University of Virginia Library

"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.