A woman screams inside an isolated house. Something falls into the moat. By morning, Mariolle Moon has vanished — and centuries later, a female figure is still said to return.
Hidden amongst the houses and footpaths of Church Hill in Redditch is the remains of a medieval home surrounded by a moat. More than seven hundred years ago, people lived on the small island at its centre, crossing a bridge over the water to reach the house.
But Moon’s Moat has another story.
In 1692, Captain Richard Hill murdered actor William Mountfort in London and fled. Almost two hundred years later, an extraordinary account connected the fugitive killer with Moon’s Moat and a young woman named Mariolle Moon.
According to the story, screams were heard coming from the old house one January night. A local constable hurried towards the moat and saw what appeared to be a living body fall into the water. By morning, Mariolle had disappeared. No body was found.
Only a cloak.
And Mariolle Moon was never seen there again.
Years later, another tradition tells of a woman known as Lady Moon or Lady Mohun, who is said to return to Moon’s Moat on St Agnes’ Eve.
Could the two stories be connected?
In this episode of Ghost Tales by the Fireside, we explore the archaeology and history of Moon’s Moat, the real murder committed by Captain Richard Hill, the strange Victorian account of Mariolle Moon, and the old Redditch legend of the woman who still walks beside the moat.
History, folklore and ghost story meet in one of Redditch’s oldest surviving landscapes.
Throughout October, I am also leading The Redditch Ghost Walk every Monday to Thursday. Tickets are £8.50 and proceeds go to Redditch Local History Museum.
ghosttales.co.uk/ghostwalk
My book, The Redditch Ghost Walk: History, Folklore and Haunted Places from the Old Town to the Kingfisher Centre, is available on Amazon.
And providing part of the musical backdrop to this October season is “Chasing Ghosts” by Kindred Spirit.
Chasing Ghosts on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/track/6n58iB0o66y2o062ypvuRy?si=26ubKi7eR6GEGD8gIbb3zw&utm_source=copy-link
Chasing Ghosts on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/IZl1T6As31g?is=eM-OaBFEq1mctb1V
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