If any of us hear about the witch Blair, surely come to mind some images of that horror movie, released in 1999 with a very low production budget, directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez and how successful harvested by then in the whole world. However, Sanchez and Myrick were based on a legend that arose around a woman that many claim was real: Elly Kedward. What happened to Elly to be branded as a witch? What terrible events have occurred in the last 300 years in certain forests of Maryland, United States? What is the origin of this famous curse❓

It seems that the origins of the legend begin in Maryland , in the forests of the Black Hills , a place where, according to the traditions of the area, not even Native American tribes dared to enter. So much so, that around the year 1630, Colonel Nathaniel Blair led an expedition to cross it, in order to find a suitable place for the construction of a fort. Nathaniel asked a tribe from that area for help and in response they sabotaged his expedition. In spite of this, Blair and his men built the fort that they baptized with the surname of the colonel and that, with the passage of time, would grow until, in 1634, in the city of Blair.

Although Native Americans refused to venture into the forest, Colonel Blair and his men built a fort in the Black Hills forests.

Different stories tell that 150 years later, around the year 1785, a neighbor of Blair called Elly Kedward, immigrant of Irish origin, was accused by several children of practicing witchcraft. The children claimed that he had dragged them by force to his house with the intention of drinking his blood. The fear was then unleashed by the entire population, and Elly Kedward was condemned for witchcraft and banished from Blair forever. Tied to a cart, it was abandoned in the woods, during the harsh winter.

The days passed and the population of Blair breathed easy to believe her dead because of the cold or the wild beasts that populated those mountains. However, 3 of the children, accompanied by their dogs, returned to the forest to check if they had really died and, to their surprise, they found that the supposed witch was still alive. Then, the boys ordered their dogs to finish the job, biting it, while they beat her with branches of the trees. Dying they decided to release her from the cart and hang her from a tree until Elly Kedward expired. It will be thereafter when numerous strange phenomena begin to happen in the Black Hills forests.

Different stories tell that 150 years later, around the year 1785, a neighbor of Blair called Elly Kedward, immigrant of Irish origin, was accused by several children of practicing witchcraft. The children claimed that he had dragged them by force to his house with the intention of drinking his blood. The fear was then unleashed by the entire population, and Elly Kedward was condemned for witchcraft and banished from Blair forever. Tied to a cart, it was abandoned in the woods, during the harsh winter.

The days passed and the population of Blair breathed easy to believe her dead because of the cold or the wild beasts that populated those mountains. However, 3 of the children, accompanied by their dogs, returned to the forest to check if they had really died and, to their surprise, they found that the supposed witch was still alive. Then, the boys ordered their dogs to finish the job, biting it, while they beat her with branches of the trees. Dying they decided to release her from the cart and hang her from a tree until Elly Kedward expired. It will be thereafter when numerous strange phenomena begin to happen in the Black Hills forests.

To read more Frente Fantasma

Thank you for your time 🙏