Do you have a story you would like to share in the next edition of Appraisal
Buzz Magazine? Send your story to comments@appraisalbuzz.com.
APPRAISAL BUZZ SPRING 2020 | 35
As an appraiser for well over four decades, I have
had to value dozens of historic houses, some of
which were supposedly haunted. One of these was
the home of Grace Sherwood, the infamous “Witch
of Pungo.” She was a colorful character, to say the
least, and way ahead of her time for the 1690s. She
was prosperous, wore trousers, rode astride horses,
danced naked in the moonlight, and was well versed
in herbal remedies. However, if the pigs sickened and
died, the hens wouldn’t lay, or the tobacco crop got
washed out by a storm, it was obviously the work of
some witch. When a dispute arose with a neighbor
over a property line, it was inevitable that she would
be accused of witchcraft and hauled into “court.”
In those days, witchcraft trials involved being trussed
up, thumbs tied to opposite big toes, and the
defendant being thrown overboard into waters
previously consecrated by a priest. If the defendant
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
they sank and drowned, they were innocent. Not only
did Grace survive, but she swam around the boat
mocking her accusers as well as those on shore.
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
enlightened Governor Spottswood granted her a full
pardon and a hundred acres for the troubles.
Grace faded into history, but legend had it that her
home in southern Virginia Beach could never be
������������������������������
Flash forward many centuries, as I had been tasked
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
returning from a call-out nearby, happened by at two
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
The arsonists returned again a few days later, this
������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
the two-story structure. This time though, it was
destroyed, but since it was now federal property, a
federal arson investigator was called in.
In the crawl space, the investigator found a singed,
signed, and dated - the previous day - application for
unemployment insurance: An incriminating clue if
there ever was one - with the perpetrators name and
address clearly legible. It was the investigator’s later
testimony that the paper was part of one of the trash
piles that had been ignited by the arsonists, but that
this had mysteriously fallen through a crack in the
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
completely intact. When arrested, the miscreant
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
value of the dwelling was greater than $5,000, it was
now a federal felony.
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
local, state, and federal levels, but this was one of the
shortest trials I have ever been a part of. The
conspirators were found guilty on all counts, though
the remains of the dwelling were demolished soon
thereafter. Was the spirit of Grace Sherwood still
around? Try to shove a piece of paper through a
������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������
link
