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13 Comments

  1. Yeah
    August 1, 2016 @ 3:33 am

    I lived on ashford hollow rd in the mid 90’s and that is where i learned gohst are real. I have seen them and and had siblings attacked by them in our home there.

    • MB
      August 1, 2016 @ 11:29 am

      There have definitely been ghosts the area. My great grandmother often retold stories from her 40s, telling how she saw apparitions when nobody else did. I now live in her old house, and ever now and then, I see setting too.

    • No name
      August 5, 2016 @ 12:16 am

      We live on Ashford hollow Rd and have experienced alot of stuff !

  2. MB
    August 1, 2016 @ 11:27 am

    I’m from Ashford Hollow. My graduating class was told the story of Sophia in our English class, by Jack Nuthall. I was also taught by Gary Phillips, a history teacher, now retired. They said that Sophia’s family also spoke purely German. So, whenever pesky neighbors came to bother her, she’d yell, and they would think she was speaking in tongues. Sophia’s story was common to hear when I went to school, but i very much doubt she was a witch.

  3. Cindy DeKay
    August 1, 2016 @ 5:11 pm

    Add Rick DeKay to that teachers list who worked with Jack and Gary in 1980 to do the history of the witch of West Valley

    • Rick DeKay
      October 23, 2019 @ 8:36 am

      I am Rick DeKay, a teacher at West Valley from 1975-2010 and along with Gary Phillips and Jack Nuthall in 1980 we did a solid investigation with an eye witness to verify why Sophia and her family were coined the Witch of West Valley.

      • Rick DeKay
        August 1, 2023 @ 12:21 am

        I have repeated the story of Sophia and her family many times to students at WVCS and at many local historical Societies until now I feel I am the Guardian of the spirit of her and by telling the story each time to relieve her of the pain of witchcraft.

  4. Stacy Balsano
    August 2, 2016 @ 2:32 am

    I loved reading this! Amazing job! I live about 20 minutes from Ashford Hollow, I’ve never heard anything about any of this..but about 13 or 14 years ago I was driving with someone at night and we were somewhere in Ashford Hollow, I just moved here from Buffalo at the time so i didn’t know where we were..there weren’t many houses I could see, it was like we were in the middle of nowhere and then out of nowhere a woman appeared on the side of the road, walking and all dressed in white. We had to swerve to avoid hitting her! And when we slowed down and looked back, she was gone. My friend and I looked at each other and we couldn’t even talk because we both saw it..where did she come from and where did she go?!! So we just left as quickly as possible and didn’t say anything to each other about it until we got home. Still to this day I don’t know if she was just a real person who was walking down the road or if she was a ghost. I wonder if this could be related to what I experienced. I’m gonna make a trip to this grave and see if I’m able to find out. Thank you for this awesome story!

  5. Sarah
    August 6, 2016 @ 1:45 pm

    Where exactly is the grave? My sister in law and I tried to find it but were unsuccessful. We cam from Buffalo and turned right onto Ashford Hollow. Coming from that way is it past the parking for the Sculpture park or before it?

    • Chris
      August 6, 2016 @ 2:29 pm

      Hi Sarah,

      There are two ‘sections’ to the sculpture park. You’ll want the section that is on Rohr Hill Road. If you scroll up to the paragraph titled ‘Rohr Hill Cemetery’ in the first sentence click on the link in the word ‘located’. I provided a map there.

  6. Jeremy Bouton
    February 19, 2019 @ 3:45 am

    I live on Ahrens Rd. at the bottom of the hill and have been to the grave several times. I have been researching the history of AshfordHollow and happened upon this story a few times, as I was reading your story I remembered seeing that name on a 1856 Cat. Co. map I found from the L.O.C. WA. DC. So I revisited the map and honestly got goosebumps after seeing the name L. Dish on the lot without the letter (C) after reading about the young mans finger turning black. I truly do believe that there’s more to this story as me and my family have experienced some odd things ourselves.

  7. Day Trip to Griffis Sculpture Park in East Otto | Exploring Upstate
    July 8, 2021 @ 7:38 pm

    […] By the way, while you’re on Rohr Hill Road, try to find the grave of the Ashford Hollow Witch! […]

  8. Brenda J Baldwin
    November 12, 2021 @ 7:09 pm

    I grew up on Route 219 in Ashford Hollow. My maiden name was Ahrens. My grandfather owned land next to Griffiss Sculpture Park. There were gravestones under a cluster of lilac trees. Did someone put a different gravestone there? I don’t remember one big gravestone.