LEXINGTON PARK, Md. – Moll Dyer is a tale told to many kids in the Leonardtown area. The area she died and the rock she was frozen to has left many visitors with chills down their spines and an unsettling feeling in their gut.
In the spirit of Halloween, TheBayNet.com sat down with local author, David W. Thompson who has written two books (Sister Witch: The Life of Moll Dyer and His Father’s Blood) on the accused witch’s tale. Thompson talks about the story of Moll Dyer, his books, and an encounter a friend had with the witch.
A Baynet reader also shared a story where she outlines her encounter with the spirit of Moll Dyer. Her story is located below this article.
“My name is Brandy and I was born and raised in St. Mary’s County. I grew up in Leonardtown off of St. Margaret’s Drive across from Moll Dyer Road where the legend of Moll Dyer died at. The stream and woods where she hung out at and lived was the same exact area that I have encountered many unusual and unexplained stories as a kid/teenager. These are all true stories.
My first incident was when I was 10 years old. Shortly after my dad told me about Moll Dyer and showed me the article on her, I started to notice strange things. I had a friend over a few days later and was riding the four-wheeler down in the woods. For some reason, while riding the four-wheeler it started acting strange. [It] kept cutting off and it would turn back on. Finally, it just died on us. As we’re sitting there kinda laughing about it. The wind was picking up [the sky] got extremely dark and then we started freaking out. Laughing became a panic. I tried and tried to start the four-wheeler but nothing. So we started to walk back out the woods to the house. As we were walking we kept hearing a woman’s voice. [We] didn’t think anything of it ‘till we heard screams in the woods ‘help me, somebody help me, please help me!!!’ We immediately looked at each other and ran back to the house! Got my father and told him to call 911. Obviously, he wouldn’t until he felt that it was necessary. Once we went back down the woods where the four-wheeler was. There was no more wind, no noises just complete silence. My dad goes to the four-wheeler and it starts up immediately. I asked my dad was there a storm and he said ‘no, it’s been sunny without any clouds today silly’ needless to say my friend never came over again after that and I stopped going down the woods for a while.
Few months goes by and I had another friend over and we were riding around the woods at night. We got brave turned the four-wheeler off by the stream and sat there for a few minutes. Five minutes goes by and it was out of nowhere a wind like feeling came across the top of our heads. I turned around and didn’t need to say anything to her she had a look of terror on her face. I immediately started the four-wheeler and left!! It was such an intense feeling that came over us. There was no wind that night so we knew something was wrong or telling us to get out of there. It was as if someone brushed their hand over our heads.
There was another time as a teenager that my family wasn’t home and I was going to have friends over for a bonfire in the woods and we had tiki torches down there. During the day, I went and cleaned up and set up everything but later that night before the party I go down there and the torches were already on fire… it was strange, how did they get lit if no one was down there? Also, why would it only be lit in a circle… I did NOT place them in a circle! It was so strange and terrifying. All night we heard noises such as sticks breaking in the woods and as if someone was throwing rocks in the water… so creepy and I don’t know how I could ever go down there again.”
Contact Jerold at staffwriter@thebaynet.com.