Historically, women have been the victims and targets of witch hunts. But it’s not always women who fall prey to fear of the unknown and misunderstood.
Rehmeyer’s Hollow is located near North Hopewell Township in York County Pennsylvania. The area was named after a well-known faith healer by the name of Nelson H. Rehmeyer. However, over time, the name of the house where he once resided took on a darker title.
In the early 19th century, German immigrants to Pennsylvania held strongly to their culture, and blended customs from the Old World and the New World. This meant that while they believed deeply in Christian principles and deities, they also held strong faith in folk magic and faith healing.
Faith healers, also known as “Powwowers” (terminology likely stolen from the indigenous communities in the area), provided cures, healing, protection from evil, and the removal of hexes and curses, while supposedly drawing their power from their chosen deity. They used charms, amulets, incantations, prayers, and rituals to perform their ceremonies and healing practices.
And while these faith healers channelled their powers for good, the flip side also existed in the area. Other practitioners would use their powers to perform hexes and curses, delving into the darker parts of these traditions and practices.
Nelson H. Rehmeyer was descended from a long line of faith healers. He learned his trade from his father and grandfather, adhering faithfully to the rituals and traditions passed down his family line. And while this line of work was rather fortuitous, the Rehmeyers were also very industrious.
They owned farmland, where their potato crops prospered. As he took over the family farm, Nelson gained a reputation for being eccentric. However, he was still well-known in the community as one of the best faith healers around, earning him a steady stream of patients and clientele.
Nelson married a woman named Alice, with whom he had 2 daughters. Nelson was more than pleased to have a family, though Alice was not happy with his faith healing.
She hated having people show up to the house at all hours, and she especially hated his deep faith in the mystical. Before long, Alice took her daughters and moved to another house nearby. Though the couple never divorced, they lived more or less separate lives. Nelson didn’t seem to mind, and made sure to keep an eye on his wife and daughters every chance he got.
The Rehmeyers weren’t the only well-known faith healers in the area. Nelson was well acquainted with the Blymire line, who also had a long history of faith healing tradition. And young John Blymire was determined to continue the family trade. Though talented, his faith healing wasn’t enough to pay the bills.
He worked in a cigar factory, while also taking on odd jobs and performing healings and rituals. His luck turned from good to bad, and Blymire convinced himself that he was hexed. He tried to rid himself of the hex, but was not successful.
Blymire came to the conclusion that he had been hexed by an ancestor. His solution was to quit his job at the factory, and move out of the community. He figured that putting distance between himself and his ancestor’s burial ground, he would alleviate the worst effects of the hex. And for a time, Blymire’s luck did turn for the better.
Blymire met a young woman named Lily, and fell madly in love. The couple married, and had two children who both died in infancy. Through his grief, Blymire believed that he had once again been hexed.
Once again unable to rid himself of the hex, Blymire sought the services of other faith healers. After visiting a healer by the name of Andrew Lenhart, Blymire became convinced that he had been hexed by someone he knew.
Blymire became extremely paranoid, and suspected everyone around him of having hexed him – even his wife.
Lily knew a lost cause when she saw one. She was afraid of her husband, and with good reason. In 1922, Lenhart had given the same dismal proclamation to a different client. That client went on to murder their spouse, on Lenhart’s advice, to rid themselves of the hex.
Unwilling to risk herself, Lily asked her parents for help. They consulted lawyers immediately, and obtained a judge’s order to have Blymire committed to an asylum. While incarcerated, Lily filed for and was granted a divorce.
While in the asylum, doctors determined that Blymire suffered an obsession with hexes and magic. They determined that he required treatment, and was at risk of very serious, very dangerous delusions.
Blymire was institutionalized for 48 days, at which point he simply walked out. No one saw him leave, and no one stopped him. Blymire vanished.
In 1928, Blymire once again went to work at the cigar factory. There, he befriended Milton Hess, a farmer, and 14-year-old John Curry, who was trapped in an abusive household with no escape. The three of them believed that they were suffering the curse of a hex.
Hess was a farmer with a wife and children. For a time, their farm was incredibly prosperous and successful, then a series of unfortunate events hit their farm in 1926, and they were barely able to recover financially from the losses.
Curry was in a miserable state, in a miserable household, and believed that he was on the receiving end of a horrible hex to be receiving such awful treatment at home.
The three of them perpetuated each others’ fears, and soon became convinced that they needed to work together to rid themselves of their hexes. They began to consult healer after healer after healer, trying to find a solution. And finally, they received their answer.
Blymire paid a visit to well-known faith healer Nellie Noll, also known as the “River Witch of Marietta”. He asked her to identify who had cursed him, and she was quick to oblige.
