Legends 56: Ringed In (ad-free)

History is full of exceptions that make it very dangerous to assume—some examples of which are absolutely horrifying.

Narrated and produced by Aaron Mahnke, with writing by Alex Robinson and research by Cassandra de Alba.

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Lore Resources:

• Episode Music: lorepodcast.com/music

• Episode Sources: lorepodcast.com/sources

• All the shows from Grim & Mild: www.grimandmild.com

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Sources:

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

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

• “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/ 

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

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

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

• 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 

• 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 

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

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

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

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

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

• 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/ 

• 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 

• 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/ 

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

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

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

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

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

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

• “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

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

• 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/ 

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

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

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

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

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

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

• “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/ 

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

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

• 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/

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

• 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 

• “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 

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

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

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

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