Ep:29 Season of the Witch : Virginia Witch Trials and The Witch of Pungo

Step back into colonial Virginia, where fear and superstition once held sway over the courts. In this chilling episode of The Hauntological Society, we explore the story of Grace Sherwood, forever remembered as the Witch of Pungo. Accused of witchcraft in the early 1700s, she endured suspicion, betrayal, and even the infamous “ducking test,” becoming the central figure in Virginia’s only recorded witch trial. Beyond her tale, we uncover the broader history of witch trials in the Old Dominion—how echoes of Salem spread southward, feeding paranoia in the tidewater plantations and shadowy pine forests.As Halloween approaches, we conjure the atmosphere of a world where whispered curses could ruin reputations, where neighbors turned on one another, and where the line between folklore and fear was razor thin. Join us as we summon the spectral memory of the Witch of Pungo, and ask: what lingers still in the marshes of Virginia?