The Witch of the Monongahela: Folk Magic in Early Western Pennsylvania by Thomas White

Arcadia Publishing

In the ancient hills and misty hollows of Fayette County, Pennsylvania, generations of locals have passed down stories of a woman with mysterious magical powers. People came from near and far to seek healing and protection through her strange rituals. Some even believed she could fly. Named Moll Derry and nicknamed the Witch of the Monongahela, her legend has been documented by writers and folklorists for more than two hundred years. She is intertwined in many regional tales, such as the Lost Children of the Alleghenies and Polly Williams and the White Rocks. Author Thomas White separates fact from fiction in the many versions of Moll Derry and recounts Western Pennsylvania’s folk magic history along the way.

Thomas White is the university archivist and curator of special collections in the Gumberg Library at Duquesne University. He is also an adjunct lecturer in Duquesne’s History Department and an adjunct professor of history at La Roche University. White received a master’s degree in public history from Duquesne University. Besides the folklore and history of Pennsylvania, his areas of interest include public history, American cultural history and the occult. He is the award-winning author of ten other books, including Legends and Lore of Western Pennsylvania, Forgotten Tales of Pennsylvania, Ghosts of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh, Forgotten Tales of Philadelphia (coauthored with Edward White), Gangs and Outlaws of Western Pennsylvania (coauthored with Michael Hassett), A Higher Perspective: 100 Years of Business Education at Duquesne University, Witches of Pennsylvania: Occult History and Lore, Supernatural Lore of Pennsylvania: Ghosts, Monsters and Miracles (editor) and Haunted Roads of Western Pennsylvania (coauthored with Tony Lavorgne).