September 21, 2019 — Witch Path is an official road in Springfield, Massachusetts, complete with its own green metal sign. It’s a dead end road that runs through a ravine that borders Meeting House Hill Cemetery and the old Congregational Church.
The story of its creepy name can be culled from 19th century accounts in the local newspaper,
The Springfield Daily Republican. An 1891 issue of the paper states that the path was so named because the cemetery it parallels was believed to be a cavorting grounds for ghosts and witches. Makes sense. The other mention is older, dating to September 10, 1861. In a short item, the paper tells the tale (attributed to “a correspondent”) of a woman who was found in the ravine close to death. The woman claimed she had been tortured by witches all night, that they had stuck her with pins and led her around on a halter (Tuesday night!!). The witches disappeared at daybreak.
The cemetery is fronted by a church, the old Congregational Church, which is large and New England-white with peeling paint that adds to the effect of the location. Although it’s not a church anymore. It’s a recording studio. Witch Path itself ends in a group of residences that feel completely separated from the city around them.
Unfortunately, the neighborhood isn’t witch-themed. Although it should be.