1600-1994

1639 - The Blair township is established by Colonel Nathaniel Blair, the following week he dies in bed.

February 1785 - Elly Kedward is accused and convicted of witchcraft. Her accusers are several small children who claim she lured them to her home and drew blood.
- Kedward dies when she is banished to the woods during a particularly harsh winter and, according to most accounts, is tied to a tree and left to perish in the bitter cold. According to some accounts, her child accusers ventured back to the tree where she was tied. The children, along with their dogs, found her in a weakened state, yet still alive. They reportedly untied her ropes, and created a noose to hang her with. Unable to fight them off, she slowly suffocated hanging from the tree, while being bitten by the children's dogs. But did she perish?

November 1786 - Many of the town's children, including all of Kedward's accusers, disappear. Was it Kedward's doing? The townspeople believe it is, and they abandon Blair. Most of them fear the town is cursed. They vow never to utter Elly Kedward's name again.

October 5, 1798 - Michael Zittle Jr. known as the "Wizard of South Mountain," was born in the neighboring area, in a place that would go on to be known as Zittlestown.

January 1809 - The legend of the Blair Witch is well-known. It is first documented in print, in The Blair Witch Cult. The book is supposed to be fiction, but it tells of an entire town cursed by an outcast witch. Sounds familiar.

August 13, 1825 - Ten-year-old Eileen Treacle drowns in Tappy East Creek. According to eleven witnesses, a pale hand or arm reaches up out of the water and pulls the girl under. Incomprehensibly, her body is never found, even though the water is only two feet deep.

A woodcarving depicting Eileen Treacle's death.

The Zittle Family of South Mountain, MD. Photo from the Boonsbourough Museum of History.

1845 - Zittle publishes the book, A Friend In Need; Or, Secret Science, a handbook on how to perform magic, and channel the power of spirits. According to legend, after it's publication Zittle lost all his powers as a result of trying to commoditize his supernatural powers.

September 14, 1862 - The Battle of Burkittsville, or the Battle of Crampton's Gap, was a battle fought between the Confederacy, and the Union during the Maryland Campaign of the Civil War. In the span of three hours, 245 soldiers were killed, and 1075 soldiers were wounded. Every building in Burkittsville was turned into a makeshift hospital, including the churches.

1882 - South Mountain Magic is published, written by Madeleine Dahlgren, describing the myths and legends Dahlgren learned of when she moved to the Burkittsville area. She refers to The Evil One who lived in the mountain. Was she referring to Kedward, Zittle. or something darker in the woods?

March 1886 - Another child disappearance. This time it's eight-year-old Robin Weaver who vanishes, and a search party is sent out. While they're gone, Robin returns-but the search party doesn't. Their bodies are eventually found at Coffin Rock, tied together at the arms and legs and completely disemboweled.

May 1941 - Rustin Parr, an old hermit, confesses to having abducted seven children from Burkittsville, supposedly luring them with candy. He admits to police that he ritualistically murdered and disemboweled the children in the basement of his secluded house in the woods, claiming that "an old woman ghost" told him to do it.

1942 - Parr is hanged, and a year later his house mysteriously burns to the ground.
- Only one of Parr's victims survives - nine-year-old Kyle Brody. Brody tells police that he was forced to stand in the corner and watch as Parr tortured and murdered the other children. He lives out the remainder of his life in a mental institution.

Summer 1969 - The Black Hills play host to a series of drug-induced rituals performed by a group of area hippies known as the "Blair Witch Cult," led by former rock 'n' roll musician Leroy Creegan.

November 1983 - Cece Malvey, a student at Johns Hopkins University, hangs himself after self-publishing a booklet called, "Wood Witch Said," detailing stories supposedly told to him by the Blair Witch.