The Amish community is known for its simplicity and adherence to traditional ways of life. Witchcraft and magic are generally considered to be outside the realms of Amish tradition and culture. The Amish people typically rely on their strong faith and the teachings of the Bible to guide their lives. However, it is important to note that not all Amish communities are exactly the same, and there may be variations in beliefs and practices from one community to another. Additionally, individual personal beliefs and opinions can differ among members of the Amish community. Given the focus on simplicity and traditional values, it is highly unlikely that the Amish would associate themselves with the concept of witches or use any Amish witch names.
Chesterville Witch's Grave
Like all good urban legends, there are several versions of the story, and the legend of the Chesterville Witch is no exception. The basic premise is that a lady for some reason was accused of witchcraft, and subsequently murdered/executed due to the fear generated by the accusation.
In one of the first versions of the story that I heard, around the year 1900 an elderly woman in front of her Amish community, openly professed of being a witch and communing with the devil. A week later she was found murdered in a nearby farm field. The community was so relieved of her death that no one ever bothered to investigate her murder.
In yet another version of the legend, sometime in the mid-1800’s a woman openly disputed the teachings of her Amish faith. Overly zealous members of her Amish community were offended by her objections and accused of her being a witch. Members of her community started shunning her, and eventually, enough people believed the accusations of witchcraft, that they tried, convicted, and sentenced her to hang.
In a third version of the legend, there was a lady in the mid-1800’s that was a well-known healer. Not only was she a gifted healer, but she had an uncanny knowledge of local flora. She would often make remedies for her patients from plants and items she gathered from the forest. After a prominent member of the community had died a mysterious and unusual death. The healer was accused of murder and of being a witch. Her accusers claimed she killed the man by either making casting an evil spell or by brewing a deadly concoction. She was soon tried for witchcraft, summarily found guilty, and put to death for supposed her crimes.
According to the rest of the legend, the accused witch was buried in the Chesterville Cemetery, and a tree was planted on top her grave. It is believed that by planting a tree on top of a person’s grave, its roots will trap their soul. As long as the tree is alive, she will be bound to her grave.
The name of the accused witch and the date of her death are unknown because her headstone is missing. The questions I have about the urban legend is why is there a wrought iron fence surrounding her grave? Obviously, someone thought enough about her to decorate her grave. If she was truly a witch, why is she buried in consecrated ground? To be a witch, one must deny Christ by communing with the Devil, thus damning her soul for all eternity. Also if the members of the community feared her of being a witch, why would they bury her in the town cemetery with the rest of the community? Why would they mark her grave with a headstone? If they feared her to be a witch and bind her soul with the planting of a tree, wouldn’t make sense to have buried her in an unmarked grave in an unknown location? I would think that if they feared her of being a witch, they would want the memory of her too quickly fade away; not bury her where she can be remembered and memorialized.
People still believe in the legend of the Chesterville Witch, because saw marks are noticeable in the tree’s bark. The only reason why someone would attempt to cut down the tree on top of her grave would be to release her soul from captivity. Also, trees are living things, and their existence is finite. So eventually the tree will die, and the witch’s vengeful soul will escape. Sometime in the future, the Chesterville Witch will escape and get and to take her revenge on the community that murdered her and imprisoned her soul.
The Chesterville “Witch’s Grave”
Chesterville is a small Amish and Mennonite community in east-central Illinois consisting of no more than a few dozen houses. If you are traveling from the direction of Arcola (the nearest town), you will have to cross the Kaskaskia River twice to get to Chesterville Cemetery, once on Route 133 and once over an old one-lane bridge just north of town.
Within the neatly trimmed grounds of Chesterville Cemetery, an old oak tree stands at the edge of the woods that separates the graveyard from the river. The peculiar thing about this tree is the iron fence that surrounds it, and the old stone marker that no longer bears a name.
According to author Troy Taylor, this is the grave of a woman who turned up dead after being accused of witchcraft in the early 1900s after she challenged the conservative views of the local Amish church elders. The town planted a tree over her grave to trap her spirit inside and prevent her from taking revenge (picture something like the opening scene of Ernest Scared Stupid… “and here ye shall be buried…”).
Her ghost can still be seen from time to time hanging around the area. However, an alternative theory exists that the grave’s occupant was a young woman who lived during the mid-1800s and was reputed to possess healing powers, as well as the ability to control humans and animals. When she died of natural causes, her father planted a tree near her grave to preserve her spirit.
