Outer Banks Tales to Remember

by Charles Harry Whedbee

Nearly every time he visits the Outer Banks, the author hears a new tale or another version of an old one and gets "that itch" to write it down for everyone to enjoy. That itch produced the seventeen stories in this fourth volume. There are tales of Indians and trappers, ghosts and firebirds, sea horses and sand dollars, romance and heartache. Some of the stories tell of eerie and frightening events. Some chronicle the history of the coast and its early inhabitants. Others tease us with the promise of love and happiness, only to end in tragedy and despair. Still others explain the strange habits and appearances of local flora and fauna in ways far more intriguing than the scientists do.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

133 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1985

About the author

CHARLES H. WHEDBEE was born and still resides in Greenville, North Carolina. He was educated at the University of North Carolina, taking his law degree in 1932. He has been Solicitor of Pitt County Court and now serves as Municipal Court Judge in Greenville. He began telling legends of the coastal area on WNCT-TV in Greenville, as a panelist on the "Carolina Today" progrm. He and his wife and their dog, Chief Manteo of Roanoke, spend a large part of their summers at Nag's Head, where Judge Whedbee has been a regular since infancy.

Reviews

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book - even as I am 57 years old.

The stories within took me back to my youth where I grew up along the Cumberland River and Red River in Tennessee. The areas of my youth are full of ghost tales and spirits unfulfilled.

I recall a book titled "Ghosts Along The Cumberland", that I read when I was very young.

The writing is unpretentious and can be a great way to suspend reality for just a little while and enjoy the ever-fading art of storytelling.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

“The coast of North Carolina is steeped in legend and folklore. Romance and excitement breed as naturally as mosquitoes in this enchanting but sometimes harsh land. The people on the Outer Banks have been telling and retelling the region’s stories—often embellishing them along the way—for generations.
Whedbee’s lifelong love and admiration for the coastal people have moved him three times to record this priceless oral heritage. But three collections of coastal legends have not exhausted the rich supply. Nearly every time he visits the Outer Banks, the author hears a new tale or another version of an old one and gets “that itch” to write it down for everyone to enjoy.
That itch produced the seventeen stories in this fourth volume. There are tales of Indians and trappers, ghosts and fire birds, sea horses and sand dollars, romance and heartache. Some of the stories tell of eerie and frightening events. Some chronicle the history of the coast and its early inhabitants. Others tease us with the promise of love and happiness, only to end in tragedy and despair. Still others explain the strange habits and appearances of local flora and fauna in ways far more intriguing than the scientists do.
Some Outer Bankers accept many of these stories as gospel. Others tell them for the sheer joy of it. But as Whedbee says: “Whether you believe any or all of them, a tale should be, like beauty, its own excuse for being.” So here you will find neither fact nor fiction but a spicy assortment of entertainments that will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

The first story was a disappointment, the second one after that. The first mentioned Blackbeard and Captain Morgan, when it was Peter Painter's story, didn't seen to know who it wanted to talk about more.

The only good info was the Outer Banks history. The area was full of mostly English people, who were fisherman, merchants and pirates. The people didn't mind pirates because they brought back necessities and luxuries and didn't act any worse than the swindling merchants. Henry Morgan was a famous pirate who ran Port Royal and had his own rules. The town was full of debauchery and pirates could do whatever they wanted as long as they paid their bills. Captains coming into port had to pay a small percentage of their cargo and that tax allowed him the freedom of the city, room to repair his ship, protection from British authorities and all the rum he could afford. Morgan died and others overtook the city, so when Captain Painter went back to Port Royal he was put into jail for not paying his port taxes. He had paid but couldn't find his receipt. His quarter master and a few crewman sold off their shares from the last spoils and got him out. Painter was so mad he supposedly made a deal with the devil to attack the whole town, and as the crew watched the whole town of Port Royal went under water.

The story of the cobia is an example of this being fiction rather than fact. The devil wanted Neptune's power of the sea, so turned an octopus into a woman, with a figure that was "literally out of this world" and puts her in a cave on a bed of sea grass. Neptune, being the gentleman that he was, left his trident outside the cave. The devil locks him in the cave, the woman changed back into an octopus and slips out. As he's jailed and cursing his foolishness, two cobia come up and he tells them to give him his trident. It takes both fish to push the object over and push it through the bars, so Neptune gives the species the gift of always being in pairs, and that's why they're seen swimming together and why some fisherman will throw the fish back, knowing its mate is around.
Definitely not the most exciting stories, and I started to regret buying the book. I hoped the stories got better.

How Oregon Inlet got its Name was quite boring. The tale of a shipwreck in a storm was sad. An account described the crew holding to the rigging for hours until a wave hit them and took almost the whole crew into the ocean. He saw them calm and composed as they went overboard, and one man waved his hat goodbye as he was swept out with the sea, and that was really sad.

Captain Williams', a more modern story, was experiencing a storm at sea at the Outer Banks. With no fanfare, his sister in Nag's Head, is visited by the ghost of their deceased mom, who tells her her brother is in danger on the ocean and for her to pray. Hatteras Inlet was shaped during this hurricane and it's said Oregon Inlet got its name from Willaims' ship, since it was stuck in the inlet while it was being shaped. It did shed insight into the fact that the coast is constantly changing, and inlets are being opened and closed and reshaped constantly.

The Tea Parties and Patriots was interesting as soon as it started. I like learning about history and how things were, especially in my own state. England treated the colonists, who were their own people, more like a foreign country. People from Boston, Massachusetts and Edenton, NC were close. Both cities were major ports of entry and trading centers in the new world, which I thought was really cool. England heavily taxed tea, a favorite drink, so in protest Boston men dressed as Indians and dumped the tea overboard in the Boston Tea Party. England closed the Boston Harbor and Bostonians needed food and other necessities, so Edentonians sent ships with supplies to them. Women in Edenton supported their men by vowing not to drink tea or wear anything from England and their declaration was sent to England. North Carolinians started to talk about rebelling as tensions rose between America and England. North Carolina was at the head of the rebellion. I thought it was so cool how NC had such a big role in the war for independence. Joseph Hewes, an Edenton man who was a trader and built many wharves at port, was one of the North Carolinian men who signed the Declaration of Independence. That was really cool.

Joseph Hewes helped set up his employee, a young man called John Paul Jones, run a fighting ship in the war. John had applied for a commission for a fighting ship but no one thought he had the experience or skill for it, and the colonies didn't have a navy. Joseph got him the position and gave all of his ships to his country, which helped form the Yankee fleet. It was so interesting hearing about NC's part in the war and specific people.

Then, in this story which was about Tea Parties and Patriots, he jumps to something totally unrelated. A girl cried for her lover to return, said O Come! and so the street was name O Come Street, while it's naked Oakum Street today.

The Legend of Batts' Grave had some interesting facts. Jesse Batts was hired to look for Sir Walter Raleigh's Lost Colony. He discovered Caratoke Inlet, now Currituck, and Rhoanok Island, now Roanoke. He befriended Indians there. Apparently the island he lived on was given his name, which is near Albemarle Sound and Drummond's Point, which I thought I'd heard of.
Several tribes of Indians lived in the area, the Algonquin, Chowanoc and Paspatank. Chowanoc means "Men to the South." They called Batts' island Kalola, which means Island of Many Gulls. The chief liked Jesse and had him taught their ways. He was shown how to make a dugout canoe, which could hold up to 20 men, while some were built for just 1 or 2. They were unstable and required balance, especially in the wind. The men put on bear grease to repel insects. They also harvested the white potato. They chased black bears with "much whooping and hollering." They cornered bison and deer in the woods, speared fish and set up weirs in the sounds to trap fish. The chief's daughter wore a copper breastplate with his insignia on it.

