The Devil's Tramping Ground and Other North Carolina Mystery Stories [Paperback]

John Harden (Author)

Book Description

From the first colonization at Roanoke Island, the bizarre and inexplicable have shrouded the Tar Heel State. From history and legend, John Harden records ominous events that have shaped or colored state history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[A]n even score of those minglings of facts and fancy that constitute the legends of the state [of North Carolina].

New York Herald Tribune

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (October 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080784070X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807840702
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,164 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating collection of Tarheel mysteries, July 4, 2004

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil's Tramping Ground and Other North Carolina Mystery Stories (Paperback)

Seeing as how "I'm a Tarheel born, I'm a Tarheel bred, and when I die I'm a Tarheel dead," I am of course fascinated by the legends and stories of the Old North State, just as John Harden was. In 1946 and 1947, Harden hosted a radio show called Tales of Tarheelia, in which he recounted many of the state's legendary stories and mysteries. Interest in that radio series and Harden's commitment to preserving these stories that could be lost forever if not put down in writing led to the publication of this book, The Devil's Tramping Ground and Other North Carolina Mystery Stories, in 1949. One should note the fact that the stories collected here are indeed mysteries as opposed to, say, ghost stories (of which North Carolina can boast of her fair share); these stories won't give you the creeps, but they will fascinate you and sharpen whatever interest you have in the history of the state of North Carolina.

When you talk about North Carolina mysteries, you must of course start at the very beginning - the Lost Colony. The first English settlement in the New World was made in the late 16th century at Roanoke, and it was here that the first non-native American child was born (Virginia Dare); when the long-delayed supply ship returned to these shores, the entire colony had disappeared completely, leaving behind a single clue as to the colonists' fate: the carving of the word Croatoan on a tree. This, North America's first mystery, remains as compelling and unsolved today as it was over four hundred years ago. The famous Brown Mountain Lights of western North Carolina, of which many may have heard, necessarily earn a chapter. The Devil's Tramping Ground to which the title refers is a circular spot of land in Chatham County in which the devil is said to pace each night as he thinks up his evil plans. The circle has a diameter of forty feet, and nothing will grow inside it; also, any material placed inside the circle will disappear overnight. A similar story involves the Magic Horse Tracks in the town of Bath; this series of holes remain fresh and unobscured after some two hundred years, and legend says they were made by the hoof prints of a horse whose owner asked him to either win the horse race he was engaging in (on the Sabbath, no less) or take him straight to hell - the horse obviously chose the latter by immediately barreling into a tree, killing his sacrilegious rider. You will read of deserted ships that mysteriously came to shore through the treacherous waters of the North Carolina Outer Banks, strange and unexplained disappearances of several individuals, the legend I must assume all new students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill continue to be told about (I was, but that was back in 1988) related to the present site of Gimghoul Castle, a couple of botanical mysteries, several stories related to animals, and a number of others miscellaneous tales.

I must admit that I was unfamiliar with several of these stories, although many were well known to me. One of the most interesting tales involves the identity of a schoolmaster of Rowan County; there is plenty of evidence that this man, Peter Stuart Ney, was in fact Marshal Ney of France, one of Napoleon's most trusted military strategists. Marshal Ney was, history tells us, executed by a firing squad after Napoleon's downfall, but rumors abound that his execution was in fact a hoax.

While the caliber of the twenty mysteries chronicled here varies somewhat, only a couple of them failed to fascinate me. Naturally, those with no association with North Carolina won't feel the connection I feel to the material, but anyone interested in the legends and mysteries of former times should find much to interest them in this engaging collection of Tarheel mysteries.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book of Mysteries and Legends About NC, October 15, 2000

By 

Michael Delaware - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Devil's Tramping Ground and Other North Carolina Mystery Stories (Paperback)

I recently just finished reading this collection of stories about North Carolina. This book is filled with intriguing mysteries and legends about the Tar Heel state. The more famous story of Roanoke Island is covered here, as well as many others most from outside the region have probably never heard about. The stories include tales about shipwrecks, anomalies of nature as well as disappearing people. I found particularly interesting the story entitled 'The Devil's Tramping Ground' itself, as well as 'The Strange Hoof-Marks at Bath' and the mystery of 'The Brown Mountain Lights'. These alone will capture anyone's imagination and spark a desire to explore the hills of North Carolina. All in all a very enjoyable book, and if you like a good collection of short stories this is a good one for you. The fact that they all come from a particular region and are researched North Carolina mystery stories makes it even more facinating and entertaining.