I have written many stories on witches through the years. Actually, in the second book that I am currently writing, I pay homage to them in the “Season of the Witch.”
One tale in the Great Dismal Swamp surrounds an old witch who taunts hunters. The legend states that the witch transforms herself into a white-tailed doe upon seeing hunters and leads their hunting dogs astray through the swamp, causing them to almost die from exhaustion.
One day, a hunter traveled into the swamp with a Native American guide. As they walked through the brush, they encountered the witch in human form. Startled, she quickly changed into a white-tailed deer and dashed through the woods.
The hunter’s dogs gave chase while the Guide skillfully directed the chase into a bog filled with thorns. Knowing she was trapped, the witch turned herself into a tree stump rather than be caught.
With the witch cornered, the Native American Guide called on the Devil himself, who showed up very quickly. The Devil brought with him a powder made of dried bear liver, dried toads, and ground-up rattlesnake rattles and sprinkled it around the base of the stump.
A large flame ignited, and the witch was never seen again. The stump, however, remained for years, but nothing remains of it today due to a fire a few years ago.
Written By: John G. Clark Jr.
Source: The Virginian-Pilot