Around 1785, Pownal widow Margaret Krieger was accused of witchcraft. During a trial by water, she was thrown into the Hoosic River. The townsfolk assumed that if she floated, she was a witch being held up by the devil. She sank but luckily survived and lived five years after the ordeal. Hers is the only documented case of a witch trial in Vermont.

On Saturday, the Pownal Historical Society hosted the fourth annual Witches’ Walk at Strobridge Park in North Pownal. Treasurer Joyce Held researched Krieger’s story for more than a decade and helped organize the event, honoring Krieger and all the “extraordinary women” like her — women considered, in 18th-century New England parlance, to be witches.

A social media video about the walk posted by Luna Moon Gothic went viral and attracted a large crowd of costumed witches, Puritans, skeletons and even a dragon. The boisterous group walked back and forth across the Dean Road Bridge, snapped their photos next to the historical marker honoring Krieger and then a collection of dancing witches performed.

In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger donned a witch hat and met some truly extraordinary women. Among them were a family from Rutland County who are descendants of Margaret Scott and Martha Carrier, who were hanged during the Salem witch trials in 1692. The group carried brooms handmade from swamp grass and elm limbs. “It’s obviously a solemn event,” Castleton resident Tammy Coltey said, “but it’s also a joyful event. We wanted to celebrate women empowerment.”

Music: Phil Henry, “Extraordinary Woman”

This episode of “Stuck in Vermont” was supported by the Vermont Community Foundation.

This article appears in Performing Arts Preview 2006.

Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger has been making her award-winning video series "Stuck in Vermont" since 2007. In 2024, she won first place from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for her video, “Barbie Collector.” She received...