She placed a dollar bill in Blymire’s palm, and then quickly removed it. She told Blymire to look at his hand, and an image of the person responsible for his hex would appear. Blymire saw the image of Nelson H. Rehmeyer – a man he’d known of since childhood.
Nelson had been visited by Blymire and his father when Blymire was a sickly child. Nelson apparently helped cure Blymire’s illnesses. They also happened to be distantly related cousins.
Blymire now had one answer, but he also had more questions. He paid Noll another visit, and she confirmed that Nelson had, indeed, not only hexed him, but had hexed the Hess farm, and young John Curry, as well. But that wasn’t all Noll had to offer – she also had a solution.
She told Blymire that in order to rid himself and his two friends of their hexes, he would need to find Nelson’s copy of his spellbook – The Long Lost Friend – as well as a lock of Nelson’s hair. Then, they would need to bury both items at least six feet underground.
On November 26th, 1928, Blymire and Curry were driven to Nelson’s farmhouse by Hess’ eldest son, Clayton. Along the way, they stopped by Alice’s house to inquire if Nelson was visiting her, or at his own home. Though the couple lived apart, they never divorced, and Nelson always ensured that Alice and the girls were taken care of.
Alice informed them that Nelson was not with her, and he should be around his own home.
They arrived, and Nelson welcomed them into his home, making small talk. Blymire asked about The Long Lost Friend, and discussed other elements of faith healing. To Nelson, all seemed rather normal – they were both practitioners, and had crossed paths since Blymire was a young boy.
As the evening wore on, Nelson invited them to stay the night. They agreed, with Blymire planning to search for the book while Nelson slept. The pair were also unsuccessful in taking a lock of Nelson’s hair – there was no way for them to do it sneakily while the man slept.
In the morning, they left without the lock of hair, and without the book. They needed to come up with another plan.
On the evening of November 27th, 1928, Blymire and Curry went back to Nelson’s home. They were driven by Clayton, and accompanied by Clayton’s 18-year-old brother, Wilbert. They were determined to fine Nelson’s book, and take a lock of his hair.
When they arrived at the house, Nelson let them in once again. The details of what occurred after Nelson let them in change depending on who’s account is being taken into consideration.
What is known is that when Nelson turned his back, Blymire, Curry, and Hess attacked him. They brought Nelson down to the ground, and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Nelson was strangled to death with a rope that was wrapped around his neck.
Realizing that Nelson was dead, the trio stole all the money from the house to make the murder look like a robbery gone wrong. They also searched high and low for Nelson’s The Long Lost Friend, and came up empty-handed.
Before leaving the house, the trio doused Nelson’s body and home in kerosene, then set the house aflame. They were determined to cover their tracks.
They then left the home, fully believing they had done the right thing. While they never found the book, in their minds, they had killed the man responsible for all of their bad luck and misfortunes. They figured they would never be caught.
What they didn’t know was that Nelson nor his house burned that night. After John Blymire, Wilbert Hess, and John Curry left the house, the fire suddenly, and mysteriously, went out.
Two days later, a worried neighbour paid Nelson a visit. He hadn’t seen the man tend to his farm, and wanted to make sure Nelson was okay. Instead, he found his body dead on his kitchen floor.
When the police arrived to investigate, Alice informed them that she’d been visited by Blymire and Curry. Following up on the lead, the police apprehended them for questioning.
It wasn’t long before the media got hold of the details of the case. They began covering the case as the “York Witchcraft Murder”, sending the community into a panic. They were fearful of mysticism and “witchcraft”, prompting a swift near-abolition of all faith healing practices in the area.
John Blymire, John Curry, and Wilbert Hess went to trial for the murder.
Wilbert Hess was found guilty, and sentenced to 10 years for his part.
John Blymire and John Curry were also found guilty, and were given life sentences.
Hess was released, while Blymire and Curry were paroled. All went on to lead uneventful lives, with Curry serving in the military during WWII.
Nelson Rehmeyer’s descendants still maintain ownership of the land. The house he resided in now acts as a tourist attraction. And while they still refer to the property as Rehmeyer Hollow, the location has taken on a darker name – Hex Hollow.
— — —
Like what you’re reading? Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for the latest updates!
Sources:
The “Hex House” Murder – Troy Taylor – American Hauntings
Dark Magic: The 1928 Hex Hollow Murder of Nelson Rehmeyer – Orrin Grey – The Line-Up
Murder and witchcraft: The incredible story of York County’s Hex Murder – Jim McClure – York Daily Record
We Would Be Dead podcast – The Hex House (The Murder of Nelson Rehmeyer)
Rehmeyer’s Hollow Wikipedia page