The Mystery of Roanoke

Roanoke Island - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

In the dark forests near old Fort Raleigh, a mysterious silver white doe has been sighted for hundreds of years. The strange animal is said to be the ghost of Virginia Dare, the first English child born in the New World. She was part of the ill-fated Sir Walter Raleigh colony that arrived in Virginia in 1587. Their ship, under command of John White, returned to England for badly needed provisions, but immediately on its arrival the vessel was ordered into service in the Spanish War

 It was three years before it was able to return to the colony. When White finally landed on Roanoke Island, there was no trace of the 110 settlers he left behind. The only hint was the seven letters 'CROATOA' carved on a post.

Some researchers believe that the cryptic message signified that the starving colonist joined with, or were massacred by, the Croatan Indians.

An old Indian legend holds that a blue eyed white child named Virginia was adopted by the tribe. As the girl grew into a beautiful maiden, she aroused jealousy among the young braves of the tribe. A medicine man named Chico used a magic necklace to turn Virginia into a young doe, to prevent her from marrying any of the tribe members. One heartsick brave, Okisko, stalked the white doe for many years, hoping she would return into human shape. The ghost of Virginia Dare supports the assimilation theory. Other evidence, such as the rare birth of blue eyed blond haired Indians, suggests the same.

The colony's desperation produced yet another ghost. From the 1600's to modern times, many people have reported seeing the phantom of a three mast sailing ship off the shores of Roanoke Island.

Roanoke Island is off the northeast coast in Croatan Sound. Follow US highway 64 to the island. The lost settlement was the Maneteo area at North West Point on Roanoke Island, four miles north of US highway 158. The ghost of Virginia Dare is most often encountered north of Fort Niagara, along the Thomas Hariot Trail.

Dennis Hauck - Haunted Places: Ghost Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations. New York, Penguin Books (1994).

Make of that what you will,  a bunch of bollocks mostly, but a good story. The fact that they try to pass off wild speculation as hard evidence...?