Charles Harry Whedbee

In 1911, at the age of two months, Charles H. Whedbee made his first trip to Nag’s Head in his mother’s arms aboard a sailboat. Thus began his lifelong love affair with the Outer Banks. By the time of his death in 1990, Whedbee had established a reputation as a master storyteller and an authority on coastal folklore.

In the 1960s, Whedbee hosted an early-morning television talk show in his hometown of Greenville, North Carolina. He frequently recounted Outer Banks legends during the program, and eventually gathered some of the stories into a collection. In 1966, this collection was published as Legends of the Outer Banks. The book proved so popular that it went through three printings in its first year. Decades later, it is still considered a classic. Many parents who first heard these stories as children are now reading them to their own children.

Whedbee was educated at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he also earned his law degree. For years he was a district court judge in Greenville. His five books of Outer Banks folklore have sold over 186,000 copies.