VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Ever since her infamous “ducking” back in 1706, folklore and tall tales have been intricately woven into the legend of Virginia Beach’s “Witch of Pungo,” Grace Sherwood.

Many locals know the story of how Sherwood was bound and tossed into the Lynnhaven River off present day Witchduck Road, after she was accused of witchcraft. The idea was if she floated, she was a witch, and if she sunk she was innocent. Sherwood would eventually untie herself and survive, and go on to live until 1740. She was eventually informally pardoned 300 years later by then Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine.

Other stories, like Sherwood sailing to England in an eggshell and dancing with the devil are “obviously fantastical,” Virginia Beach native Scott Moore writes in his new book, “The Witch of Pungo: Grace Sherwood in Virginia History and Legend.”

However, it was through those evolving tales, and “true” stories more based in reality, that helped keep her legacy alive to become “Virginia’s witch,” a historical icon in Tidewater and beyond, Moore writes.

From 2021: The Witch of Pungo: Part 1

In the book, Moore, who has history degrees from William & Mary and ODU in addition to a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Maryland, also tries to cut through the blurred lines between fact and fiction to give the most thorough look at Sherwood’s history to date.

He worked with “countless” librarians, archivists and scholars on the project to find “almost completely overlooked documents about Sherwood’s accusers and others involved in the trial.”

But Moore emphasized his work can only put things into context, as little is still known about who Sherwood was as a person.

“The real Grace Sherwood, we’ll never know who she was. There’s no way to know. The only way to look into the past is through documents that survived. And they don’t tell us anything about what she looked like, how she behaved, what sort of things she might have said.”

Moore, though, said Sherwood continued to proclaim her innocence against the witchcraft charges, brought by her neighbor, Elizabeth Barnes, and “by all accounts she was just a typical, normal farmer’s wife.”

Also there’s no evidence she was a midwife or a spiritual healer, which were added to recent interpretations of her story, Moore says.

“Really the Grace Sherwood is the one that the area has created through our legends, our folk tales, through the various cultural events … she’s been different things to different times. She changes with the time to reflect the way we want to think about our past and who were are.”

From 2021: The Witch of Pungo: Part 2

Moore says that it wasn’t until several decades after the ducking that Sherwood’s story really took off.

“It’s really around the 1800s, 1833 in particular, when you first get people finding records related to the trial. And then what begins to happen is, to fill in those spaces — because [the records] don’t really tell us a lot — writers, journalists and local people began filling in those spaces with legends.”

Moore said an 1884 article in Harper’s Magazine from Virginia novelist John Esten Cooke on Sherwood was “really important” in forming modern day interpretations.

“He starts folding in legends like that she used to sail in an eggshell,” which is depicted on the cover of a children’s book about Sherwood written by author Louisa V. Kyle nearly a century later.

Moore thinks Kyle is one of the two most important people in recent times for recording the stories of Sherwood, along with the Virginian-Pilot’s George Tucker.

“Through their work they almost helped to standardize the way those stories were told,” Moore said.”

“This cultural impact is also an important reason why Grace Sherwood and her trial are such a significant piece of Virginia’s history. Even though tales about Sherwood do not accurately reflect what happened in 1706, they offer a unique look at the history of Princess Anne County and Virginia Beach. The history of Grace Sherwood’s legend is the history of this community. By looking at these stories, it is possible to see not only how they changed over time but how this
region changed as well. As is commonly the case with folklore, the evolution of these legends reflects shifts in community values, social anxieties, and cultural attitudes. They become a window into the times in which they were told.

They also help us to understand the people who tell them. This fact is especially true for the handful of individuals who dedicated themselves to collecting and sharing Sherwood’s story as Princess Anne County grew and became Virginia Beach. For these storytellers, keeping Sherwood’s legacy alive kept the area’s identity intact as its population expanded and it became the largest city in Virginia. Thanks to these efforts, Sherwood became more than a piece of local history; she became an essential part of Virginia Beach’s culture.”

Scott Moore in “The Witch of Pungo”

Sherwood’s story also evolved with changing cultural movements, Moore said.

For example, an addition to the legend, that Sherwood had a preference for men’s clothing and wearing pants, came around the 1960s/1970s during the time of women’s liberation movement. A 2000 article from the Virginian-Pilot later referred to her as “Virginia Beach’s first feminist,” a much different take than the “docile victim” image that writers gave to her in the 1920s.

“Because so little is known about the actual Grace Sherwood, she is ideally suited to change with the times,” Moore wrote. “Her personality and appearance can evolve to meet the needs of those telling her story. In one generation she can be a meek woman dependent on the men in her life to protect her, and in the next she can be an independent-minded.”

Overall, Sherwood’s is a story about finding meaning. And it brings a sense of “rootedness” for Tidewater locals, Moore says.

“She really is a cultural figure. She’s a very important part of the area’s folklore, folk culture and material culture. If you look at all the various ways the community’s told her story, reenacted her story, drawn, sketched, quilted story. Built statues commemorating her ducking. It’s a rich resonance with the area that I think will mean that story continues to be told and essential to the area.”

You can buy Moore’s book on Amazon or directly through the publisher, UVA Press. It’s also at local bookstores like Read Books in Pungo and at certain local Barnes & Noble locations.