Folklore Commons^™

In the holiday 2007 issue of New England Ancestors, Diane Rapaport introduced readers to the strange case of the "Stone-Throwing Devil" that attacked the Walton family of Great Island (present-day New Castle, New Hampshire). Throughout the summer of 1682, the Waltons and their home and tavern were constantly pelted with rocks. In addition to this stony assault, objects moved about the house or disappeared, and people heard strange noises. Since no culprits were ever seen, the Waltons believed the cause was what contemporaries called "lithobolia, or the stone-throwing devil" (lithobolia is Greek for stone-thrower).

The Waltons became convinced that …