If you were raised in Polk County you’ve probably heard the tale of Witch Ann, complete with spooky details about strange lights at Wildcat Spur, a deathly fire, and cats that do strange things. Maybe you have even climbed Ann Ridge and bravely said her name three times to see what happened?

But who exactly was this woman who came to be known as Witch Ann? The Bulletin attempts to separate fact from fiction in this Halloween tale, to discover what it was about this woman living in the mountains near Sunny View around the time of the Civil War that inspires many a sinister re-telling this time of year.

The legend of Witch Ann began in 1844 on Halloween night, close to midnight, where it is said Ann Biddy Shepherd was born to P.D. and Sally Biddy on the northern edge of Polk County at her home site known as Ann Ridge. Ann’s mother died while in labor, the first of many tragedies in Ann’s life.

Ann grew up in “the clutches of Wildcat Spur” in the mountains near Sunny View, according to M. Willard Pace’s 2010 novel “Witch Ann.” She had a black cat that followed her wherever she went. In addition, she owned three sheep, two white ewes and a black ram, which is why she was called the “black sheep of the family,” a name Pace said Ann did not mind as black was her favorite color.

When he read excerpts of his book to the Polk County Historical Association in April 2011, Pace said his book is historical fiction, and the legend of Witch Ann, a life beset with numerous tragedies, was handed down by word of mouth.

Following her mother’s death, Pace wrote that Ann’s great-aunt, Isa, raised her with her father in Ann Ridge. When a rattlesnake bit Isa while she was picking blackberries, Ann’s father called upon Lady Owatta at the nearby Indian village to heal her with some of her milk thistle and herbs.

Ann was always fascinated with Owatta and her herbs, according to Pace, and she eventually became the doctor and midwife for Wildcat Spur in her husband’s absence while he was fighting in Virginia during the Civil War. Ann utilized the knowledge of herbs she gained from Owatta, and the community called upon her to mend everything from broken legs to her father’s pneumonia.

Another disaster struck when Ann’s stepmother, Hassie, was killed in a wagon crash after the vehicle flipped over when it hit a patch of ice, drowning her in Britten Creek.

This was the event that drove Ann to think she was bewitched, according to Pace, after she lost her mother, great-aunt, step-mother and her in-laws, Sarah and Jacob. Ann’s husband, John, was off fighting in the Civil War in Virginia, and she worried she might lose him, too.

According to Pace, it was on Saturday, July 30, 1864 when John was caught in an explosion in the trenches of Petersburg, Va. John’s friend, George Washington Wiggins, was sure John was killed, but he survived. He had significant injuries, though, including blistered hands and face, burned feet and hair missing from his scalp that left him permanently scarred. John had been wearing a necklace made with one of Ann’s dress buttons; he called it a good luck charm.

Back home in Ann Ridge, Ann’s father, P.D., was butchered at Britten Creek by a deserter of the war, according to Pace. Following her father’s death and all the other tragedies and her husband at war, Ann was left all alone to defend herself and her property.

The first time Shepherd was called a witch, according to Pace’s novel, was by “Ruffus” Ruff following the death of his son, Willie, when a tree fell on him as he was chopping it down. When Ruff accused Ann of killing his son, Eli Bailey stepped in to defend her and, as a result, was shot by Ruff the next morning, according to Pace. Ann reportedly said, “I’ll put a spell on the last one of ‘em, a spell they won’t ever forget, I’ll give ‘em a reason to call me Witch Ann.”

Word spread about Ann being a witch, and when she went to Bailey’s nephews to give them the news of their uncle’s death, they thought Ann had killed him because they had just seen him the morning before the incident. Ruff told the other residents of Ann Ridge that Bailey’s ghost was riding around on a black stallion calling out the name of his killer, who Ruff said was Witch Ann.

Ann went to Bailey’s grave and saw the marker had “Here Lies Eli Bailey, Killed by Witch Ann.” Ann removed the false accusation and replaced it with “He was a Good Man,” according to Pace. As for the ghost on a black stallion? It was actually Ann, riding during the night using a “bellower,” a syrup can with a rosined string that her father had created to scare off intruders.

Ann wanted to draw Ruff out and expose him, but a house fire killed Ruff and foiled her scheme. Because Ann rode up to the house on her stallion when the fire occurred, Pace said she would be blamed for the incident if she were to be found. Pace said he thinks Ann was not a witch, but was only protecting herself.

When the Civil War ended in April, 1865, John returned to Ann Ridge despite having doubts his wife would recognize him as the explosion left him disfigured and scarred, according to Pace. In the last moments of Pace’s book, Ann does recognize her husband when he returned home, bearded and with the button necklace.

Reported history seems to have left off at that point, but her legend lives on. Medicine woman, fearless protector, or witch? You decide. But if you’re out by Wildcat Spur Halloween night and see the spooky lights, well, it could be her.