Hex Hollow Murder

Hex Hollow Murder

In November 1928, in the rolling farmland of York County, Pennsylvania, three men beat an old hermit named Nelson Rehmeyer to death in his own home. Then they set fire to his body, hoping to destroy the evidence. They were caught within days. They confessed almost immediately. And their defense—presented in a sensational trial that captured national attention—was that they had to kill Rehmeyer because he was a witch who had cursed them, and the only way to break the curse was to steal his spell book or a lock of his hair. When Rehmeyer resisted, they had no choice but to end his life. This was 1928, not 1692. The witch trials of Salem were two centuries in the past. And yet, in the hills of Pennsylvania Dutch country, people still believed in pow-wow magic, in hexes and healers, in curses that could ruin your crops, your health, your fortune. John Blymire, the ringleader of the murder, was absolutely convinced that Rehmeyer had placed a hex on him—that the witch’s curse explained his failing business, his wasting health, his relentless bad luck. A hex doctor confirmed it. Only Rehmeyer’s death could set him free. The Hex Hollow murder was America’s last witch killing—a collision between ancient superstition and modern law, between folk belief and criminal justice. The men were convicted and imprisoned. But the story didn’t end there. Rehmeyer’s hollow in the woods of York County remains a destination for the curious and the brave. The house where he was murdered still stands, on private property now, and visitors report the same thing: something is wrong there. The temperature drops. Footsteps echo from empty rooms. And some say Rehmeyer himself still walks the hollow, looking for the men who killed him, waiting to settle the score that death could not resolve.

The Setting

Pennsylvania Dutch country and its beliefs:

The Pennsylvania Dutch: Who they were:

• German-speaking immigrants and their descendants
• Settled in southeastern Pennsylvania
• “Dutch” is a corruption of “Deutsch” (German)
• Maintained distinct cultural traditions
• Including folk magic beliefs.

Pow-wow: The magical tradition:

• A form of folk magic and healing
• Brought from German-speaking Europe
• Used for blessing, healing, and protection
• Also for cursing enemies (hexing)
• Practitioners called pow-wow doctors or brauchers
• The tradition was widespread in rural Pennsylvania.

Hexes: The dark side:

• A hex was a curse placed on a person or property
• Could cause illness, crop failure, bad luck
• Signs of a hex: wasting illness, unexplained misfortune
• Breaking a hex required counter-magic
• Or eliminating the witch who cast it
• The beliefs were taken seriously.

The Culture: Rural isolation:

• York County was rural and isolated
• Traditional beliefs persisted longer
• Many people consulted pow-wow doctors
• For healing, for advice, for protection
• The practice was commonplace, not unusual
• The 1920s hadn’t changed everything.

The Players

The people involved in the Hex Hollow murder:

Nelson Rehmeyer: The victim:

• An elderly man living alone
• In a hollow in North Hopewell Township
• Known locally as a pow-wow practitioner
• Respected and feared for his knowledge
• Lived as a hermit in his family home
• He had done nothing to John Blymire.

John Blymire: The ringleader:

• A local man in his early thirties
• Had a history of mental instability
• Believed he had been hexed for years
• His health was poor, his business failing
• He became obsessed with finding the hex’s source
• He consulted multiple pow-wow doctors.

The Revelation: Who blamed Rehmeyer:

• Blymire consulted a woman named Nellie Noll
• She was known as “the Witch of Marietta”
• She told Blymire that three witches cursed him
• The most powerful was Nelson Rehmeyer
• Only by obtaining Rehmeyer’s copy of the spell book
• Or a lock of his hair, could the hex be broken.

The Accomplices: Who joined Blymire:

• John Curry, 14 years old
• Wilbert Hess, 18 years old
• Both believed Blymire’s claims
• Both believed in the power of hexes
• They agreed to help him confront Rehmeyer
• None of them expected murder.

The Crime

What happened on November 27, 1928:

The Plan: What they intended:

• The three men drove to Rehmeyer’s hollow
• Their goal was to get the spell book
• “The Long Lost Friend” by John George Hohman
• A pow-wow grimoire with spells and blessings
• They would steal it and burn it
• That would break the hex.

The First Attempt: Night of November 26:

• They went to Rehmeyer’s house
• They knocked, he answered
• They tried to buy the book
• Rehmeyer refused to sell
• They left, planning to return.

The Return: November 27:

• They came back the next night
• This time they demanded the book
• Rehmeyer again refused
• They tried to take it by force
• The old man fought back.

The Murder: What followed:

• A struggle ensued
• Blymire and the others beat Rehmeyer
• They kicked and struck him repeatedly
• They tied him up
• The exact sequence is disputed
• But Rehmeyer died from the beating.

The Aftermath: Covering up:

• They couldn’t find the book (it wasn’t there)
• They cut some of Rehmeyer’s hair
• Then they set fire to his body
• Hoping to destroy the evidence
• The fire didn’t spread properly
• Much of the house and body remained.

