Hex

by Arthur H. Lewis

Paper Book, 1969

Status

Available

Call number

133.4

Collection

Publication

New York : Trident Press, 1969.

Description

In November 1928, in a sparsely settled area of York County, Pennsylvania, Nelson Rehmeyer, a self-proclaimed witch, was bludgeoned to death. Two days later his body was discovered and the murders apprehended. The accused were thirty two-year-old John Blymire, also a practitioner of witchcraft, John Curry, aged fourteen, and Wilbert Hess, aged eighteen. Their confessions revealed their belief in wtichcraft led to the murder. They believed that Rehmeyer had hexed them. When this case went to court it created headlines across the country. This book looks at this case and at how witchcraft is being practiced, even today, through the Pennsylvania Dutch country.

User reviews

LibraryThing member awholtzapple
"Hex" tells the true story of what happened in Southern York County in November of 1928 - the murder of a hermit pow-wow doctor by 3 men who thought he had hexed them and their families. The author does a wonderful good job of telling the story in such a way that, without straying away from the
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facts, could lead the reader to believe he is reading a work of pure fiction. The story is fantastic and the fact that it took place a mere 80 odd years ago will really amaze you to see how we've grown as a people.

I also recommend "Trials of Hex" by J. Ross McGinnis. "Trials" looks at the story more from the legal perspective and 90% of that book talks about the court case (it was written by a York lawyer). This book however, splits time between the culture and the murder (60% of book) and the trials that lead to the 3 assailants prison sentences (40% of book). Definitely worth reading if you are fortunate enough to find a good used copy.
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Language

Physical description

255 p.; 22 cm

ISBN

0671270192 / 9780671270193

Local notes

some foxing, made into a film Apprentice to Murder (1988)

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