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.

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.