The Witch of Pungo
Grace Sherwood in Virginia History and Legend
Scott O. Moore
imprint:
The authoritative cultural history of Virginia’s most famous accused witch
In 1706, Grace Sherwood was “ducked” after her neighbors in Princess Anne County accused her of witchcraft. Binding and throwing her into the Lynnhaven River, they waited to see whether she would float to the top (evidence of her guilt) or sink (proof of her innocence). Incredibly, she survived. This bizarre spectacle became an early piece of Virginia folklore as stories about Sherwood, the “Witch of Pungo,” spread. Her legend still looms large in Tidewater. In 2006, Governor Tim Kaine even issued an informal pardon of Sherwood, read aloud by the mayor of Virginia Beach before the annual reenactment of Sherwood’s ducking.
This is the first book to explore Grace Sherwood’s life and cultural impact in depth. Anyone interested in colonial Virginia, American folklore, and the history and legacy of witch trials will find much to enjoy in this spellbinding book.
This is a haunting and resonant history that expands our understanding of early America and the ways in which women have historically been vilified.- Kristen Green, author of Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County and The Devil’s Half Acre, Kristen Green, author of The Devil's Half Acre: The Untold Story of How One Woman Liberated the South's Most Notorious Slave Jail
Did Grace Sherwood really sail from England to Virginia in an eggshell? Did she dance with the devil at night? Scott Moore delves into these and other legends about the so-called Virginia witch whose statue today adorns the grounds of a Virginia Beach hospital. Exhaustively researched, The Witch of Pungo is the definitive account of Sherwood’s real life and the three centuries’ worth of fascinating and sometimes bizarre stories that people have told about her.- Cynthia A. Kierner, George Mason University, author of The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America, George Mason University, author of The Tory’s Wife: A Woman and Her Family in Revolutionary America
This monograph’s greatest attribute is the depth, breadth, and diversity of the research that informs it . . . [and] though The Witch of Pungo: Grace Sherwood in Virginia History and Legend is a rigorously researched work, it was admirably written for general readers and scholars alike.- The Southeastern Librarian
Scott O. Moore is an Associate Professor of History at Eastern Connecticut State University.
