Outer Banks Tales to Remember Quotes

“Savage also protested his innocence to the end, but unlike Parker, he coupled his protests with a threat. If he were hanged, he said, his spirit would never rest until his innocence was proved, and terrible things would happen to each of the descendants of his killers to the third and fourth generation. The only way for those descendants to avoid the curse, he said, would be for each of them to come to that holly tree in the dark of the moon and there call upon Savage’s spirit and apologize for the act of his ancestors.
Although it is said that one of the members of the hanging party lost his mind and died completely mad from worrying over these threats, it is not known exactly who the other members of the party were.
Some of the young people of the area claim to be worried lest the curse apply to them. To avoid it, they have gone to the tree in the dark of the moon and there apologized to the Savage spirit just in case some of their ancestors had been involved.
They vow that in each such case they have seen lights moving around in that holly tree and have heard moans and groans coming from the heart of the thick branches, but not one of them has ever been harmed. They keep returning and apologizing, year after year.
Their parents call it “just kid foolishness,” but those kids continue to brave the darkness and the weird lights and sounds just to be on the safe side.
Why they keep going back is another question. Your guess is as good as mine.”
― Charles Harry Whedbee, Outer Banks Tales to Remember

“One of these bright spits was the homecoming of General J. Bryan Grimes. To quote the August 19, 1880, issue of the Tarboro Southerner, the general was “a brave officer, a hard fighter, a trusted leader of General Lee and emblazoned North Carolina’s history with glory and heroism. He participated in all the important battles fought in Virginia and surrendered at Appomattox. It was there, when the negotiations for the surrender had been inaugurated, a charge and rebel yell was heard at the front. General Lee turned to an aide and asked, ‘Who is that charging?’ ‘General Grimes’ Division of North Carolinians,’ was the reply. General Lee exclaimed: ‘God bless the North Carolinians—they are the first and last in every charge!”
― Charles Harry Whedbee, Outer Banks Tales to Remember

“Ghosts, like nuggets of gold, are where you find them. There seems to be no particular habitat or locality where ghosts abound. It does seem to be the rule, though, that the older the town or community, the greater the likelihood of running across ghost stories.
There are literally hundreds of stories about ghosts of the long ago and ghosts in far-off places, but the accounts are usually frank hearsay and impossible to verify. It is a most unusual circumstance when one is able to document a tale of supernatural occurrences. It is even more rare to find hard-headed, practical businessmen who will look you square in the eye and tell you, not only that they have seen a ghost, but when and where and under what circumstances the sighting occurred.”
― Charles Harry Whedbee, Outer Banks Tales to Remember

“Also in Edenton was a young seaman named John Paul Jones. In spite of his youth, he was a capable captain, and it is thought that he commanded many of Hewes’ vessels on trips to Ocracoke and Portsmouth Island, as well as to the West Indies. There was much coming and going between Edenton and North Carolina’s Outer Banks even in those days.
When war finally came, young John Paul Jones applied for a commission in the fighting ships of the colonists. There were two problems with his application. In the first place, it was thought that he did not have the experience or the skill for such an important position. In the second, the colonists had no navy, as such, with which to fight the British fleet—at that time the strongest in the world. Observing these problems, Jones’ friend and erstwhile employer came to the aid of both his protégé and his country.
Incredible as it may seem, Joseph Hewes made a gift of all his ships to his country and thus helped to form the nucleus of the Yankee fleet. It is said that this magnanimous gesture, coupled with urgings from Hewes, persuaded the Continental Congress to name young John Paul Jones as a first lieutenant of the Continental Navy. History has proved the wisdom of this decision. The young lieutenant became what one historian has called “the greatest fighting naval commander America ever had.” His spirited “Sir, I’ve not yet begun to fight” is one of the proudest traditions of the United States Navy.”
― Charles Harry Whedbee, Outer Banks Tales to Remember