the Snallygaster files — South Mountain, and why the Smithsonian supposedly care

Been digging the Middletown Valley stuff for years and the Snallygaster never gets old. German settlers up around Frederick County MD called it Schneller Geist, "quick spirit," and by the 1730s they were painting seven-pointed stars (the hex signs) on their barns to keep it off. Half bird, half rept……