Recently in Hex murder Category

Arthur Lewis' "Hex," the first book on the famous York County Hex Murder of 1928 and subsequent trail is said to be out of print. But Ross McGinnis' "Trials of Hex" are still available at York County booksellers. Both paint an intriguing picture of the practice of powwowing in York County. Background post: 'Powwowing was done for good'

The casting of spells and witchcraft are themes behind the story of York County's famous Hex murder of 1928.

The murder of witch Nelson Rehmeyer by three young assailants is a case where the related practice of powwowing - the use of witchcraft for healing purposes - went amok.

But how did the widespread practice of powwowing really work?

It seems like a story from the Middle Ages, but here's how powwow doctors worked in 20th-century York County, as described by Arthur Lewis in his 1969 book "Hex":

The southern York County hex murder house is shown as investigators were on site collecting evidence in the murder of Nelson Rehmeyer. That led to a trial of the attackers that gained international attention in 1929. For more photographs of the house, see Sparking interest in site.

I took a tour of Rehmeyer's Hollow and its famous Hex house, where three assailants killed witch Nelson Rehmeyer in 1928 in their quest to break a spell cast on one of them.

This was the first time I've seen the house since a member of the Rehmeyer family declared plans to turn it into a museum - a plan that has drawn the wrath of township officials.

As usual, the top of the tall house was visible first as you drove out of a dip after leaving Line Road. It hits you almost by surprise. Why would such an odd-looking structure stand in this bucolic area? ...

The Hex murder case in 1928 was strange to begin with, involving witchcraft and faith healing and a world-wide audience and teenage defendants and so on.

So it shouldn't be surprising that government's denial of the murder site in spooky Rehmeyer's Hollow as a museum would be strangely disappointing.

Although one could wonder whether the museum site would have been presented with historical integrity, explaining powwowing and this famous case would have heightened interest in York County history. It was a project with merit.

Perhaps something could be salvaged - an exhibit at the York County Heritage Trust or Historic York's Architectural Warehouse, as two examples.

Or perhaps the historical society in Stewartstown could become involved at the Rehmeyer Hollow site.

Two others reacting to the North Hopewell Township action are worth repeating here.

First, Ross McGinnis, author of the "Trial of Hex":

This clock, which belonged to Nelson Rehmeyer, supposedly stopped at 12:01 a.m. on the night he was killed in 1928. The clock that stopped after Nelson Rehmeyer's death.

With all the news stories about the Hex murder house opening as a museum and the release of the powwowers handbook "The Long Lost Friend" on CD , the white magic practice of powwowwing to cure maladies has been raised.

Some people believe Nelson Rehmeyer, the victim in the Hex murder case of 1928-29 was a witch. Others say he was merely a doctor practicing powwowing, popular in many York County towns in the 20th century.

The following York Daily Record story describes the practice:

This was Hex murder victim Nelson Rehmeyer's copy of "The Long Lost Friend," a target of his assailants.

Some enterprising bookshop owners are selling a CD-ROM of the book "The Long Lost Friend," that became part of the Hex murder in York County in 1928.

The assailants in the murder case of Nelson Rehmayer sought, among other things, the suspected witch's copy of the book.

That book contains such advice as:

York Daily Record/Sunday News photograph Jason Plotkin produced this still image of the laying of sod at Sovereign Bank Stadium. For Plotkin's slide show on the work, see below.

In a previous post, we linked to York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel's tour of the Hex murder house in East Hopewell Township.

A newpaper photographer taking video?

Our shooters are increasingly carrying their video cameras with their still cameras. Sometimes, we send two photographers to a scene, one to shoot videos and the other stills for the newspaper.

The fact is that the newspaper has become a news center, the Web unties its publication cycle from the printing press. Now, we can compete - and beat - radio and TV.

Our folks have come up with some good stuff. Here's a brief tour:

Nelson Rehmeyer, victim in the Hex murder of 1928, is seen in this family photo on his East Hopewell Township farm.

On Thursday, the media was granted access to the house of Nelson Rehmeyer, victim in the Hex murder case.

York Daily Record/Sunday News photographer Paul Kuehnel was there with both video and still cameras.

Paul nicely captured the scene in his video.

Caryl Clarke reported from the scene and came up with a message from victim Nelson Rehmeyer's great-grandson: "Whatever befell this small, turn-of-the-century German farmhouse came from the outside, not from within."

We wish those behind the effort to showcase the house the best of everything.

But we will put up this precaution in our Sunday Viewpoints section in Scott Fisher's opinion piece "Hex house to offer tours":

Nelson Rehmeyer, victim in the Hex murder case, is seen in an inset to this photo of his house where the crime took place. Courtesy of Ross McGinnis.

J. Ross McGinnis, long-time attorney with York's Stock & Leader firm, simply did a wonderful job in his "Trials of Hex" of telling the story of the Hex murder.

The story line is simple: A trio set out to remove a hex on one of them cast by a practitioner of powwow, later described as a witch. In the process, the practitioner, Nelson Rehmeyer, was killed. The three assailants were convicted in York County Court in 1929.

To give some flavor for McGinnis' admirable work, I've excerpted the opening lines of his 454-page book:

J. Ross McGinnis, a lawyer and York County native, wrote the book on the Hex murder trial.

His "Trials of Hex," is a readable compendium of primary source documents and analysis. His book, published in 2000, is out of print, but available at York County libraries.

McGinnis, who has been speaking on the Hex murder for years, provides this insight in his foreword:

Five quick notes about the Hex murder of 1928, back in the news because of the proposed opening of the site of the notorious York County powwow killing: ...

The Nelson Rehmeyer's Hex murder house in North Hopewell Township will regain its 1928 appearance with plans for tours this summer. For developments on the plan to open the Hex murder house for tours, see 'Hex plans surprise officials'.

The southern York County house where the world-famous Hex murder occurred in 1928 will soon be open for tours.

That was the house where an assailant, seeking to end a spell cast by a powwow doctor, and two other men killed the practioner of white magic.

The burn spot where the trio set Nelson Rehmeyer's body ablaze remains on the floor of the house.

The promoter's Rehmeyer's Hollow Web site breathlessly states:

This was the site of the infamous murder of the "Witch of Rehmeyers Hollow" also known as the Hex murder. After years of whispers, mis-information and ghost stories, the home of Nelson Rehmeyer will be opened as an historical exhibit in the summer of 2007. The exhibit will tell the true and complete story of local legend and Pow Wow doctor Nelson Rehmeyer known as the Witch of Rehmeyer's Hollow. His murder in 1928 was a media sensation much like that of O.J. Simpson or Anna Nicole Smith is in our time. The exhibit will show actual items owned by Rehmeyer on the night of his death. Visitors can take the tour and turn back the clock to the night when 3 men came for a book and left with blood on their hands thus sparking the trial of the century here in York County. The exhibit will be open to the public by scheduled tours and special appointments only. An admission fee will be charged.

Equivalent to Simpson's and Smith's proceedings? Not so sure. Newspapers and occasional radio stations were the only media of that day. But the trial is referred to locally as the most noticed before the circa 2000 York race riot proceedings.

Anyway, in a story titled "Infamous home to open", the York Daily Record provided other details about the planned museum: