"THERE'S WITCHCRAFT IN PENNSYLVANIA AND WHEREVER ELSE YOU WANT TO FIND IT--IN AMERICA!" "Preposterous;" "I don't believe it;" "Impossible;" "Nothing to it;" "Well, I know where;" "They say it's true;" "She's an old Witch," or, "He's a Devil"--sayings like these may be heard on all sides when a subject such as this is brought up.

"There may have been 'witchcraft' of a sort a few generations ago, but is this still practiced among the Pennsylvania Germans?" is not an uncommon query when strangers come into the Keystone State.

Quite often, yes, more frequently than not, you will get an affirmative reply from those who profess to know something about such matters. Furthermore, there is considerable basis in fact for the general belief that "witchcraft" still prevails in one of the most enlightened states and sections of the country.

But why does it "hang on?"

Why?--Persistency in any form of witchcraft as it prevails in the minds of men and women today, is that they haven't taken steps to inquire into the subject--as to whether there is really any such thing as a "witch," and, what it might be.

Let us carefully examine what we can learn about them, as defined in the "Century Dictionary:"

Witch, n. A man or woman. 1. A person (of either sex) given to the black art; a sorcerer; a conjuror; a wizard; later and more particularly, a woman supposed to have formed a compact with the devil or with evil spirits, and to be able by their aid to operate supernaturally; one who practises sorcery or enchantment; a sorceress.
2. An old, ugly, and crabbed or malignant woman; a hag; a crone: a term of abuse.
3. A fascinating woman; a woman, especially a young woman or a girl, possessed of peculiar attractions, whether of beauty or of manners; a bewitching or charming young woman or girl.
4. A charm or spell.

The reader will note, and it may be generally recognized that not only an ugly woman, but a young, attractive one, too, can bewitch, or be bewitching; i. e., "do things to you!" This is a radical departure from the general belief that only old women, or sometimes old men, can "bewitch."

These refer to witches in the flesh; then there are those which cannot be seen, but according to some people, can be felt; i. e., can do bodily harm, though they are only of the "spirit."

The "Century Dictionary" says still further, regarding an

Apparition, n. An appearance, epiphany, also attendants. 1. The act of appearing or coming into sight; appearance; the state of being visible; visibility. 2. That which appears or becomes visible; an appearance, especially of a remarkable or phenomenal kind. Specifically--3. A ghostly appearance; a specter or phantom: now the usual sense of the word.

It will serve to keep the record straight to review briefly the meaning of

Superstition, n. An ignorant or irrational fear of that which is unknown or mysterious; especially, such fear of some invisible existence or existences; specifically, religious belief or practice, or both, founded on irrational fear or credulity; excessive or unreasonable religious scruples produced by credulous fears.

"Where there is any religion, the devil will plant superstition," says Burton, in "Anatomy of Melancholy."

Lowell says, in "Among My Books," first series, (p. 92): "A superstition, as it's name imports, is something that has been left over, like unfinished business, from one session of the world's witenagemot to the next."

One cannot be sure at all as to how many sessions of the world's "witenagemot" we have already had, but, whatever the number, we still have the fears of men and women, scarcely alleviated in all the history of the world. After life, death--then what? We have assurances of all kinds, to be sure, but, as individuals we have yet to test these assurances!

The philosophy of many centuries that instilled both hope and fear into the heart of man, left him with the two well known spirits to swing and sway his thoughts, as we see the swaying of leaves on the trees.

Frankly, can there be any religion or philosophy which does not preach or teach that there is good and bad, both?--that if we have "angels" we must have "witches" or some other equivalent to offset the other force?

We have in Pennsylvania, and in America, many men and women who belong to the same church as their parents and grandparents, which brings out the thought we have in mind, viz: "What was good enough for them is good enough for me!"

Mosaic Influence Still Impelling.--Our social and religious backgrounds are primarily Mosaic--where-ever we find ourselves in the Western civilization. Yet Moses, whoever he was, had to rescue what he could in philosophy and truth from a past fraught with pagan ideas. Many of those old pagan ideas are today still our ideas.

