University of Virginia Library

Scottsville's Moon Ghost

Baffling Case Of The Bullet-Proof Ghost

Scottsville – that tiny town
southeast of Charlottesville, the kind
you can pass through before you
even know that you were there –
appears to be the ideal of American
bliss.

Yet, during the Reconstruction,
events so bizarre occurred there that
Scottsville's peaceful image was
badly blemished.

A most extraordinary ghost
haunted the summer home of Judge
John Schuyler Moon for two years
without ceasing, bringing national
fame to that once sleepy town.

One Sunday morning during the
summer of 1866, after the adult
members of the family had gone to
church, someone banged on the front
door of the Moons' Church Hill
estate. Two rough men demanded to
see the head of the house.

"He's at church," said a grandson,
and the strangers whirled away on
their mounts. Some neighbors nearby
saw the men dash away in the
direction of a near-by graveyard.

Upon returning from church, the
judge was baffled over the
occurrence. He and some friends
scoured the neighborhood for the
two men, but in vain.

Soon afterwards, odd noises were
heard and missing articles were
discovered. In a locked pantry,
spilled flour, sugar, salt and spices
were found, mystifying the entire
household.

But this was just the beginning of
Scottsville's infamous ghost story.
One hot August night, pondering a
law case while he paced his bedroom,
Judge Moon saw a movement out the
window – a dim figure scuttling from
the porch into some shrubbery.

"Jack Ghost" Appears

Before too long, every member
had caught a glimpse of "Jack
Ghost," masked, hatless and wearing
a suit of supposedly bulletproof
"mail."

Playing outrageous tricks on the
Moon family, the ghost took to
breaking window panes and hurling
bricks. One evening when Aunt Kate
saw an intruder and screamed, the
shot he fired singed her eyebrows.

Becoming famous throughout the
countryside, the legend of the Moon
Ghost reached the University.
Curious and adventurous students
ventured to Scottsville.

One some nights, as many as 25
University men would keep a
midnight vigil at the Moon residence.
Though they might have a fleeting
glimpse of the mysterious being, they
had no success in capturing him.
Once, when students saw a shape on
the roof, fifteen guns fired in vain.

Not only were the University men
baffled, but detectives from
Richmond and Washington, D.C.,
spent many long nights waiting to
observe the ghost. Yet the mystery
of the ghost remained unsolved.

Light Mystifies Students

No night passed when the ghost
did not display his presence. The
most uncanny thing the ghost did
was to make a light travel around a
room even when the blinds were
closed and extra bed covers were
hung over the curtains.

According to the butler, the ghost
left silver and other valuables
untouched, but would always drink
up the whiskey and brandy from the
Moon decanter.

Though Judge Moon hated
publicity, the ghostly escapades at
his home made headlines throughout
the country. In fact, the story
became so famous that a drama
called "The Moon Ghost" was
playing to large audiences in
Richmond and elsewhere.

Finally, two years after the
annoyingly mysterious events first
began, they came to a sudden halt.
One day the family heard a shower of
pebbles on the front door. As the
judge opened the door, a long reed
flopped into the hall, on the end of
which was a note. Scrawled on the
cheap paper was: "Master Jack, I will
not pester you anymore. Jack
Ghost."

Scottsville Speculates

All of Scottsville mused about the
ghost's identity. No one could figure
out why any normal human being
would, night after night, torture the
innocent Moon family. The residents
tried to think of those persons who
might hold a grudge against the
judge, possibly wanting revenge.

The most likely suspect seems to
be the notorious horse thief, Lucian
Beard. Judge Moon had once
sentenced him to a long jail term.
Had Beard feared further
prosecution? Wanted vengeance?

Years later the horse thief, jailed in
Richmond, wrote the Moons that if
Judge Moon would clear him he
would unravel the ghost story. The
Judge declined, however.

Perhaps the most mysterious
aspect of the entire Moon Ghost
episode surfaced when a
descendant, Frances Moon Butts,
made a 1933 visit to Dunster Castle
situated in northern England. The
twelfth century castle was the home
of the oldest known ancestor of the
Moon family.

While giving Mrs. Moon a tour of
the castle, the guide stopped on a
long flight of steps saying, "We call