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Michael Zittle Jr.

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Michael Zittle, Jr.
The Zittle Family of South Mountain.
BornOctober 5, 1798
DiedJuly 5, 1877
Resting placeBoonsboro Cemetery
Occupations
  • Occultist
  • poet
  • novelist
  • mountaineer
Spouse
Catherine Koogle Zittle
(m. 1825; died 1872)
Children2
Parent(s)Michael Zittle Sr. and Mary Magdalena Hiestand Zittle

Michael Zittle Jr. (October 5, 1798 – July 5, 1877) or The Wizard of South Mountain was an American occultist, ceremonial magician, author, and mountaineer.[1][2] He was born to a German father, American mother, and was the third oldest of ten children. Zittle became popular in the area as healer, he would offer his services to alleviate a wide array of difficulties, such as compelling a thief to return stolen property, providing a “sure cure for fever," closing a wound from firearms, curing the bite of a mad dog and “dispelling the fear of the darkness of night.”[3][4]

Family

He married Catherine Koogle (December 11 1798 – October 9 1872) daughter of Henry Adam Kugel on June 21 1825 and had two children

  • Anna Maria "Annie" (November 27 1825 – August 28 1887)
  • Emeline "Emma" (April 28 1838 – July 5 1919)

A Friend In Need

A Friend in Need; Or, Secret Science was a Handbook written by Zittle in 1845 on how to perform witchcraft. According to legend, after publication of the book Zittle lost his powers as a result of trying to commoditize his supernatural powers. In 1975, a copy of his book was found by Boonsboro resident Pauline Routzahn.[5]

References

  1. ^ Dahlgren, Madeleine (1882). South Mountain Magic. James R. Osgood & Co. p. 161-163.
  2. ^ "Tales of Early Residents with Strange Powers". The Daily Mail. Hagerstown, Maryland. February 26, 1974.
  3. ^ "Boonsboro Reflections: The Wizard of Zittlestown". Boonsboro Historical Society. December 14, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  4. ^ Barry, Joseph (1903). The Strange Story of Harper's Ferry - With Legends of the Surrounding Country. Martinsburg W. VA: Thompson Brothers. p. 189-191.
  5. ^ "Haunted History: The Wizard of South Mountain – Michael Zittle". Preservation Maryland. October 30, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2021.