In February 1785, several children accused her of luring them into her home to draw blood from them. She was found guilty of witchcraft, banished from the village during a particularly harsh winter, and presumed dead. By midwinter, all of Kedwards’s accusers, along with half of the town’s children vanished. Fearing a curse, the townspeople fled Blair and vowed never to utter the name Elly Kedward again.