The Witch of Pungo

05/20/22 • 44 min

4 Listeners

On Wednesday, July 10, 1706, scores of people arrived at what is now known as Witch Duck Point on the Lynnhaven River in Virginia. They were there to witness a unique but brutal legal proceeding that would never again be carried out in the colony of Virginia– the trial of forty-six-year-old Grace Sherwood by ducking.

It is unknown exactly what happened when she hit the water, but what was clear to the folks who came that day was that Grace Sherwood survived and therefore she must be a witch.

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It is unknown exactly what happened when she hit the water, but what was clear to the folks who came that day was that Grace Sherwood survived and therefore she must be a witch.

Help Southern Gothic grow by becoming a Patreon Supporter today!

Connect with Southern Gothic Media:Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com
Merch Store: https://www.southerngothicmedia.com/merch
Pinterest: @SouthernGothicMedia
Facebook: @SouthernGothicMedia
Instagram: @SouthernGothicMedia
Twitter: @SoGoPodcast

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Previous Episode

Mystery of the Gurdon Light

2 Recommendations

Travel about 85 miles south of Little Rock, Arkansas along Interstate 30 and you come to the town of Gurdon. In a remote area, several miles outside Gurdon sit railroad tracks for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. It is along a four-mile stretch of track that sightings of a floating, glowing orb have been reported for the last ninety years, now known as the Gurdon Light.

While there are of course scientific theories that attempt to explain the origin of the Gurdon Light, many instead believe the phenomenon is linked to a single event in history, the murder of a railroad foreman in 1931.

Perhaps not everything seen along the railroad tracks is scientifically explainable, and if not, how long has the area been that way? Is the light something that only dates to the 1930s, or is it something that has been there much longer? Perhaps the Gurdon Light has always been there, it just took people to give it a name...

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Connect with Southern Gothic Media:Website: SouthernGothicMedia.com
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Next Episode

The Hammock House

2 Recommendations

For many of the early mariners traveling to Beaufort, North Carolina they were reliant upon physical landmarks to help guide them safely through the shoals and into the harbor entrance. Some of the early maps and charts of Port Beaufort indicate that one such landmark was the “White House.”

Little remains that offers insight into the origin of Beaufort’s White House, but tradition maintains that what was once the White House is now the historic Hammock House. Identified as one of, if not, the oldest home in North Carolina, the Hammock House is full of history and tragedy from visitors both law-abiding and nefarious in the reputations.

As a result, the Hammock House has acquired more than its fair share of legends over the years, and according to local lore, the spirits of some of these guests still remain to this very day, everything from the echoes of ghostly screams to the clashing sounds of unseen sword fights.