A CAPE FEAR UNEARTHED HALLOWEEN, EP. 3 

Witches have become icons of Halloween, but in colonial America, they were something to be feared.

With the dawn of America and in the generations that followed, North Carolina protected itself against the perceived threat of witchcraft by establishing laws to try cases and accusations. But more telling was how the concern over witches embedded itself in the state's folklore, where stories of rituals and markings illustrate just how much the minions of the dark were feared.

In this episode, we will look at how one Cape Fear resident was granted the power to try witch cases, what folklore exists regarding witchcraft and how there were laws against witchcraft-like practices on the books in the state until more recently than you might think.

Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.

The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating & Air Conditioning.

Sources:

-- "Witchcraft in North Carolina," by Tom Peete Cross

-- Louis T. Moore research, New Hanover County Library

-- "Bewitched from the Start," N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

-- North Carolina Folklore Society Journals

-- "Witches and Demons in History and Folklore," by F. Roy Johnson 

A CAPE FEAR UNEARTHED HALLOWEEN, EP. 3&nbsp;
Witches have become icons of Halloween, but in colonial America, they were something to be feared.
With the dawn of America and in the generations that followed, North Carolina protected itself against the perceived threat of witchcraft by establishing laws to try cases and accusations. But more telling was how the concern over witches embedded itself in the state's folklore, where stories of rituals and markings illustrate just how much the minions of the dark were feared.
In this episode, we will look at how one Cape Fear resident was granted the power to try witch cases, what folklore exists regarding witchcraft and how there were laws against witchcraft-like practices on the books in the state until more recently than you might think.
Cape Fear Unearthed is written, edited and hosted by Hunter Ingram. Additional editing by Adam Fish.
The show is sponsored by Northchase Family Dentistry and Tidewater Heating &amp; Air Conditioning.
Sources:
-- "Witchcraft in North Carolina," by Tom Peete Cross
-- Louis T. Moore research, New Hanover County Library
-- "Bewitched from the Start," N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
-- North Carolina Folklore Society Journals
-- "Witches and Demons in History and Folklore," by F. Roy Johnson&nbsp;

StarNews Media Presents "Cape Fear Unearthed," a podcast digging into the history books of Southeastern North Carolina. The weekly podcast will feature stories drawn from the region's persisting legends, historical oddities and mysterious figures that have helped shape its legacy and culture.

Cape Fear Unearthed

In colonial and antebellum America, witchcraft was a thing to be feared. North Carolina never had its own Salem Witch Trials, but it did keep laws on the books to address witches and the state's folklore is littered with traditions regarding the minions of the dark.

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