The Family Witch

Today I'm shifting gears a bit and highlighting my paternal grandmother's grandmother (that would be my great great grandmother) Johanna Wilhelmina Fangmann.  Johanna Fangmann was born on August 19, 1874 in Germany, possibly in Lower Saxony.  At the age of 8, she traveled with her family from the port of Bremen, Germany to the Port of Baltimore, MD in the United States.  On September 19, 1890, she married William Henry Scheufele and she died December 15, 1954.  She is always referred to as "Grandmother Scheufele" within the family. 



Grandmother Scheufele has rather interesting stories associated to her.  Growing up, I would hear my dad and his sisters talk about Grandmother Scheufele's crystal ball that they were never allowed to touch.  As a fan of anything even remotely paranormal, I became fascinated by her, and by her house that was within walking distance of my childhood home.  I often walked by it wondering what secrets it might hold.  My cousin often told me that there was a picture of the devil hanging in the basement of the house.  The idea of having a photo of the devil hanging in your home was scandalous.  Many times I would stand outside the old house wishing there was a way into the basement.

While I was in college taking an Anthropology course, I spoke to my grandmother about potential family stories that might have a paranormal twist to them.  I knew we had some family ghost stories (what family doesn't?), but I was hoping for something more.  And that's when I learned some information about Grandmother Scheufele that makes her a really cool Great Great Grandmother.

Johanna Wilhelmina Scheufele nee Fangmann
in her church room

Apparently, Johanna Wilhelmina Scheufele would hold "church meetings" at her home in a room she called the "church room".  She would wear robes, and welcome people into her house.  What my grandmother described sounded more like a seance than a church meeting.  During the few times my grandmother was allowed to attend these meetings, she said Grandmother Scheufele  would go into a trance and would speak in a voice that was not her typical voice and share information.  My grandmother said that the voice was definitely someone else's and didn't sound anything like Johanna's, and it didn't sound like Johanna was trying to disguise her voice either. After these meetings, Grandmother Scheufele would be physically exhausted. In occult circles, this is known as Trance mediumship where the medium allows a spirit to connect directly through their physical body.  Like Whoopi Goldberg's character in the movie Ghost.

My grandmother also shared a story about a time, as an adult, that she was very sick.  She had been ill for days without a known cause.  Her mother Emma Marie, Johanna Wilhelmina's daughter, took her to see Grandmother Scheufele and hopefully find out what was going on.  Grandmother Scheufele instructed them to cut open my grandmother's pillow and inside they would find a hard lump of feathers.  She told her daughter Emma Marie to take that lump outside and burn it in the yard while saying some type of incantation (sadly the incantation wasn't remembered).  Grandmother Scheufele told my grandmother she had been cursed by none other than her mother-in-law.  When they went home, they did actually find the hard lump of feathers just as described. Once the lump was burned and the incantations said, my grandmother began healing.

There was one other story that was told to me regarding my grandmother's cousin Will who lived with Grandmother Scheufele for a time.  One evening, Will was down in the basement when Grandmother Scheufele heard him holler right before the sound of glass breaking.  When she went to see what was going on, she found Will with a look of terror on his face and the basement window shattered.  Will told her that the he saw the face of the devil looking at him through the window and so he threw a hammer at it.  Grandmother matter-of-factly explained to Will that his step-mother had sent the devil after him.  This story was apparently the basis for the whole "picture of the devil in the basement".  There was no actual photo, just the actual devil sent to get young Will.

Grandmother Scheufele with crystal ball on the table.

While the title of the post refers to Johanna Wilhelmina Scheufele nee Fangmann as the "family witch", I'm not talking about the crushed by a house crushed, water melted, child eating witch.   She was a healer and a medium and nothing more.  She used her knowledge of the old healing ways to help others and share messages from loved ones who had crossed over.  Without a doubt, she is one relative I wish I had the ability to know personally.