ANTIOCH, W.Va. — Throughout the history of Appalachia, one may encounter the legend of granny witches—solitary women believed to possess uncanny powers. Many served in very real capacities as midwives in remote mountain areas where physicians and hospitals were uncommon.
The following tale of a young girl’s encounter with a supposed witch in the highlands along the Potomac River has inspired readers since it was penned by poet Emily Dale Werner and published in 1960.
While the character of the granny witch may be invented, the Devil’s Saddle is a very real location—the saddle in New Creek Mountain beneath which Nancy Hanks, the mother of Abraham Lincoln, was believed by many to have been born…