The Paspatanks called upon the spirits during their councils and burned uppowoc, tobacco, as an offering to evil spirits. When they sent a messenger to the Chowanocs, the tribe sent back many gifts as acceptance. The Chowanocs prepared a big feast, cleaned their houses and the women made a stew of corn, venison and peas with chunks of fish and shellfish, simmering it over a slow fire to reach peak flavor on the Corn Moon. When the Paspatanks came, the chief had 20 or so councilmen and captains. They wore their regalia and ornaments and paints and dyes on parts of their bodies. Both tribes were Algonquin so they spoke the same language, had the same gods and evil spirits.
Jesse was made into an Algonquin brave. During the ceremony there was singing and dancing, and tobacco and sand were thrown in the air for evil spirits. The shaman made a small cut on the inner forearm of Jesse with a sharpened oyster shell, and then cut himself in the same place. The other priests tied their arms together with rawhide so the wounds touched and bled together. Then he was a blood-brother.

The men wore their hair in top knots with feathers, painted a red circle around one eye and a white circle around the other. The medicine man dyed the insignia of the tribe onto Jesse's left shoulder blade, which were 3 arrows of diff lengths parallel to each other, each with a wild grouse spur as the tip and wild turkey feathers. He was given a war club, which had been baked for hours until it was so hard it was almost like iron.

Veteran warriors knew the other tribe would use fire arrows, so they had the women and boys waiting with gourds and wooden buckets of water to throw on the fire, and green boughs to beat the flames. The fighting involved eye-gouging, groin-kicking, cutting and slashing. Their war clubs were attached to their breechclouts, and they used hatchets and hunting knives.

Lake Mattamuskeet was used by Indians for hunting and fishing. In Algonquian matta means near and muskeet means lowland covered in brush. The Machapunga tribe lived there before white people came, and their word for chief was weroance. Hunters had to apologize when they killed a deer and the spirit Little Deer would come for the spirit after the apology was made and then retreat into the woods. If the hunter didn't apologize Little Deer would follow him back to camp and cause him to have rheumatism. This could only be cured by the medicine man chanting and ulcers were treated with corn and down from a turkey's butt.

Young braves had to volunteer to become medicine men and go through training, and only the smartest and bravest were chosen for training. They were supposed to endure the sweat house with no emotion, and dance ceremonial dances with vigor. In order to become a medicine man the young man had to have 2 visits from the Great Spirit.

The legend of how sea horses got their size wasn't entirely new. I'd heard it or something like it before. Sea horses used to be big, like regular horses, and they were hiding the Kelpie, an evil being who stole children and turned them into selkies. Poseidon was made aware of this and condemned the sea horses to a small size so that they could only enjoy life in miniature.
It was so cool that George Washington had taken an interest in the swamps of NC. He came across a black bear once, was in between quicksand and a river with poisonous snakes. He had the idea to climb a tree, an example of the tactical genius he showed in battle.
There were Algonquian tribes in the region, the Weapemeoc and Chesapeoc confederacies. Their custom was for the chiefs to exchange sons when the boys were young so the confederacies would be closer. They learned each other's views and it promoted good relations between the two groups, even though they remembered their families.
They called Lake Drummond the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts. There was an island in it that they thought housed the Great Spirit.

The brave's lover dies and all of a sudden the story morphs into a legend about how the Milky Way came to be, and he's visiting the king of the snakes out in the swamp. The Great Spirit tells the brave the story of a dog stealing corn meal from the Indians. When they yelled at him the dog jumped into the sky and ran away, spilling cornmeal which formed the Milky Way, and that's why they call it Where the Dog Ran. The Great Spirit agreed to bring back his lover if he searched for the dog and gave up his body, staying in spirit form and looking for the dog with her. If they found him they'd be returned to human form. They searched and searched Lake Drummond for the dog, and ppl still claim to see them. The interesting part of the story was that the Irish poet Thomas Moore wanted to see the spirits he'd heard so much about, and the lake that George Washington liked so much. During his visit he wrote a poem about the Indian lovers.

