Virginia Myths and Legends: The True Stories behind History's Mysteries - Paperback

by Emilee Hines (Author)

Mind-boggling Tales from the Old Dominion

Part of our new and growing Myths, Mysteries and Legends series, Myths, Mysteries and Legends of Virginia explores unusual phenomena, strange events, and mysteries in Virginia's history. Each episode included in the book is a story unto itself, and the tone and style of the book is lively and easy to read for a general audience interested in Virginia history.

Stories include the mystery of why the gentle giant Peter Francisco, the strongest man in the Revolution, was kidnapped as a child in his native land before being abandoned by a ship along the Appomattox River; the suspicious (or natural?) death of eighty-year-old George Wythe, a professor, patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence; and rumors of a vampire-caused tragedy in the Church Hill Tunnel in Richmond on October 2, 1925.

Back Jacket

Mind-Boggling Tales from the Old Dominion - Legendary was the life of the gentle giant Peter Francisco, the strongest man in the Revolution, but one mystery remains: Why was he kidnapped as a child in his native land before being abandoned by a ship along the Appomattox River? - When George Wythe was eighty, the professor, patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence sat up in bed and announced, "I am murdered!" But was he? Or was his suspicion all wrong? - Tragedy struck the Church Hill Tunnel in Richmond on October 2, 1925--and rumors spread that a vampire had been disturbed. But just who was this vampire? - Was Anna Anderson Manahan of Virginia the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, as she claimed, or was she a Polish-born waitress--and the best actress of the twentieth century? From the Witch of Pungo to the Parkway Killer, Mysteries and Legends of Virginia pulls back the curtain on some of the region's most fascinating and compelling stories.

Author Biography

Emilee Hines is the author of It Happened in Virginia, More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Virginia Women, and Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Washington, DC History (all Globe Pequot Press). She is a graduate of Lynchburg College and has a master's degree from the University of North Carolina. She has traveled widely and has lived in Virginia, Texas, Michigan and Kenya. She currently resides in Hendersonville, North Carolina.