Blair Witch

{{Legend }} "Oh yeah, that's an old, old, old story."
 * image=
 * name=Blair Witch
 * first=November 1786
 * last=October 20-21, 1994
 * association=* Blair, Maryland
 * Elly Kedward
 * Black Hills Forest
 * Coffin Rock
 * Okee
 * Burkittsville, Maryland

- Burkittsville resident about the Blair Witch legend

The Blair Witch is a mysterious force and legend that originated in the area of Blair, Maryland and the surrounding Black Hills Forest. The Native Americans were said to be cautious of the woods due to a perceived great evil that inhabited them. Later, the legend was given its name when a woman accused of being a witch, Elly Kedward, was banished from Blair and died of exposure in the woods—it was thought by the townspeople that she cursed the land.

Pre-colonial era
The Native Americans attributed the evil in the woods to the god Okee, who was a devourer of children.

Burkittsville
The legend of the Blair Witch was frequently told as a cautionary tale to children in Burkittsville in order to discourage them from going out at night or staying up too late.

One particular story said that two hunters, who camped out near the cabin the witch was said to haunt, vanished into thin air and were never heard from again.

Another story, told by Mary Brown, suggested that the witch appeared to her near Tappy East Creek.

Despite the fame of the legend and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the 1940s disappearance of seven children, many in Burkittsville don't believed in the witch. Those who do believe, however, often refuse to go up into the woods.

Haunting
The Blair Witch haunting manifests in a variety of forms. The following are a few of the forms it takes:
 * Bundles of sticks hanging from the trees.
 * The appearance of stone cairns.
 * The voices of small children and baby screams.
 * Footsteps, branches snapping.
 * The appearance of slime on the equipment.
 * Kidnappings and eventual death.