The history of Nags Head was interesting, bcuz I've been there. It used to be called the best kept secret in NC. From the colonial period and until WWI there were only just a few cottages on the island and the only access was a steamboat a day. The locals and summer people would go to the boat daily for their mail and newspapers and to people watch who got off the boat. The locals didn't lock their doors at night and everyone knew everyone on the island. If there was an emergency or tragedy the Coast Guard came to your house in their horse-drawn cart with the news. Homes usually withstood hurricanes and the Coast Guard and fisherman could usually tell when one was coming so there was time to prepare.
Guests would stay for a fortnight or a whole month. There were movies in Manteo on Saturday nights, but a boat was needed to get there and back. Teenagers and older single people hung out in groups with the children following them around. At night they would have bonfires. Guests were allowed to come to 3 before they were expected to tell a story of their own.

The story that the mountaineer told at the bonfire was ridiculous. As he told of a hanging in which the man claimed to be wrongfully accused of murdering a girl, he vowed to never rest until his name was cleared. For days afterward a shadow of the gallows and his body were seen on the building, until they tore it down to stop seeing it. When the guy's finished with the story the gallows and the body are seen above the fire in smoke. Come on.

Typo Pg. 72 When she came to end of the structure...

NC and most of the Southern states dealt with hardships after the War Between the States. The Confederate army lost and carpetbaggers from the Union army plagued the economy, and the social and political life. Confederates came home to work on their farms and businesses.

It's really cool that the ocean around Cape Hatteras is called the Graveyard of the Atlantic, because so many ships have wrecked there, including the Monitor, a Union ironclad, and Spanish galleons and warships from different countries. So many ships use it because the Gulf Stream flows through and pushes ships north, which saves them time and fuel. It was neat that he mentioned the Hatteras Lighthouse too, that it's the tallest in the country. It's great to learn about my state and places I've been to. The governor of NC, two senators and Hugh Morton, the owner of Grandfather Mountain joined with citizens to protect the lighthouse from the sea. I'd gone to the lighthouse as a kid at its old location and went recently to its new spot since it was moved farther from the shore.

I had never heard that Alexander Hamilton was mostly responsible for the construction of the first Hatteras Lighthouse, so some people call it Mr. Hamilton's Light. In 1772 his ship caught fire and almost wrecked off Cape Hatteras he made a promise to himself that if he ever had a position of influence he'd have a lighthouse built so others would know where they were. In 1794 while he was a member of Congress he pushed through the bill to make the lighthouse. Later it was lost to the sea but apparently the remains of it are still there. It was 120 feet tall and the new one was 208 ft. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps was tasked with helping the situation when this one was in danger of the sea as well, under Franklin Roosevelt. It was really inspiring that the work crews were tasked with trying to stop the ocean from encroaching on the lighthouse. The young men were spared from unemployment and bread lines and tried to do what engineers said was impossible. They succeeded and saved the lighthouse then, and at the time he wrote this the author said the sea was threatening again but they'd invented artificial seaweed which deterred the sea, and I know that isn't true because some years ago the lighthouse had to be moved.

Indian tribes that weren't as friendly as the Algonquians visited the Outer Banks area for the abundant fishing and hunting. They took an Englishman as prisoner and kept him as a slave. He learned their language and taught some of them English, but he was held in contempt, called squaw man and given menial tasks. He taught them Christianity but the medicine men were angered, thought they wouldn't be needed of the Indians took this new religion. So they convinced the chief to beat the man to death; braves took him away and told him to pray to his God to prove His power. He did so, and saw a sand dollar for the first time in his life. He used it as proof, bcuz of the circle shape being like the crown of thorns, and the five slits the thorns and the five marks the wounds He received. They were believers, finally had the meaning of the shell explained. The chief went to hand the shell off and it broke. Little pieces fell out which the Englishman said were doves, signs of the Holy Ghost. The Indians ran away and left him there, and some say this could be why some Indians on the island knew Christianity.

