February, 1785 - In the township of Blair, Maryland, several children accuse Elly Kedward of being a witch, luring them into the woods to harm them. Kedward is put on trial, found guilty of witchcraft, and banished from the town into the forest during a cold winter, left tied to a cart to die.
November, 1786 - A year later, Elly's accusers and half the town's children have vanished. Fearing a curse, the residents abandon the town and vow never to utter Elly's name again. Thus, the legend of the Blair Witch is born.
1809 - A book called The Blair Witch Cult is published, considered fiction, telling the now romanticized history of Blair. The only known surviving copy is owned by the Maryland Historical Society.
1824 - Peter Branwell Burkitt founds Burkittsville on the land of Blair.
August, 1825 - A 10-year old girl, Eileen Treacle, disappears. Eleven witnesses say they saw her being dragged into the shallow river by a woman's hand. The creek is clogged with oily bundles of sticks and becomes unpotable for thirteen days.
March, 1886 - Robin Weaver is reported missing. However, while a search party goes looking for her, Robin returns to town unharmed, claiming a floating woman took her to her house and left her in the basement. The first search party that went to find her were later found dismembered and mutilated in the woods on Coffin Rock.
1940-1941 - Seven children disappear in Burkittsville. A hermit named Rustin Parr wanders into town and claims he is "finally finished". The police storm his house and discover the bodies of the children in the basement, ritually murdered. An eighth child had been spared, becoming a key witness at Parr's trial. Parr pleads guilty to the murders, claiming a woman spoke in his head and told him to kill the children. He was hanged while his home was burnt to the ground by an angry mob.
The Blair Witch Project
October 20th, 1994 - Heather Donahue, Joshua "Josh" Leonard, and Michael "Mike" Williams arrive in Burkittsville to film their documentary based on the Blair Witch legend, interviewing the locals.
October 21st-23rd - The trio drive to the Black Hills. The events seen in the film occur as the students get lost after Mike throws the map into the creek. They are haunted by an unseen presence, walk in a mass circle, and slowly become irritable and insane. Josh disappears on the 22nd. A day later, Heather and Mike follow his screams to a ruined house. Inside it, they find the walls covered in bloody handprints. Their footage ends that night after Heather finds Mike in the basement and drops the camera, apparently struck.
October 25th - Josh's car is discovered by the police.
October 26th - A manhunt occurs to find the students; it ends in November.
October 16th, 1995 - A team of archaeologists investigate the ruined house, discovering Heather's backpack and film equipment impossibly-placed beneath the house.
January 15th, 1996 - The students' families hire a private investigator, Buck Buchanan, to discover the truth.
February 16th, 1996 - The local sheriff declares the footage to be a hoax.
May 20th, 1996 - Buck Buchanan ends his investigation inconclusive.
