SHEPHERDSTOWN — “Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble,” said the three witches at the beginning of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Macbeth.” For those wanting to experience some of their magic for Halloween this year, they can find it at the Second Annual Witches Tea in the War Memorial Building on Sunday, from 4-6 p.m.

Catered by The Devonshire Arms Cafe and Pub, the event will feature a full tea, a pop culture Cauldron Quiz, “Creepy Tales of Shepherdstown” by Shepherdstown Mystery Walks owner Janet Hughes, tarot readers, a graphologist and a tea leaf reader.

“We’ll also have some surprises, provided by the Black Box Arts Center,” said Shepherdstown Visitors Center Director Marianne Davis, mentioning that most of the events are new this year. “A lot of people will be dressed up in costume – they may be as witches, or something else. Of course, there are witches through the ages – there are people who may want to dress as druid witches, 19th century witches, Salem witches or warlocks. They can come as whatever makes them happy.”

The tea is $40 per person and open to adults and children 13 years old and up.

“For me, The Witches Tea is yet another of Shepherdstown’s little bits of happiness. It’s something that doesn’t happen everywhere else,” Davis said. “We’re about two-thirds of the way in selling our tickets. We still have some tickets left.”

To get tickets, visit or call the Shepherdstown Visitors Center before the event, and either pick up the tickets at the SVC or at will-call at the event. The SVC is open every day of the week, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

According to Davis, the success of last year’s tea encouraged the SVC board to host the tea again, as a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization.

“We knew at the visitor’s center we needed to do something about fundraising, since we’re a volunteer organization that doesn’t have a lot of sources of funding. But we wanted to do something different and not step on other groups that were fundraising, and this was something no one else was doing,” Davis said of the development of the fundraiser for last year’s inaugural event. “This is a town that loves to have fun. It was really delightful last year, people genuinely enjoyed it.

“The visitor’s center not only gives people in and around this town DogFest and BooFest and Christmas in Shepherdstown, but it supports every other group, every other resident, every other event in Shepherdstown, and we’re just asking for a little support here. And to have some fun doing it,” Davis said.

For more information, call 304-876-2786 or email shepherdstown.info.