The Discovery: How they were caught:

• Rehmeyer’s body was found days later
• The community was shocked
• The murders were quickly suspected
• They confessed almost immediately
• Their defense was belief—they had to kill the witch
• It didn’t save them.

The Trial

The legal proceedings that shocked America:

National Attention: The media frenzy:

• The trial drew reporters from across the country
• A witch killing in 1929 seemed medieval
• The story combined murder, magic, and madness
• Front-page coverage in major newspapers
• America was fascinated and horrified
• York County became notorious.

The Defense: Witchcraft belief:

• The defendants’ attorneys argued they believed
• They genuinely thought Rehmeyer was a witch
• They genuinely believed the hex was real
• They acted out of desperation, not malice
• The defense was essentially insanity
• Based on sincere supernatural belief.

The Problem: Why it didn’t work:

• Believing in witchcraft doesn’t make murder legal
• The jury sympathized but couldn’t excuse
• The men knew killing was wrong
• Their beliefs explained but didn’t justify
• Pennsylvania law didn’t recognize hex-breaking
• Murder was still murder.

The Verdict: Guilty:

• All three were convicted of first-degree murder
• John Blymire: sentenced to life in prison
• Wilbert Hess: 10-20 years
• John Curry: 10-20 years
• The sentences reflected their relative culpability
• Blymire was the instigator; the others, followers.

The Aftermath: Prison and beyond:

• All three eventually served their time
• Blymire was paroled in 1953
• He lived quietly until his death in 1972
• He never recanted his beliefs
• He believed until the end that the hex was real
• That Rehmeyer was a witch who cursed him.

The Legacy

What the Hex Hollow murder meant:

America’s Last Witch Killing: The end of an era:

• The case is often called America’s last witch killing
• The last time someone was murdered for being a witch
• It marked the end of witch belief having legal relevance
• The courts definitively rejected supernatural defenses
• Modernity had finally won—at least in the courtroom.

The Persistence of Belief: What survived:

• The trial didn’t end pow-wow practice
• Folk magic continued in Pennsylvania Dutch country
• People still consulted hex doctors
• Just more quietly, more privately
• The belief went underground, not extinct
• It persists in some form today.

Rehmeyer’s Hollow: The location:

• The murder site became locally famous
• People visited the hollow seeking thrills
• The house where he was murdered still stands, on private property now
• And visitors report the same thing: something is wrong there. The temperature drops. Footsteps echo from empty rooms. And some say Rehmeyer himself still walks the hollow, looking for the men who killed him, waiting to settle the score that death could not resolve.

The Hauntings

What people experience at Hex Hollow:

The Atmosphere: What you feel:

• The hollow has a heavy, oppressive feel
• Even in daylight, something seems wrong
• Animals avoid the area (some say)
• Plants grow strangely
• The air feels thick
• First-time visitors notice immediately.

The Apparition: Rehmeyer’s ghost:

• Some visitors report seeing an elderly man
• Standing near the house or in the windows
• He matches descriptions of Rehmeyer
• He watches visitors without speaking
• Then he’s gone
• The sightings are consistent.

The Sounds: What people hear:

• Footsteps approaching
• Voices in conversation
• Sounds of struggle
• Crackling fire
• As if the murder replays
• Over and over.

The Physical Sensations: What people feel:

• Being watched
• Being followed
• Cold touches
• Sudden nausea
• The desire to flee
• Many visitors leave quickly.

The Road: Approaching the hollow:

• Even the road to Rehmeyer’s hollow
• Has a reputation
• Cars stall, lights flicker
• People report disorientation
• Getting lost on familiar roads
• As if something doesn’t want visitors.

Pow-Wow Magic Today

What remains of the tradition:

The Practice: Still alive:

• Pow-wow practitioners still exist
• Mostly in Pennsylvania Dutch communities
• The practice has gone quiet, not extinct
• Healing, blessing, protection
• The dark side (hexing) is rarely discussed
• But the knowledge survives.

The Books: The texts:

• “The Long Lost Friend” is still in print
• Other pow-wow grimoires circulate
• The knowledge was never truly lost
• Just pushed to the margins
• Practitioners keep the tradition alive
• In the hollows and farmhouses.

Modern Understanding: How we see it now:

• Most view pow-wow as cultural heritage
• Folklore worth preserving
• Not necessarily supernatural
• But meaningful to those who practice
• A connection to immigrant ancestors
• A living tradition.

The Witch Who Wasn’t

Nelson Rehmeyer was almost certainly not a witch—not in any meaningful sense. He was an elderly hermit who practiced pow-wow folk magic, the same tradition his community had brought from Germany generations earlier. He blessed. He healed. He may have talked about hexes because his community talked about hexes. But he didn’t curse John Blymire. He didn’t cause Blymire’s failing health or failing business. He was just an old man living alone in a hollow, minding his own business, until three believers in witchcraft showed up at his door demanding his spell book.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “Hex Hollow Murder”
• Chronicling America — Historic US newspapers (1690–1963)