Do you Believe in Magic? History meets Halloween at the Rising Sun Inn

Join us November 2, 2019, at 2:00 p.m., at the historic Rising Sun Inn located at 1090 Generals Highway, Crownsville, when Dr. Robert Selig returns to the Rising Sun Inn to present “Do you Believe in Magic? Tales of Witches and Witchcraft during the American War of Independence.”

Dogs that would not bark; horses that would not walk; women who turned into animals at night — the belief in the existence of witches and witchcraft was widespread during the second half of the eighteenth century. Sometimes these powers were employed in the cause of American Independence, sometimes against it. Decades later veterans would record these super-natural occurrences in their pension applications or tell them to people collecting oral history accounts and traditions of the war.

Based on pension applications and accounts found in oral history collections such as the Asa Fitch Papers, the McDonald Papers and the Draper Collection, this lecture presents some of these events, looks into the medieval origins of these beliefs, and places them into the historical context of the War of Independence.

Admission is $12 for Friends of the Rising Sun Inn members and $15 for non-members. Become a member when you register for this event and begin receiving your member discount with this event.

The Rising Sun Inn, built circa 1753, is a pre-colonial farmhouse and 18th century tavern located on the famed Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route and listed on the National Registry of Historic Place. The Friend of the Rising Sun Inn is an all-volunteer, non-profit, 501(c)3 organization established to support the preservation, restoration, maintenance, and operation of the Rising Sun Inn. To learn more about the Rising Sun Inn and the Friends, please visit our website www.risingsuninn.org.