Molly Leigh was born in 1685 in a small cottage on the outskirts of Burslem, near Stoke-on-Trent, in central England. She died in 1746, and her grave in Saint John’s churchyard has been the site of a strange little ritual ever since. Because, you see, Molly Leigh was a witch. Or so the story goes…
Molly Leigh, Can’t Catch me!
Molly Leigh, Molly Leigh
Traditional rhyme
Chase me round the apple tree,
Molly Leigh, Molly Leigh,
You can’t catch me,
Molly Leigh, Molly Leigh,
Chase me down all the holes I can see.
This old rhyme is well known in north Stoke-On-Trent, in central England. The verse is supposed to be recited on Halloween while skipping three times around a certain grave in Saint John’s churchyard, in the town of Burslem. The ritual is performed as a kind of dare — a right of passage for brave kids who are ready to prove that they no longer believe in childish things such as magic, or ghosts, or witches.
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