The USA Today post, “Witchy
fashion is 2017's most exciting, subversive trend” has been going around
social media. The article shares one of the fall trends with a focus on the “witch
style” while noting that there are “many archetypes of the modern witch” which
include "goth witches in black maxi dresses and capes”… yay! Capes are
always good but they have been around in mainstream fashion for the last few
years.
The article pointed to a few
other descriptions with one being the “mall witches in anime buns….” Are anime
buns the same as Princess Leia buns? If so, I’ve been rocking them for weeks
because it has been over 100 degrees every day in Virginia and because, up
until yesterday when my Gremlin Spike finally scared me, I have been parting
down the middle to try to distract folks from noticing my grey roots.
I don’t follow fashion trends so much but I
do like being aware if this season I will be able to find lace and velvet in
the mainstream shops. Recently, I bought a long, floor-length dress and a
kimono-style garment, which isn’t something that I have ever wanted to wear
before (mostly because they have little form and I’m a busty girl that needs
some structure!).
And, as the article notes at the very end:
"…once you begin to awaken your inner
witch, it also becomes clear that blindly following trends or copying what some
celebrity is wearing is just another way of suppressing our own authentic
self-expression."
*Witches* have been on my mind recently. Last
week, my Babushka (my best friend/ more-like sister) and I had an excursion to Virginia
Beach and then to Colonial Williamsburg to see the performance “Cry Witch.” We made a day of it by going to the Grace Sherwood statue and then attending the performance.
When you think witch trials in this country,
you rarely think of the Commonwealth but it has its own history of witchcraft
cases.
As I wrote in last
year’s blog post about scapegoats:
Although most conquer up the Salem Witch trials when
they consider colonial witchcraft, in 1626, Virginia was the first of the
colonies to see a formal accusation of witchcraft of Joan Wright out of Surry
County; and, in 1641, Virginia held the first trial with Mrs. George Barker out
of Norfolk.
Two cases, to me, are particularly interesting. The
first is with Katherine Grady who is considered the only person who was ever
executed for witchcraft in Virginia. Even with convictions, Virginia officials
were always hesitant about executing anyone convicted of witchcraft (perhaps
one tiny aspect of Virginia history that isn’t so problematic). Ms. Grady’s
case is particularly troubling because she had never even set foot on Virginia
soil. Instead, she was traveling on a ship headed for the new colony from
England when a fierce storm had the passengers seeking a scapegoat. For
whatever reason, the elderly Grady became that woman and she was hung at sea.
Because Virginia was the ship’s destination, the murder was under the Virginia
colony’s jurisdiction and the captain had to report this when the ship arrived
in Jamestown.
The second case came in 1698 when Grace Sherwood, who
was considered a bit eccentric for the times, had rumors spread that she
practiced witchcraft. Sherwood was a healer, an herbalist and a midwife who
allegedly “wore men’s trousers when planting crops” (Strock). Later, she was
accused of bewitching pigs and destroying crops. She was also accused of
“riding” a neighbor before escaping through a keyhole.
After several other allegations, Sherwood had formal
charges against her in 1706. She was searched for the marks of the witch.
Although none were found, she was ordered to a water ducking trial. Basically,
if her body floated to the surface she was guilty; and, if her body sunk being
accepted by nature, she was proven innocent. She survived and thus was proven
guilty of witchcraft. She was imprisoned for 8 years and then released to live
out the remainder of her life.
Just ten years ago, in 2006, former Governor Tim Kaine
(who is now running for the office of Vice President for my international
friends) exonerated Sherwood on the 300th
anniversary of her trial.
Colonial Williamsburg’s “Cry Witch”
performance goes through the case of Grace Sherwood. During the trial, the
Colonial lawyers point out what was acceptable in court trials of that time,
including dreams as damning evidence. In the end, the audience gets to make the
ruling. It was a close-call while we were there but the group still found
Sherwood guilty of witchcraft.
I don’t believe that focusing on witches is a
new trend. Last winter, I attended the performance “The
Peculiar Case of Jane Wentworth: A Witch Trial Based on Historical Texts” at
Agecroft Hall; and, then later my fella and I attended the Colonial
Williamsburg for the “Curse of the Sea Witch” event. There is resonance in
our political climate. In my course on vampires, I repeatedly say, “It’s never
about the monster.” This emphasis on witches, eccentric or simply working women
who spoke up for themselves, isn’t actually about witches. Let’s be honest;
this is about women.
 |
| Selfie with the actress who played Grace Sherwood |
Works
Cited
"A Tale of Witchcraft at Hertford
Theatre." Hertfordshire Mercury. Hertfordshire Mercury, 07 June
2012. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Burgess, Maureen Rush. The Cup of Ruin
and Desolation: Seventeenth-century Witchcraft in the Chesapeake. Ph.D.
Dissertation. U of Hawaii, 2004. Print.
Klein,
Christopher. "Before Salem, the First American Witch Hunt."
History.com.
A&E Television Networks, 2012.
www.history.com.
Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Miller, Kate. The Last Witch. directed by Richard Syms;
produced by Pins & Feathers Productions; performed at Hertford Theatre and
at Walkern Hall, Herts. 2012.
Ross, Jessica,
and Jessica Hann. "Behind the Scenes: The Making of a Sea Witch." Making
History: Inspiration for the Modern Revolutionary. Colonial Williamsburg,
22 Sept. 2016. Web. 06 Oct. 2016.
Strock, Anna.
"These 14 Real Life Witches Show the 'Wicked' Side of Virginia's
History." Only In Virginia. OnlyInYourState, 13 Dec. 2015. Web. 06
Oct. 2016.
Witkowski,
Monica C. "Witchcraft in Colonial Virginia." Encyclopedia Virginia.
Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 30 May. 2014. Web. 4 Oct. 2016.
The cemetery is fortunate because The Friends
of Shockoe Hill Cemetery is an active and engaged organization. They host
military marker dedications after raising money to add grave markers to
military graves, organize clean-up days, and offer free Sunday cemetery tours. 