This is not an unlikely story, as there are a few other examples of the graves of girls around Illinois who allegedly possessed healing powers, such as the grave of Mary Alice Quinn in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Worth, Illinois. Planting an oak tree over the grave of a loved one has Biblical roots, and would have been reserved for someone who was especially cherished by the community.
In Genesis 35:8, Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under an oak tree. The deeply religious Amish would certainly have been familiar with this practice. As Chad Lewis and Terry Fisk pointed out in their book The Illinois Road Guide to Haunted Locations (2007), however, Chesterville Cemetery is not an Amish cemetery.
They also have their own take on the version of the story involving the girl with healing powers. In that version, the girl was shunned for her abilities. Like the “witch’s grave” in St. Omer Cemetery outside Ashmore, and the “warlock’s grave” near Effingham in Ramsey Cemetery, the grave in Chesterville Cemetery is probably the victim of active imaginations.
It seems every unique gravesite has a story, and accusations of witchcraft have just enough ambiguity to keep the tale alive. After all, it would be difficult to prove the person buried there was not accused of witchcraft.
On the other hand, Troy Taylor alleged to possess convincing testimony from people in the community who not only corroborated his version of events, but who also claimed to have seen the ghost of the woman! Until more people come forward, we may never know for sure.
Further Reading
- Lewis, Chad and Terry Fisk. The Illinois Road Guide to Haunted Locations. Eau Claire: Unexplained Research Publishing, 2007.
- Taylor, Troy. Haunted Illinois: Travel Guide to the History and Hauntings of the Prairie State. Alton: Whitechapel Productions Press, 2004.
Silly Season: More About "Amish Witches"
A publicity photo from Lifetime's new movie "Amish Witches".
By Kevin Williams
Okay, it's silly season in TV land. or, maybe I should say the folks Hot Snakes Media drank the spiked punch again to deliver us the gem of a program airing this weekend on Lifetime: Amish Witches: The True Story of Holmes County.
You know, I might be more genuinely curious about this show's genesis and premise if I didn't know that it was produced by Hot Snakes Media, the same production company that brought us Amish Mafia and Breaking Amish. Of course, Amish Mafia is pure fiction. There is no such thing. Hot Snakes are a Hollywood production company cashing in on interest in the Amish. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. This is a capitalistic economy and they've found their niche. Where I DO have a problem, though, is in their marketing of stuff as "true." There is no true story of widespread witchcraft among the Amish in Holmes County, or anywhere else. Wiccan is its own religion and it shares theological overlap with Anabaptism. Now, in slight, slight, slight, "defense" of this show's premise, there are more historical instances of witchcraft appearing in Pennsylvania Dutch lore, but, as we have discussed on this site ad nauseum, the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch are not the same. Most Amish fall under the umbrella term Pennsylvania Dutch, but not all PA Dutch are Amish by any means.
So, this may be the most entertaining show ever and, if so, great, watch it, enjoy it, just know that there is no "reality" to it. There is nothing wrong with good fiction. Fiction is just that fiction, stories about Godzilla, space creatures, gnomes, talking animals, and Amish witches. Nothing real about it.
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There is one case where a young Amish girl may have been labeled a "witch" near Arthur, Illinois and you can read more about it here, but to me it sounds more like a case of misuse of the word "witch" and was just a case hysteria a la Salem. You can click here to read my original article about the Chesterfield Witch. The Inquistr linked to my article and they were about to find a bit more info about the Chesterfield Witch, not much, but a bit more info. This is a pretty flimsy premise to build a "true story" upon. So, again, if you choose to watch " Amish Witches: The True Story of Holmes County" on TLC this weekend, know that it is pure fiction. I've been visiting Amish communities for over a quarter century, including scouring the hills of Holmes County, if witchcraft were present I think I would have heard about it.
Show airs Saturday night at 8 p.m. on Lifetime.
Amish witch name
Chesterville Witch's Grave
Near Arcola, Illinois
A tree grows directly from the grave of a "witch" buried in this village cemetery. Many local residents believe that if the tree is cut down or destroyed, the ghost of the witch will leave her grave and seek revenge on those who caused her death.
By Troy Taylor
Chesterville is a small town that no longer appears on maps of the state. The village still exists though and is located just west of Arcola, which is in the heart of Illinois Amish country. Most of the remaining residents of the town are of the Amish and Mennonite faiths, religious orders that shun the use of electricity and modern conveniences.
