Witch trials in Virginia

During a 104-year period from 1626 to 1730, there are documented Virginia Witch Trials, hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Colonial Virginia. More than two dozen people are documented having been accused, including two men. Virginia was the first colony to have a formal accusation of witchcraft in 1626, and the first formal witch trial in 1641.

In 1730, Virginia was also the location of the last witchcraft trial in the mainland colonies. Shortly after that, the Parliament of Great Britain repealed the Witchcraft Act 1603, which had sanctioned witchcraft trials for British American colonists.

Witchcraft in Virginia

Witchcraft was a phenomenon that was of genuine concern for colonial Virginians. The English settlers brought several superstitions with them to the New World, including their beliefs in the devil’s power, demons, and witches. These beliefs first manifested in the Jamestown colonists’ early views towards the Virginia Indians, whom they believed to be worshippers of the devil.

When he described the native peoples of Virginia, English colonist John Smith wrote, “their chief God they worship is the Devil,” and Powhatan, the chief, was “more devil than man.” In 1613, Puritan minister William Crashaw also wrote that "Satan visibly and palpably reigns [in Virginia], more than in any other known place of the world."

Reverend Alexander Whitaker, in a 1613 letter, wrote that the behavior of the native people, “make me think that there be great witches among them, and that they are very familiar with the devil.” Notably, in the same year, Whitaker was responsible for the baptism and conversion of Pocahontas at Henricus.

In the 1620s, some colonists began to accuse one another of practicing witchcraft. Though witchcraft cases in Virginia were less common and the sentences less severe than the more famous witch trials of Salem, documented evidence exists that about two dozen such trials took place in Virginia between 1626 and 1730. These ranged from civil defamation proceedings to criminal accusations. Unlike the Salem witch trial courts, where the accused had to prove their innocence, in Virginia courts the accuser carried the burden of proof. Further, Virginia courts generally ignored evidence said to have been obtained by supernatural means, whereas the New England courts were known to convict people based solely on it. Virginia courts required proof of guilt through searches for "witch's marks" or a ducking test.

The southeastern corner of Virginia, around present-day Norfolk and Virginia Beach, saw more accusations of witchcraft than other areas. Researchers believe this may have been due to local poverty as there was no establishment elite to curtail such prosecutions.

Prominent figures

Joan Wright

The earliest witchcraft allegation on record against an English settler in any British North American colony was made in Virginia in September 1626. “Goodwife” Joan Wright was a midwife in Surry County and the first person in any of the colonies to be legally accused of witchcraft. Wright was a self-professed healer and described as a "cunning" woman, the term used for those who practiced "low-level" or "folk" magic. She was also left-handed, which deemed her untrustworthy and suspicious by the day's standards. Her accusers claimed that she had cursed their local livestock and crops, accurately predicted the deaths of several of her neighbors, and cast a spell that caused the death of a newborn baby. Wright was acquitted despite her admission that she did possess basic knowledge of witchcraft practices.

Katherine Grady In 1654, Katherine Grady, en route to Virginia from England, was accused of being a witch, tried, found guilty, and hanged aboard an English ship. Grady was executed before arriving on Virginia's shores, so she is not formally considered a casualty of the Virginia Witch Trials. The matter concerning Grady's execution was later heard in a Jamestown court, and the captain of the ship, Captain Bennet, was tried in the case. The records about the outcome of the case have been lost.

By 1714, Sherwood had been released, demonstrating Virginia authorities' reluctance to execute individuals convicted of witchcraft. English law prescribed severe punishments for witchcraft, the most extreme being execution, referred to as “pains of death,” but no person accused of the crime in colonial Virginia was ever executed.

End of the trials According to available records, the last witch trial in Virginia was held in 1730. In the case, Justices charged the accused, a woman named Mary (surname unknown), with using witchcraft to find lost items and treasures. She was convicted and sentenced to be whipped 39 times, but no further documented case details have been found. This was likely the last criminal case of witchcraft in any mainland colonies. in the Pennsylvania Gazette, which signaled a shift in the public's perception and acceptance of witchcraft, and embraced Deism, a form of religious belief that emphasized reason and rejected the supernatural.

In Pungo, Virginia, Sherwood is an honorary official of the neighborhood's annual strawberry festival.

At Colonial Williamsburg, there is a yearly reenactment of the witch trial of Sherwood and a "Cry Witch" historical program. There is also a yearly reenactment held at the Ferry Plantation House in Virginia Beach, as well as a commemorative plaque on the grounds.

The Herb Garden at Old Donation Episcopal Church contains a stone memorial to Sherwood, which was dedicated in 2014.

An obelisk marker commemorating the life of Katherine Grady has been erected by the Winchester Witches project.

A Virginia witch trial loosely based on the story of Joan Wright is featured in a 2017 episode of the British drama television series Jamestown.

In 2019, an original play, "Season of the Witch" premiered at the Jamestown Settlement. The play is a dramatic retelling of the witch trials in Virginia, with a focus on the story of Wright.