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.

“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

Scott O. Moore is an Associate Professor of History at Eastern Connecticut State University.