The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines folklore as: traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or art forms preserved among a people. Pennsylvania certainly has both a unique and diverse cultural heritage. Ghost stories, real or mythical creatures from the lumber regions in northern Pennsylvania, the proud cultures from the coal regions, and the Pennsylvania Dutch heritage from southeastern Pennsylvania all have provided entertaining examples handed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, folk songs, or in art form. The story shared below was published in the Keystone Folklore quarterly magazine, which was in existence for some 35 years. This tale takes place in the area of the Penns Creek Massacre in the north central part of the Susquehanna Valley.
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Stories and illustrations of Pennsylvania provide a person's insight into the wonders of the Keystone State. An 1883 book by J. David Williams, "America Illustrated," includes several sketches from different regions of Pennsylvania. One of those is the Juniata Valley, a neighbor to the west of the Susquehanna.
Whipping posts, stocks, and pillories were used in the sentences imposed by the early courts of Pennsylvania around the time of the American Revolution. In the Susquehanna Valley, the first courts in Northumberland County were located in Sunbury. Northumberland County covered a large area in Pennsylvania when it was formed from five others in 1772. Accused criminals from throughout the Susquehanna Valley were tried in Sunbury, and if found guilty, punishment was meted out. Custom and also custom law permitted each passerby to throw one stone at the culprit's head. In the stocks, the offender sat upon a platform with his hands and feet protruding through the framework. But for career criminal Joe Disberry, an even crueler punishment never stopped his life of crime.
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