Rehmeyer's Hollow

39.8044439°N 76.6504456°W / 39.8044439; -76.6504456

The house of Nelson Rehmeyer, as it stands today.

Rehmeyer's Hollow (or Hex Hollow) is an area of York County, Pennsylvania, located in North Hopewell Township, near Winterstown.

The area is named in memory of Nelson H. Rehmeyer, a powwow doctor, whose bizarre murder - and the following trial for his assailants - made national headlines in 1928.

Despite being a popular tourist destination, the house is private property owned by one of Rehmeyer's descendants, and has ADT security systems installed.

Murder of Nelson Rehmeyer
Police investigate the property, following the murder.

In November 1928, under the malicious advice of a local woman popularly known as Nellie Noll but actually named Emma Knopp, John Blymire believed that he had been cursed by Nelson Rehmeyer. Blymire and his accomplices called on Rehmeyer at his home hoping to find his copy of the braucherei 'spell book' known as the Long Lost Friend and also get a lock of his hair. Knopp advised him to burn the book and bury the lock of hair eight feet underground.

Blymire and his fellow conspirators John Curry and Wilbert Hess (who likewise felt victimized by Rehmeyer) were unable to find the book, then confronted Rehmeyer whom they killed and mutilated in hopes that this would lift the curse. The three men charged with the crime also set fire to the house, hoping to remove remnants of the curse, as well as to destroy evidence of their murder.

However, the house did not burn down as they had hoped. This led to many people further believing that Rehmeyer was a witch and that his power prevented the destruction of the house. The resulting trial drew substantial media attention.[1][2][3]



References
  1. PARDON BOARD HEARS PROTEST IN 'HEX' CASES, at the Gettysburg Times; published October 27, 1943; retrieved from Google News Archive June 30, 2014
  2. Witchcraft Practiced in York County, at the Gettysburg Times; published February 1, 1969; retrieved from Google News Archive June 30, 2014
  3. Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World, by David W. Kriebel; published 2007 by Penn State Press (via Google Books)

Further reading
  • Lewis, Arthur (1969). Hex.
  • McGinnis, J. Ross (2000). Trials of Hex.

Pennsylvania Dutch Powwow website of author Robert Phoenix

Hex Hollow, documentary film (2015) https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3145016/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

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