The White Doe of Roanoke

My life in the Outer Banks began as long vacations away from Pennsylvania. My family and I would spend several weeks to a month there at any given time at my grandparent’s house in Brigand's Bay, Frisco, North Carolina. Eventually, they sold that property and we began to stay a few days to a week at a time in Manteo. It is during this point that I learned my first legend of the Outer Banks. It is one that and it delves into a fairytale-like story tied to the mysterious Lost Colony.

There are numerous elements to the tale and history of the Lost Colony. There are also, now, continuous new archeological finds. Suffice it to say, 118 men, women, and children (These numbers are per the National Park Service. Depending on the source, the number of original colonists is listed between 115 and 118) set sail from England in April of 1587 with the intention of establishing the first permanent English colony in the New World. By the time the next ship arrived from England in 1590, the settlement was deserted, and the colonists had disappeared. Hence, why this is known as the Lost Colony. It has become a great source for mysteries and horror fiction.

Imagine leaving behind everything you knew for a barely charted wilderness.

There were a few English men in the New World prior to the arrival of the Colony. Still, this group of colonists were two decades before the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia and the explorations of John Smith.

Now, take this a step further and imagine sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a wooden sailing ship while heavily pregnant.

The settlers set sail in April of 1587, arriving on Roanoke in July of that same year. Then on, August 18, 1587, the settlement welcomed the first English child born in the New World, Virginia Dare. Virginia was of course named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen." Her parents were Ananias Dare and Ellinor (Eleanor, or Elyonor) White Dare. Virginia's grandfather was John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony. In other words, a very important family among the colonists, and why that part of the state is called Dare County.

That is enough historical background. The legend that I am going to recount to you, dear reader, is the one that was told to me by the local old timers in the early 1990s. It begins with sightings of an all-white doe. White deer are extremely rare. The deer association says that one out of every 30,000 deer is albino. When people see a rare animal, there are different ways in which they will react. Some will admire the rare beauty of the deer on its own, others will aim their cameras, and some will have the goal of bringing home a trophy.

Unfortunately for the hunters out there, this deer has a supernatural essence that prevents her from being caught. She only appears from midnight until dawn, disappearing into the mists at daybreak. Sometimes, it is said, that the animal herself is also wrapped in a mist, making it harder to see her. The reason that the doe is unable to be caught is because she is not a living creature. She is the form taken by the ghost of Virginia Dare.

While it is not known at what age Virginia died. The impression of the legend is that she at least made it to young adulthood. This in itself, was quite a feat for the time, even taken out the part where everyone disappeared from the location of the settlement.

If you ever see a white doe in Roanoke, you just may be in the presence of a member of the Lost Colony.

Virigina Dare Statue at the Elizabethan Gardens, Manteo, NC
Photo taken by me in 2019

As with any legend, there are variations. This is the version that I was raised on. Other different and similar versions can be found elsewhere online or through books on the local folklore.

Namely:

Nancy Roberts, North Carolina Ghosts and Legends (1991).

Charles Harry Whedbee, Legends of the Outer Banks and Tar Heel Tidewater (1966).

 

My other sources for dates and numbers: 

"Virginia Dare," Britannica. Virginia Dare | History, Birth & Mystery | Britannica

“1587: The Lost Colony,” National Park Service. 1587: The Lost Colony (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)