Two residents, a man and a woman, were accused of casting a spell on a neighbor’s barn animals, causing sheep to "dance in an uncommon manner" and hogs to "speak and sing psalms."
The Jersey witch story went viral, 18th-century style, reprinted in newspapers throughout the colonies. The tale was captivating, cautionary and completely fabricated.
Mount Holly never held a witch trial. The article was a hoax penned anonymously by Benjamin Franklin, who often published journalistic pranks in the Gazette.
"Franklin was using a hoax in order to expose credulity and superstition and false belief," says Alex Boese, curator of the online Museum of Hoaxes. "What I find so interesting about hoaxes is they reveal so much about different eras and people’s fears, frustrations and preoccupations."
With his Mount Holly spoof, Franklin pioneered the art of the Jersey hoax. Centuries of hucksters, showmen and satirists have followed his lead, using the Garden State as the backdrop for epic practical jokes.
