing by and subscribe if you haven't yet!