Elly Kedward, born Eilis Abaigeal Kedward, was an Irish immigrant from Glengariff, Ireland who settled in Blair, Maryland. She was later known infamously as the Blair Witch.

She was born in Glengariff, Cork, Ireland in 1729 to an Irish mother and Welsh father. There are many theories on where the story goes from here, some say her father passed away from small pox and her mother died during birth leaving Elly a newborn only to be found by a stranger and eventually making her way to the United States.

Other tales talk about near unspeakable horrors, her father being captured and killed and disembowelled in front of her while she is tortured and repeatedly raped. From here she has had links to Waterford, Wexford and many other places in South-East Ireland before eventually jumping on a immigrant boat to America.

She then arrived at the town of Blair, many of the locals were not used to seeing newcomers often but none the less welcomed her with open arms. However Elly wasn’t so welcoming, she would often drive people away from her house and was considered a recluse and somewhat odd.

In February 1785, several children accused her of luring them into her home to draw blood from them. She was found guilty of witchcraft, banished from the village during a particularly harsh winter, and presumed dead. Different reports state that the town drug her into the woods, tied her to a tree and left her for dead.

Once word spread some local town children wanted to see the aftermath of what had happened to Elly and ventured out in the Black Hills forest for a closer investigation. Upon arrived it was said she was still alive and the children allowed their dogs to attack her and basically finish the job. Her death was also linked to being slashed/beaten to death and being hung from a tree.

By the middle of that winter all who accused her and half the towns children had gone missing without a trace, fearing a curse the town vowed to never speak her name again. Although some say that Elly was a scapegoat for the town and something more sinister was at play here…

What do you think? Who was the Blair Witch? Was there really a Blair Witch? Let us know what you think below or on social media!