| Michael Zittle, Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | October 5, 1798 |
| Birth Place: | Washington County, Maryland, US |
| Death Date: | July 5, 1877 |
| Death Place: | Boonsboro, Maryland, US |
| Resting Place: | Boonsboro Cemetery |
| Parents: | Michael Zittle Sr. and Mary Magdalena Hiestand Zittle |
| Children: | 2 |
Michael Zittle Jr. (October 5, 1798 – July 5, 1877) or The Wizard of South Mountain was an American occultist, ceremonial magician, author, and mountaineer.[1] [2] He was born to a German father, American mother, and was one of nine children. Zittle became popular in the area as healer, he would offer his services to alleviate a wide array of difficulties, such as compelling a thief to return stolen property, providing a “sure cure for fever," closing a wound from firearms, curing the bite of a mad dog and “dispelling the fear of the darkness of night.”[3] [4]
A Friend in Need; Or, Secret Science was a handbook written by Zittle in 1845 on how to perform magic spells. It was based on a German book of magic, referred to by Zittle's neighbors as his "black book" or "conjuring book"[5] . According to legend, after publication of the book, Zittle lost his powers as a result of trying to commodify his supernatural powers. In 1975, a copy of the published English book was found by Boonsboro resident Pauline Routzahn.[6] Today, a copy of both the English and original German can be viewed at the Boonsbourough Museum of History.[7] [8]