US home once owned by Burley witch Sybil Leek on the market

A FAMOUS New Forest witch who died 40 years ago is still making the news across the Atlantic.

Sybil Leek lived in Burley in the 1950s and is responsible for the village's tourism boom celebrating witchcraft.

Now her old house in Indialantic, on the eastern coast of Florida, is up sale – and the agent has wasted little time in ensuring Sybil is front and centre of its marketing campaign.

Born in Stoke-upon-Trent, she claimed to be a descendent of Molly Leigh who was accused of being a witch in the 18th century, adding she could trace her family back to 12th century Irish witches.

Having come out as a witch, the unwanted attention led her to move to the US – apparently after her landlord refused to renew her lease.

She continued her practices across the Atlantic, eventually writing more than 60 books and becoming a minor celebrity.

She died in 1982 after a battle with cancer, earning an obituary in the New York Times.

Her former home is now on the market for $675,000 (about £530,000).

It is a two-bed property which has passed through three owners since its most famous inhabitant but still has a selection of books by Sybil, as well as her picture.

Listing agent Lori Guisewite said Sybil was known to have had more than 400 healing herbs in the basement of the house.

She told realtor.com: “It’s such a special house. It’s magical. Anyone that walks in says it feels like a warm blanket, and it has everything to do with the history.”

Lori said she had led about 30 tours for buyers since the house went on the market early this month, but would turn down anyone looking to remodel the home.

She told Florida Today: "I feel like the home is going to choose the buyer. And I feel like the home maybe chose me to represent it, and I want to do it proper."