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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.
about the author
In 1911, at the age of two months, Charles H. Whedbee made his first
trip to Nags Head in his mother's arms aboard a sailboat. Thus began his
lifelong love affair with the Outer Banks. By the time of his death in
1990, Whedbee had established a reputation as a master storyteller and
an authority on coastal folklore.
In the 1960s, Whedbee hosted
an early-morning television talk show in his hometown of Greenville,
North Carolina. He frequently recounted Outer Banks legends during the
program, and eventually gathered some of the stories into a collection.
In 1966, this collection was published as Legends
of the Outer Banks. The book proved so popular that it went
through three printings in its first year. Decades later, it is still
considered a classic. Many parents who first read these stories as
children are now reading them to their own children.
Whedbee was educated at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also earned his
law degree. For years, he was a district court judge in Greenville. His
five books of Outer Banks folklore have sold around 200,000 copies.
Other books by Judge Whedbee:
Legends of the Outer Banks
Blackbeard's Cup
Outer Banks Mysteries
The Flaming Ship of Ocracoke
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