Located just outside of the village, and across an ancient, one-lane bridge, is the small Chesterville Cemetery. It is in this secluded graveyard that a traveler can find a "witch's grave". The story goes that it once belonged to a young woman who was regarded as a witch in the community. Her ghost is rumored to still appear nearby.
According to the stories, the grave belongs to a woman who once lived in Chesterville, although her name is no longer recalled. She was very liberal-minded and liked to challenge the Amish faith, speaking out against the treatment of women in the area. Thanks to this, she was branded "a witch". She continued to disobey the elders of the church and was banished. As few ever questioned the decisions made by the church elders, rumors quickly spread through the community that she practiced witchcraft, was a servant of the devil and worse. Soon after, she disappeared.
A short time after she vanished, the woman was discovered dead in a farmer's field. Regardless of what may have happened, the authorities ruled that her death was from natural causes. The body was placed in the local funeral home and people from all over the countryside came to view the "witch's body". They were terrified that she would come back to life.
Eventually, she was buried in the Chesterville Cemetery and a tree was planted on her grave so that her spirit would be trapped in the tree. Today, that tree still stands and many still believe that if the tree ever dies, or is cut down, the "witch's" spirit will escape and take her revenge on the town. A fence was later placed around the grave site to make sure that people stayed away from it.
Since that time, the witch has allegedly appeared to passersby and visitors to the cemetery, although thanks to the tree, she is confined to the area around her grave. A number of stories have been told about this cemetery, involving actual sightings and reports that lead some to believe the story of the "Chesterville witch" may not be just a folk tale after all!
Chesterville is located just west of Arcola, Illinois. The cemetery can be found by turning north at Chesterville and then taking the fork in the road to the right. Follow that road across the bridge to the cemetery.
© Copyright 2000 by Troy Taylor. All Rights Reserved.
For more information about Troy Taylor, visit his website:
Given the focus on simplicity and traditional values, it is highly unlikely that the Amish would associate themselves with the concept of witches or use any Amish witch names. Witchcraft and similar practices are generally considered to be incompatible with Amish religious beliefs and principles. It is always important to approach topics like these with sensitivity and respect for different cultural and religious beliefs.
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Reviews for "Amish Witch Names: Preserving Ancient Wisdom in Modern Times"
1) Sarah - 1 star
I found "Amish witch name" to be a complete waste of time. The storyline was predictable and lacked originality. The characters were one-dimensional, and I couldn't connect with any of them. The writing style was also quite basic and lacked depth. I was expecting a unique blend of Amish culture and witchcraft, but instead, I got a cliché and poorly executed narrative. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and well-written story.
2) John - 2 stars
I had high hopes for "Amish witch name," but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The concept of merging the Amish lifestyle with witchcraft seemed intriguing, but the execution was lackluster. The pacing of the story was off, with long stretches of mundane and unnecessary details. The characters lacked depth, and their actions often felt forced. Additionally, the writing style was too simplistic, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. Overall, I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it to others.
3) Emily - 2 stars
"Amish witch name" had an interesting premise, but it failed to deliver on its potential. The writing felt amateurish, with awkward dialogue and repetitive descriptions. The plot lacked coherence and direction, making it difficult to stay engaged. The world-building was also underdeveloped, leaving many unanswered questions. While I appreciated the attempt to combine two unique elements, the execution left much to be desired. I was left feeling unsatisfied and would not recommend this book to fans of either Amish fiction or witchcraft.
4) Michael - 2 stars
I have always been fascinated by both Amish culture and witchcraft, so I was excited to read "Amish witch name." However, I found the book to be underwhelming. The pacing was slow, and the plot lacked depth. The characters felt one-dimensional and their motives were not well explored. Additionally, the romantic subplot felt forced and unrealistic. While the concept was intriguing, the execution was lackluster, and I was left feeling disappointed. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone seeking a captivating and well-crafted story.
5) Rachel - 1 star
I regret picking up "Amish witch name" as it was a total disappointment. The writing was poor, with numerous grammatical errors and awkward sentence structures. The plot was predictable and lacked any surprises. The characters were flat and lacked development, making it difficult to become invested in their journeys. The attempt to blend the Amish lifestyle with witchcraft felt forced and unnatural. Overall, I found this book to be a tedious read, and I would not recommend it to anyone.