Legend of Moll Dyer - Weird MD
N 38° 17.364 W 076° 38.163
18S E 356920 N 4239191
In 1796, poor old Moll Dyer froze to death on a rock in Leonardtown, MD. She didn't stand a chance against the townspeople who branded her a witch
Waymark Code: WMEEM8
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/17/2012
Views: 9
In the late 17th century, the townsfolk of Leonardtown, Maryland believed Moll Dyer was a witch because she was a weird old spinster who lived in a shack and practiced herbal healing, so they were convinced it was all her fault when crops failed and livestock died causing people to starve. She had really done it when she cursed them with the bad winter of 1697 and a flu epidemic that killed hundreds. That got the people all fired up and they headed for her ramshackle home one night to end her and her insidious witchcraft once and for all.
Some say they set fire to her hut and she escaped by running into the brutally cold, wintry woods. Others say she was chased by the rampaging vigilantes. Regardless, the end result was the same. She died frozen to a boulder. She was kneeling with one hand on the rock and the other hand was raised asking for mercy or who knows... maybe she was calling down a curse. To everyone's shock and amazement, her handprint and kneeprint were left on the rock!
Moll Dyer died in infamy. A road and stream were named after her and the rock was moved to the St. Mary's County courthouse lawn by the National Guard in 1972. Today, the rock sits next to the Old Jail. The prints seem to have eroded or faded away with time, but apparently the curse remains. People have reported feeling queasy or achy when near to it. And out there on Moll Dyer's Run? They say her ghost still runs through the woods.