Sources from Legends 56

  1. “1934 hex murder trial is approved.” Evening Herald [Shenandoah]. October 15, 1975. https://www.newspapers.com/image/82068893/ 

  2. “Albert Shinsky.” Find a Grave. [n.d.] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/98667816/albert-shinsky 

  3. “Albert Yashinsky Says He Killed Mrs. Mummey To End ‘Hex’ She Cast Over Him.” Evening Herald [Shenandoah]. March 22, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/448140097/ 

  4. “All About Witches.” Reading Times. January 2, 1889. https://www.newspapers.com/image/46435057/ 

  5. “Arson Suspected.” Pottsville Republican. November 10, 1976. https://www.newspapers.com/image/466687404/ 

  6. Bartlett, Dorothy D. “‘Hexed’ Youth Frees Soul By Slaying ‘Witch.’” The Philadelphia Inquirer. March 23, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/168096987/ 

  7. Bressi, Marlin. “Albert Shinsky: The Man Who Killed The Witch Of Ringtown Valley.” Pennsylvania Oddities. December 18, 2019. https://paoddities.blogspot.com/2019/12/albert-shinsky-man-who-killed-witch-of.html 

  8. Bressi, Marlin. “Witchcraft in Stony Creek Valley.” Pennsylvania Oddities. November 11, 2015. https://paoddities.blogspot.com/2015/11/witchcraft-in-stony-creek-valley.html#google_vignette 

  9. “Charges against man accused of ‘hex’ slaying dropped.” Hazleton Standard-Speaker. March 11, 1976. https://www.newspapers.com/image/96758986/ 

  10. Clarke, Kenneth W. “Pennsylvania Hex Signs.” Western Folklore 22(1), January 1963: p. 47.

  11. “Dauphin County Spooks.” Reading Times. April 2, 1880. https://www.newspapers.com/image/46543437/ 

  12. Davies, Owen. America Bewitched: The Story of Witchcraft After Salem (Oxford University Press, 2016).

  13. “Dementia Praecox.” ScienceDirect. [n.d.] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/dementia-praecox 

  14. Devlin, Ron. “Book details the grisly end of the Witch of Ringtown Valley.” Republican and Herald [Pottsville, PA]. June 2, 2024. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1079806532/ 

  15. Donmoyer, Patrick. “Hex Signs: Sacred and Celestial Symbolism in Pennsylvania Dutch Barn Stars.” Glencairn Museum News. November 2, 2019. https://www.glencairnmuseum.org/newsletter/2019/3/19/hex-signs-sacred-and-celestial-symbolism-in-pennsylvania-dutch-barn-stars 

  16. Fields, Suzanne. “The Farview Horror: Report From a State Mental Institution.” The Washington Post. March 3, 1980. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1980/03/04/the-farview-horror-report-from-a-state-mental-institution/0c758b3c-6eb5-4983-8d71-099f0b03e145/ 

  17. Fooks, David. “The History of Pennsylvania's Barn Stars and Hex Signs.” Material Culture 36(2), Fall 2004: pp. 1-7.

  18. Hennigan, James. “Incidents of Abuse Told by Ex-Patient.” The Scranton Times. August 25, 1976. https://www.newspapers.com/image/530654396/ 

  19. “Henry Mummey.” Find a Grave. [n.d.] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/246293531/ 

  20. “Hex and Pow-wow Not Extinct in Local Area.” Shamokin News-Dispatch. March 24, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/96791329/ 

  21. “‘Hex’ Slayer Ruled Insane.” Lancaster New Era. April 13, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/560367028/ 

  22. “‘Hex’ Woman Hard To Evict From Property.” Lebanon Daily News. March 26, 2024. https://www.newspapers.com/image/517450632/ 

  23. “Kermit Tyler: A Call That Would Live in Infamy.” The National World War II Museum. October 31, 2021. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/kermit-tyler-call-would-live-infamy

  24. Marshall, Melissa. “Folk Magic: The Hex Signs of Pennsylvania.” Atlas Obscura. November 12, 2013. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/hex-signs-of-pennsylvania 

  25. McCarthy, Julia. “Hex Slayer Ruled Insane; To Be Sent To Hospital.” Daily News [New York City]. March 29, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/415591312/ 

  26. “Population of Ringtown, PA.” Population.us. [n.d.] https://population.us/pa/ringtown/ 

  27. “Powder Mill Explodes.” The Lancaster Semi-Weekly Intelligencer. July 9, 1910. https://www.newspapers.com/image/556823392/ 

  28. “Ringtown Woman Murdered At Home.” Standard-Sentinel [Hazleton, PA]. March 19, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/500710494/ 

  29. Rowland, Mary. “‘Hex Murders’ Taint 20th Century Witchcraft.” Pottsville Republican. July 9, 1976. https://www.newspapers.com/image/466587456/ 

  30. “Schuylkill County Jail Warden Says Albert Shinsky Is Normal Prisoner.” Standard-Sentinel [Hazelton, PA]. March 27, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/500711485/ 

  31. “Shenandoah Hex Slayer To Be Tried For Murder.” Shamokin News-Dispatch. March 24, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/96791329/

  32. “Shinsky Had Best Sleep In Seven Year as in Cell He Waits Murder Trial.” Pottsville Republican. March 23, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/450157107/ 

  33. “Spectacular Eviction Case Near Pottsville.” The Record-American [Mahanoy City, PA]. July 29, 1926. https://www.newspapers.com/image/921647064/ 

  34. St. Mars, Augustus. “The Famous Witch of Ringtown Valley.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 4, 1942. https://www.newspapers.com/image/90318125/ 

  35. Taylor-Lehmen, Dylan. “On the history of (scarily frequent) powder mill explosions in Southwestern Ohio.” The Yawning Chasm. April 21, 2017. https://theyawningchasm.com/2017/04/21/on-the-history-of-scarily-frequent-powder-mill-explosions/

  36. “Tovillia Violet Mummey Boyle.” FamilySearch. [n.d.] https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L184-8D3 

  37. Undine. “The Witch of Ringtown; a Medieval 20th Century Murder.” Strange Company. September 28, 2015. http://strangeco.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-witch-of-ringtown-medieval-20th.html 

  38. “Witchcraft in Dauphin County.” Sentinel & Republican [Mifflintown, PA]. April 7, 1880. https://panewsarchive.psu.edu/lccn/sn86053634/1880-04-07/ed-1/seq-2.pdf 

  39. “Woman Is Killed In Her Home.” Mount Carmel Item. March 19, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/89162174/ 

  40. “Woman’s Killer Is Still Unknown.” Evening Herald [Shenandoah, PA]. March 20, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/448139255/ 

  41. Wood, Robert. “‘Hex Signs’: A Fascinating Pennsylvania Mystery.” Goschenhoppen Folk Festival. [n.d.] https://goschenhoppen.org/hex-signs/ 

  42. “Yashinsky Feels Free As He Goes To Farview.” Evening Herald [Pottsville, PA]. April 13, 1934. https://www.newspapers.com/image/448148879/