Everyone has heard of The Blair Witch Project, the lovechild of the found footage y el supernatural horror genre.
It’s often named the most – if not the only – truly successful found footage horror.
Did you know that the Blair Witch was based on a real person from the 1600s?
Her name was Moll Dyer, and she was from today’s Leonardtown, Maryland.
Her story is that of witchcraft, crooked justice and ingratitude.
The Blair Witch’s Life
There isn’t too much that’s known about Moll Dyer, which is a given considering the time she lived in.
What we do know is that she was an Englishwoman. She was born in 1634.
At the age of 35, she left England and sailed off to St. Kitts, an island in the Caribbean. She worked on St. Kitts as an indentured servant.
Around 1677, in her forties, Moll Dyer moved to Maryland.
It’s said that she was knowledgeable in herbs and natural medicine.
She was somewhat of a town’s healer, but she was also very poor. Sources mention that she would occasionally beg for charity and search for food in the woods.
No Trial for the Blair Witch
It is no surprise that the people of Dyer’s time thought of her as a witch.
The 1600s were the time when pretty much anything could get you accused of witchcraft. Masses were uneducated and superstitious.
Although Dyer practiced Catholicism, she had adopted many African rituals and practices during her time in the Caribbean.
So when a sequence of misfortunes befell the town, the Puritan people rushed to cast blame.
The epidemic of influenza spread due to the harsh winter of 1697. Many people were lost to it.
Sheep and cattle died left and right. The fields of crops were dead.
En gente identified the cause to be witchcraft and decided that killing the poor old Moll Dyer would help bring things back to normal.
The Moll Dyer Rock
The townspeople decided to deal with the perceived witch in the old-fashioned way.
They gathered to burn down her small hut with her still inside, sometime in February 1698.
Moll Dyer managed to escape the fire and run away to the woods.
However, she was old. In the 17th century, being over 60 years old was much different than being 60 today.
Although she escaped the fire, she couldn’t escape the elements and the freezing winter.
A few days later, a young boy looked for his lost livestock and found her.
Her body was found in the middle of a river, frozen to death on a large rock.
Today, it’s known as the Moll Dyer Rock, and it is kept in the Tudor Hall, Leonardtown as an artifact.
It’s said that her hands and knees had left a permanent mark on the rock.
The Moll Dyer Curse
Pretty soon after the injustice was done to her, Moll Dyer became a part of the local folklore.
People speculated that she had cursed the whole town in her dying moments.
This was supported by the claims that when she was found frozen, her arms were raised to the sky as though she called upon something supernatural.
People claimed that going near the Moll Dyer Rock or touching it caused them dizziness or even illness.
In 1972, the Rock was moved to stay next to the Old Jail in Leonardtown – a historic landmark.
The workers who moved it also said they felt their chests tighten and experienced trouble breathing while handling it. Some were incluso injured.
The Curse of the Moll Dyer Road
Yet another landmark – a road – was named after the poor woman.
But, it seemed to be too little, too late. Many strange and scary happenings are reported to have happened on this road.
People claimed they’d seen Moll Dyer’s ghost while driving through, which caused quite a few car accidents.
The weather also seems to work strangely around this road. It’s said that sudden storms would erupt out of nowhere.
People passing by also claimed they experienced a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong.
Descendants of the Witch Hunters Cry Generational Guilt
The Weather Channel did the story on Moll Dyer, in which they interviewed some of the locals.
One of them, Lynn, explained that she grew up to the stories about the Moll Dyer Rock. Incluso coming close to it would bring bad fortune.
Lynn’s curiosity got the better of her, however.
She spoke of touching the Rock, after which she experienced severe lung burn and coughing up blood.
Some townspeople even speculate their own family tragedies were due to Dyer’s curse on their ancestors.
A little Aquarius, devoted to writing and embroidery. Through my writing, I hope to empower readers to align with their true selves and navigate life’s mysteries with confidence.