It requires little knowledge to satisfy the average person that it is very difficult, if not impossible to put one's fingers on a "spirit" (or a "soul")--yet, isn't that what we do when we "dissect" such ideas as witches, angels, and souls, and tell our friends that we have been, or others have been "visited" by angels, or witches--or that a "certain soul" actually went to heaven, or to hell?

It is a certainty that men and women over-imagine too many ideas dealing with things and ideas, not actually of the solid earth; or that cannot be taken apart and analyzed.

As defined by the dictionary, we, too, are in hearty accord in the conclusion that witchcraft is derived from "suppositions," "suggestions," "imaginations," or "pipe-dreams" of simple folk.

Now "simple folk" are not always to be indicated as being persons who do not agree with the personal views of the reader, or the writer!

There are many professional men and women whose manners and conduct in life suggest to the layman that there can be "simpleness" among the learned, too!

Witches Active in Middle Ages.--In the middle ages in Europe there was great activity in "witchcraft." Then came a time when the Popes took cognizance of the practices to which the layman of the church, and outsiders, were resorting--certain functions generally reserved for the priesthood.

Following Papal Bulls in 1233 and 1484, thousands upon thousands of innocent people were put to death, as they are in Europe today--because they happened to live at the time some "master" of misguided religious or political philosophy cared little whether the people "would be better off dead, than alive."

There may be considerable division among people relative to the term "witch;" some will want to class it with devils, or demons. There may be other forms which some would want to employ to describe the opposite of an angel. Now, so far as most of us are concerned, the latter have been described largely through artists' conceptions, which, as in the case of devils, leave much in doubt, and to the imagination as well.

Europeans Knew About Witches.--The earliest settlers of America--Spanish, English, Dutch, Swedes, French, German, etc., all had a "working knowledge," generally speaking, of religious backgrounds, especially respecting good and bad--angels and witches. Most of the books brought to America by either of the above races were of a religious nature, having, of course, general rules for religious behavior, if not of a moral and civil behavior, as well.

Today, as in the earliest colonial days, it matters little whether one gets his religious knowledge in the public schools, or parochial schools; in the home, or directly from religious publications.

The knowledge available to all, even to the unlearned, or unschooled, is so widespread as to convey certain religious philosophies to the layman.

He doesn't have to know the law of God, nor of man, to understand that the normal laws of society forbid that he should kill his fellow man. Some are thus held in restraint, but when a man wants to kill--he'll do it!

But one of the sins of society is that so many men (and women) of sound mental knowledge and able to reason, are killers, and who escape the just punishment for their crime. "Extenuating circumstances;" "passion;" "mentally unsound;" and "drunkenness!" We would like to use a remark attributed to the late President Lincoln, which propriety forbids our using here; it isn't often that his language may be too expressive--even if only about "horses."

Bible Basis for Strong Beliefs.--If a christian anywhere, particularly a protestant christian, wishes to know the fundamental law on "behavior" he sooner or later goes to the Scriptures for "light." Surely the reader will not question our ethics in bringing this phase of the subject to any one's attention.

Rev. P. Marion Simms, Ph. D., in his very enlightening and comprehensive account of "The Bible in America," says:

The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church differ in many things, but nowhere more widely than the place they assign the Bible, and in the right of its private interpretation . . . By this means they (the former) think to avoid the dangers involved . . .

The old time conception, once held well-nigh universally among Christians, that the Bible is the very Word of God, verbally dictated by the Lord himself and infallible in its every statement, has been responsible for more misuse of the Bible than all other influences put together . . .

Therefore, with entire consistency, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," (Exodus 22:18) was made the basis of the persecution of witches, with all its horrors. This Scripture was the chief authority for the execution of witches everywhere; and it is only a modified conception of the Bible that can release the church from the obligation of witch hunting today. Changing the translation to "sorceress" does not affect the authority of the commandment . . . The stories of the persecution of witches and that of the Inquisition could be written only with a pen dipped in blood and tears and yet it came legitimately from the old time conception and interpretation of the Bible. All persecutions by Christians in America, as elsewhere, were supported always by quotations from the Bible.

And so, because it is true that the vast majority of the early settlers of America were men who read the Bible, and imparted its truths and lessons of all kinds to their children, and no less to their grandchildren, we have today in America, the hodge-podge which was Europe. The various races have handed to each succeeding generation their pet notions in everything.