Appalachian Country Road Public Domain
Anyone who travels through Appalachia knows that it takes a while. The backroads dip through hollows and twist through the mountains, with endless offshoots of narrow roads that disappear into the hills. This isolation is a distinguishing feature of the Appalachian Mountains that has helped shape much of the region\’s culture and the legacy of granny witches as faith healers. When it takes a half an hour or more to get into town, and town is little more than a supply and feed store, self-reliance and strong beliefs become crucial.
Granny Witches: A Necessity for Daily Living
In the old days, hospitals were often too far away and a little suspicious to mountain people. When accidents and illnesses happened, the locals relied on granny witches. These traditional folk healers were skilled in herbalism, home remedies, spells, and energy work.
Granny magic healed sickness, birthed babies, removed curses, and predicted the weather. In the far reaches of Appalachia, granny witches were often the sole source of medical care and spiritual guidance. Their practices were simple, inventive, and always grounded in the natural world.
Granny witchcraft has its roots in ancient Scots-Irish traditions that were brought over to Appalachia as early as the 16th century. As these immigrants built their new lives, these old ways quickly mutated into something uniquely Appalachian. Native American traditions blended with old-world beliefs to create a concoction of spiritual and medicinal cures.
Sarah Wilson by Lewis Hine Public Domain
Keeping the Tradition Alive
While much has changed in the Appalachians over the centuries, the granny witch tradition is still alive. The first Foxfire Book in 1972 devotes a significant number of its pages to folk magic. Right next to articles explaining how to build a log cabin or slaughter a hog, you can find instructions on how to plant your garden according to the phases of the moon and an exhaustive list of home remedies.
The legacy of the granny witches is a combination of ancient spiritual traditions and practical natural remedies, what the Foxfire book calls “affairs of plain living.” Everything from an earache to kidney failure has a prescribed cure. Some of these cures will be familiar to anyone who has studied herbalism, such as wild peppermint tea for an upset stomach. Some are more symbolic, such as the instructions on how to stop a nosebleed: “Hang a pair of pot hooks about your neck.”
The Granny Witch Legacy Comes Full Circle
Undoubtedly, much of the power and influence that these grannies wielded drew their strength from the unwavering beliefs of those under her “spell.” Although folk healers had mostly disappeared from the hills of Appalachia by the 20th century, their focus on pragmatism, ingenuity, and self-reliance continues to have significant appeal. Modern herbalism, midwifery, foraging, and homesteading carry on the spirit of the Appalachian granny witches today.
My grandmother was one and I have family from her side well”ancestors from Ireland and Scotland she was from the Kentucky mountains and always knew home remedies and mysterious cures. No wonder I grew up to be a witch. I am glad this is being kept alive. I sadly don’t live out west. I wish I did though.
My gr gr gmother was a granny witch in KY and I am so excited to know some traditions are still alive !!
Interesting read. My gr.grandmother was an *old granny woman* (what everyone called her) here in the ozark mountains. Making medicines out of roots and foraging for roots and plants. Delivering babies. A wealth of knowledge.
I would like to visit and talk the granny witches of today. My great grandmother was a granny healer as well as her sisters in West Virgina. I would love to do a weekend trip to visit if anyone can direct me where to go.
I read your article on Appalachian Granny Witches. I am trying to track down stories of Clarey or Clairy, a witch (the spell-casting kind) my paternal grandmother used to tell us about. My paternal grandparents hail from the mining country of VA, WV, and KY, spending some of their time in Big Stone Gap, VA where my dad was born. Her maiden name was Slemp, a prominent name in Big Stone Gap. I have no further information on Clairy except she was kin to the Slemps and probably lived in the 1800s. Sadly, my grandmother passed in 1981, and there are none left in my family who would know anything. Have you heard any tales of Clairy in your travels? Thank you for sharing anything you might know regarding her.
I wonder if this could have been Clarinda Jane Barron Slemp? 1823-1829, Lee County VA, w/o John Slemp. I’ve never heard any tales of her, but if you could track down some of the living relatives of the people buried in the John Slemp Cemetery, they’d know if she had any ‘knacks’.
Absolutely loved the information. Thanks for sharing.
My story is a little different. We grew up “out west.” I vaguely remember my great grandfather charming warts. No one ever knew how he did it. His ancestors did live in NC and Kentucky at one time and were is ScottsIrish descent. So I am very interested in this type of folk medicine. Thanks for this little article.
Hi my name is Adair b anders and I have a question about the hair tonic what mortals called it but I need your help with the stuff like that
While some of the things that the Granny Witches did may have been a wee bit…uh…bizarre, some other things they did were just plain common sense; and it worked, and no wonder. Thanks so much for posting this.
Very interesting. Enjoyed the article.
From a long line of Scottish-Irish Granny Crafters living in the Appalachian Mountains.
I come from a long line of granny midwives ,herbalists of scotch Irish background in north west pa. they got a lot of info from old dr. book published 1864 in Ohi0. Full of herbal cures pictures poultices tinctures pill making help with deliveries , simple surgery. even has a chapter on sex. My grandma and several grandmas back were the ones the country folk called before there was a doctor. I received the book as I was a nurse. It is falling apart with time and use . one of my treasures. I am interested in other peoples experience from this area.