Aftermath

The story of the Blair Witch Project has haunted me ever since I was a little girl and rewatching the footage from the young crew who went out and explored Burkittsville, Maryland definitely makes me a believer that the story is true and even makes more scared to go camping ever again. Documents and police records don't lie as well as the footage from the camping adventure. Rustin Parr was also a huge factor in what made me a believer, true he could've just heard the myth seeing as he was living a few miles away from where the Blair Witch Project occurred and he could've used the hearings in his head from Elly Kedward as just an excuse to make himself look insane when it came to judgement day. However I don't think Parr would've gone to those extreme measures to kill innocent lives, he would've just done it on his own. Also the trio of teenagers that were able to experience this phenomena and catch it on film validates the credibility of the story as well, and inset is a picture of the three teenagers from clockwise; Joshua Lenoard, Heather Donahue, and Michael Williams. Next time you're in the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland remember nothing good comes out of staying out past dark time, especially in the wooded areas.

 "Blair Witch Project - Mythology and Legend of the Witch - Castle of Spirits." Blair Witch Project - Mythology and Legend of the Witch - Castle of Spirits. Castle Of Spirits, 2001. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.castleofspirits.com/blairwitch2.html>.

The Blair Witch Project

Missing persons report of the three young kids who set out on the journey.  CAT. "Cat In The Well » Wiedźma Z Burkittsville." Cat In The Well » Wiedźma Z Burkittsville. Cat In The Well, 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://catinthewell.pl/607/wiedzma-z-burkittsville/>.

Several years after Rustin Parrs death and after all the attention swirling The Blair Witch three students by the name of Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams embark on a journey to Barkettsville, Maryland to get a first hand look on whether or not the story of The Blair Witch is actually true or just another spooky legend. They decide to record their adventure and also speak to the people who have been living in town the longest, they run into many of the elderly people who warn them to becareful  and also give them insight on the horrid stories of Elly Kedward and Rustin Parrs. The students are reluctant to listen and head onto their journey, as all of this is being recorded they set out camp on the Black Woods which was the main area where Kedward did most of her killings and witchcraft and find it to be haunted by the children spirits that were sacrificed by Parrs. They encounter many occurrences and after being on the journey they soon go missing almost as if they vanished out of thin air. Soon after their disappearance  a missing persons report is filed by Heather Donahue's mother which is shown in the above photo. The teenagers are never found, however the video cameras along with the other equipment used to record their journey are found and in the tapes it shows the teens to be struggling to find their way back home and also of the paranormal instances they encounter. At the end of the tape you see Heather Donahue looking for Michael while her and Josh have split up, she ends up being led to this house and screams are heard throughout the house, the camera falls while you hear Heather screaming and Michaels faee appears in the corner. The rest is history and also hits theaters in 1999 as The Blair Witch Project according to the world renown movie website, IMDb it goes to gross over 200 million in the box offices.

The Rustin Parr Story...

Rustin Parr being interview for the killings in 1940

Rustin Parr was just a man living on the outskirts of present day Burkittsville, Maryland, he was known to be much of a quiet man up until the 1930s when he started to hear voices in his head who were known to be teh voices of Elly Kedward aka The Blair Witch, who was banished from the town of Burkittsville years ago when it was the town of Blair0. The voices in his head were taunting him to do disturbing things and to also kidnap the first two kids he saw when he visited Burkittsville. After going back and forth Parr finally went to town and killed one after the other after the other until he came upon his 7th child by the name of Kyle Brody. Parr forced Brody to watch him kill the young kids until he finally released Brody which ultimately left Brody traumatized up until his later years when he finally hung himself in 1971. Parr was later found guilty of the murders and was executed in 1941. In the photo above is Rustin Parr who was being interview for the killings of all seven children including the grave sites below.

"Rustin Parr." Rustin Parr. Blair Witch, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. http://www.blairwitch.com/parr2.html.

Grave site #2 

Grave site #1 where Parr buried the young bodies

Elly Kedward and the town of Blair, Maryland

Elly Kedward was an elderly woman who immigrated to the small town of Blair, Maryland from Ireland in 1785, soon after her arrival the townspeople noticed that several of the children had gone missing. It was later found out that Kedward had kidnapped many of these children and drew their blood from them which made the townspeople believe she was into witchcraft thus proclaiming her as a witch. The townspeople forced Kedward out of her own town and sent her into the woods, which were known as the "Black Woods", it just so happened to be a terrible winter and Elly Kedward is no longer seen after that. Soon after Kedward's banishment from the town many of the children and adults go missing and they believe it is Elly who has come back to haunt and curse the town of Blair. Many of the people who are left in the town decide to abandon the town all together and to never speak of the occurrences and of Elly Kedward herself. In 1824 the town of Burkittsville now claims its own territory on what used to be Blair, Maryland where the incidents happened not that many years ago from the founding of the town.

 "Cat In The Well » Wiedźma Z Burkittsville." Cat In The Well » Wiedźma Z Burkittsville. Cat In The Well, 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://catinthewell.pl/607/wiedzma-z-burkittsville/>.

Myths, Lies, and Alibis



  "Cat In The Well » Wiedźma Z Burkittsville." Cat In The Well » Wiedźma Z Burkittsville. Cat In The Well, 14 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://catinthewell.pl/607/wiedzma-z-burkittsville/>.

I remember growing up as a young girl being surrounded by three older brothers, they would always tell me stories such as the candy man, bloody mary, and chuppacabra to try and scare me just so I would leave them alone. Of course being the annoying little sister I was I would always do whatever I could to annoy them even more just so I could hear a few more seconds of their scary stories. One of the stories stuck out more than any of the others and it was the story of a believed witch in the small town of Blair, Maryland aka the Blair Witch Project. It stuck out the most to me because it was about an elderly woman who kidnapped kids and would draw their blood and torture them, it hit close to home mainly because I was around the same age as the kids she abducted from the small town. Growing up you believe anything your older siblings tell you and I remember laying in bed at night and thinking of those young kids and not knowing whether to believe it was true or just another myth to be written off in the books. Now I finally have my answer and believe the elderly woman known as Elly Kedward, was indeed a witch who would be known as the Blair Witch. In the above picture is the actual home of Elly Kedward in what is now present day Burkittsville, Maryland.