It was one dud after another. It was about as exciting as reading a school book. In fact, it read just like a school book. I didn't want to read it anymore and couldn't wait to be done with it. Towards the end the stories got worse and worse, downright stupid and not enjoyable at all. This wasn't what I expected at all. I couldn't wait to learn about the Outer Banks and instead it's like I was watching a bad Sci Fi episode mixed with a history book, equal parts weird and boring. I didn't care for the writing at all. The only thing I like about this book is the cover.

[Lori Berrios · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories from the Outer Banks. These stories have been passed down and hopefully won’t be lost!

[Delaney Aby Saalman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love, admire, and appreciate Mr. Whedbee’s devotion and enthusiasm for committing the folklore of the islands to paper to ensure they can continue for even more generations, but I found this collection boring, repetitive, and not very well-written (Whedbee loves using the world ‘literally’). It really did feel like the same stories repackaged numerous times, the same ghosts calling out the same things at the end of every chapter, and to be honest, I wanted more convincing and thoughtful legends that really involved the Outer Banks in more interesting ways. This sort of felt vaguely about the Outer Banks. One legend titled “Daniel Keith” ended up not really being an OBX tale at all, but a story from the mountains of Carolina told at a bonfire on OBX? These really were childish and honestly… boring. Not a single one captivated me in the least bit.

I also hated how the women in this book were presented. Lovely and beautiful and kind and nurturing, always and above all else! Blossoming and growing like lovely flowers! It was also Christian-propagandaish from time to time, which I was willing to accept as it’s a book about the Old South written in the 1980s, but in the last story when “666” was branded onto someone’s head, I couldn’t ignore it anymore!

But to be honest, the writing style does fit the tone of the book. I think this would be a fantastic gift for kids and a great vacation tradition. My brother and I would have loved these tales when we were little! If I ever have kids, I think it would be fun to pass these legends down to them, especially at night around a bonfire on the beach for the full effect. I really do think kids would eat this up!

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyper-local folklore books can be utter trash (just existing to fill museum gift shop shelves) or utter gold. This one is more gold-like. Sure, Whedbee can be a little cloying, and a little too fantastical, so if realism is your thing, move along. But I find the stories here thrilling and the writing passable, so the volume is able to transport me to a place I love dearly and a time and a people I know almost nothing about. File it under "spooky beach read."

Also, if you're not reading enough books where the author looks like a very earnest 1970s baptist church deacon, what are you even doing with your life? Get on my wholesomeness level.

[Abigail Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read of the local legends of the outer banks. These were fun to read and quite enjoyable. You really get a sense of the local history throughout, understanding how the islands were settled and how the Native Americans lived as well. I really enjoyed it. Worth the read if you love the outer banks like I do or like local legends.

[Russell Kapryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a pretty cool book to read. You will learn all about seaside tails of North Carolina ranging from the 1500's to approximately 1980. My favorite story from the book is the one that takes place 400 years or so ago where the Englishman loses his love, a lovely woman of royalty from her tribe, to a river as the two were set to be married.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth and (I believe) final volume of Outer Banks tales. Loved every one of them.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun little stories/yarns.

[Christopher Totten · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine. A lot of Whedbee's writing style has not aged well (very colonialist, with frequent appropriation of native cultural elements.

[Rachelle Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the stories. wonderful read while visiting the Outer Banks

[Joseph R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun little folk lore book has a dozen or so stories from the Outer Banks (the island chain on North Carolina's Atlantic coast). The tales include merchants and pirates, hunters and lovers, native Americans and new settlers to the Outer Banks. Some stories involve ghosts or witches or haunted swamps and trees. Most are from over a hundred years ago and have been passed down as oral tradition. In the foreword, author Charles Harry Whedbee "Efforts have been made to substantiate these tales, where possible, by research and documentation. However, the unverified stories, too, are entitled to respect, told as they are by sincere and honest people. Whether you believe any or all of them, a tale should be, like beauty, its own excuse for being." The book is very entertaining and a nice light read. It will provide tales I'll contribute to Forgotten Classics in the future.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few interesting takes & some really dumb tales.

[Sam Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun to read whilst in OBX.

[David Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book of short stories about the coastal area of North Carolina. Easy to read!!

[Irina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!