Occult Oil Region
- Lydia Seaton
- Oct 22
- 5 min read
Margaret Mattson, a Swedish immigrant, was accused of witchcraft during the winter of 1684 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Neighbors and acquaintances said that she could bewitch cows and livestock, appear in spectral form, knew the dark arts, and was generally threatening.
She was taken to trial for these accusations in what would go on to be the only officially recorded trial in the history of Pennsylvania for witchcraft. Mattson pleaded not guilty to the charges before her. The trial took place in February of the same year, overseen by William Penn.
While overseeing the trial, Penn allegedly asked Mattson if she had ever ridden a broomstick. Mattson, who had poor English, did not understand the question and answered “Yes.”
Penn reportedly responded by stating that there were no laws against riding broomsticks.
Mattson was found guilty of having the “fame” of a witch, but not guilty of being a witch in “manner or form.” She was fined fifty pounds and released to her husband. Penn’s deeply held pacifist Quaker beliefs helped to produce the “not guilty” verdict, as well as his knowledge of the ongoing and historical witchcraft persecutions in Europe. He did not want to see the same fate occur in Pennsylvania. Despite going free, Mattson lives on in history as the “Witch of Ridley Creek.” It is believed Mattson’s neighbors were jealous of her land and disliked her Swedish heritage.
So that is all of PA’s witchcraft history, right? Not quite. . .
Despite the precedent set with Margaret Mattson’s trial, Pennsylvania was not immune to witchcraft hysteria.
While William Penn wanted to see Pennsylvania flourish as a land of religious freedom and coexistence with indigenous peoples, he was soon outnumbered by a variety of citizens who did not hold the same belief sets and had differing opinions on how to handle social issues, like witches.
Venango County was also a place that had witchcraft hysteria. The first public execution in the county took place along the French Creek when a young Native American woman was charged with witchcraft. A council was held not far from Fort Machault. It was here that the girl's peers condemned her to death. An executioner was appointed who “led her out a few paces and plunged a knife into her heart.” The young girl was said to have met her fate with “stoic indifference.”
There are also records of witch-doctors and charmers in the region. One story describes
a child being “bitten by a rattlesnake.” The parents of the child traveled several miles on foot to a “pretender of charms, [...] a witch-doctor” who worked to cure the child with "a charm." Soldiers were also known to visit such charmers before wars, where the charmers and witch-doctors would “induce” the men with a charm against bullets on the battlefield.
Another accusation of a witch occurred near Dempseytown in the 19th century. A “young woman of very respectable parentage” was allegedly bewitched. Native to Sunville, the girl was said to have to become “affected [in her mind] and at times appear partially deranged.” Due to the girl’s odd behaviors and fits, the belief that she was indeed bewitched spread through the area by the “hundreds,” with most townsfolk in agreement of her predicament. The town fell into chaos and turmoil due to fear of the situation.
Witch-doctors were called to treat the girl. They “tried their skill” but were soon “baffled with the case,” unable to treat her. Next, the town located a “seventh son” named George Shunk. A “seventh son” refers to a folklore belief that a male born into a “specific, unbroken lineage of sons” can possess supernatural powers like healing and clairvoyance. It was believed that the purity of Shunk’s birth would frighten the evil out of the girl. One of Shunk's main strategies for ridding the girl of evil was to have her point to where the witch was in a room. Then, Shunk would aim at the space with a club in an attempt to hit and kill the invisible witch. All attempts were unsuccessful.
When the townspeople discovered that witches were allegedly “unable to cross running water,” they brought the girl to Sugar Creek in Dempseytown. The townspeople, however, failed to clear the driftwood from the creek, foiling this plan.
Witch-doctors arrived to help again, this time tying knives across all cracks and openings in the house where the girl lived. They also nailed horseshoes above doors and did “many other things to outwit the devil.” None of their tactics were successful, however.
One evening, a soldier came to meet the girl. A veteran of the War of 1812, the soldier proclaimed that he did not “feel afraid of the witch or anything else.” The soldier began to speak with the girl, declaring that he could “destroy all the witches on Earth.” He challenged the witch to come forward and challenge him, saying that he could “tear it to atoms.” The witch made no appearance.
Throughout the day, the girl would appear “composed and in her right mind.” After dark, however, “the spell would subject her.” Neighbors began coming to the girl’s home to “get a view of the performance,” where they would "pity her, express astonishment, and go away believing in witchcraft.”
The delusion became increasingly contagious around town, with even the “most esteemed neighbors" becoming “insane” on the subject. Between witch-doctors, seventh-sons, clergy, and soldiers, it was said that “every known charm or exorcism or even prayer was resorted to” so that the “evil spirit might be driven out, but all efforts proved a failure.”
Even the girl's home became a spot of controversy, with neighbors claiming that “strange and unnatural things were seen all around the house.” They believed that the “whole premises [had] become a rendezvous for live spirits.”
In an act of desperation, a man who had been a “witch-killer” in Germany came to Venango County in an attempt to drive the evil spirit from the girl; however, he quickly discovered that all attempts were futile. The witch-killer said he could “master the witches in Germany, but in America, the witches are too [...] cunning.”
Eventually, the delusion “seemed to wear itself out” as multiple defamation and immoral conduct lawsuits were filed.
“Surely the belief in witchcraft is the end of wisdom. It proclaims a kind of mental horror; dethrones reason and banishes all that is moral and manly.”
After the incident, one witness remarked, “I saw the bewitched girl and talked to her. She was of medium size; florid countenance; sanguine temperament, and a cheerful disposition.” The girl disclosed that she had never seen a witch and did not think she was bewitched until everyone began telling her so. The girl reported that when the “spells came on, she had a roaring sound in her ears.” Her vision would also become doubled. She was quickly cured by medical aid, after which she continued with her life and eventually married.
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