Global InformationLithobolia information
Lithobolia: or, the Stone-Throwing Devil is a 7,000-word narrative folk tale by Richard Chamberlayne first printed in London in 1698. It is considered an early example of esoteric literature and supernatural horror writing, and has been compared to modern poltergeist stories.[1][2][3][4]
The book describes events which supposedly took place during 1682 in Great Island (present-day New Castle), Province of New Hampshire. During the summer months, hundreds of stones rained down on a certain tavern. Nobody witnessed anyone throwing the stones. The tavern owner accused a female neighbor of using witchcraft against him, and she in turn accused him of being a wizard. The tavern was already controversial in the area, because the owner was a prosperous Quaker, its personnel included Native Americans, and its regular customers included so-called "godless" fishermen. The events marked the first major accusations about witchcraft in New England, starting a trend of similar accusations in other New England towns.
- ^ Benjamin Crocker Clough (1947). The American imagination at work: tall tales and folk tales. A. A. Knopf.
- ^ Myra Jehlen; Michael Warner (1997). The English Literatures of America, 1500-1800. Routledge. pp. 388–. ISBN 978-0-415-90873-3.
- ^ The Yale Literary Magazine. Herrick & Noyes. 1887. pp. 95–.
- ^ Baker, Emerson W. The Devil of Great Island, pp. xiii, Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2007.