“If you ever go back into Wooley Swamp son you better not go at night
– Charlie Daniels
There’s things out there in the middle of them woods
That’d make a strong man die from fright”
In 1980, North Carolina icon Charlie Daniels released a chilling tune called The Legend of Wooley Swamp.
I don’t remember that; I wasn’t even born yet. But I do remember the first time I heard the song.
It was at a sleepover at Ebie’s house off Myrtle Grove Rd. We couldn’t have been more than 8 years old.
I spent a lot of time over there growing up. During the day, we explored the shores of Myrtle Grove Sound and surrounding swamps. And at night, we huddled up with flashlights to tell ghost stories.
Ebie’s house was the perfect spot for spine-tingling tales. There, in the middle of the marsh, the nights were dark, quiet, and eerie. It was the ideal setting to experience the story of ol’ Lucius Clay for the first time.
The song stuck with me. And not just because I thought of it every time the sunset in the swamp, which I did. But because it hit all the right chords – a beautiful bit of storytelling with a Southern Gothic overtone.
When I got older, I realized maybe there was a reason The Legend of Wooley Swamp resonated with me. After all, Charlie was a Wilmington native. He grew up exploring the marshes and swamps just like Ebie and me.
Which got me to wondering: is Wooley Swamp a real place?
Yes.
Yes, it is. And I drove out past Carver’s Creek in Bladen County to find the place that inspired Charlie’s song.
The swamp sits off Tar Kiln Neck Trail between Elizabethtown and Bladenboro. A gated dirt road cuts through the middle. No trespassing signs ward off the curious.
I respected the law, though I really didn’t want to. But from the road, Wooley reminded me of the Green Swamp. Lots of pine trees and sandy soil. There’s probably some pocosins back there – if they haven’t been filled in, like so many of Southeastern North Carolina’s wetlands.
The swamp was likely double or triple the size it is now when Charlie was a young’un. It’s easy to imagine.
I closed my eyes to take it in properly – in the dark. And for just a moment, I could hear three young men screaming and that old man laugh.
“…I couldn’t conceive it, I never would listen to nobody else
No I couldn’t believe it, I just had to find out for myself
That there’s some things in this world you just can’t explain”
I remember when the album came out, Full Moon in 1980. Was able to see Charlie many times an blessed to meet him on one occasion when he played the Alabama Theatre in 2013. Wonderful human being.
That’s amazing!! I got to see Charlie in the 1990s. He opened for Travis Tritt and Bocephus. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
As soon as I read the title of your post I heard Charlie in my head! Great post and nice to know there really is a wooley swamp!
It’s one of my favorite songs of his! It was fun to ride out there and see it. I wish we’d been able to explore the woods.
Think I’ve told you before I lived on the Wooly Swamp. I lied. I just refer to the swampy woods behind my house on the SC coast as the Wooly Swamp. If guest have never heard of it, I play the song for them. Do it all, sincerely with a straight face.
Lmao. I’m dying! That’s so mean. They’re gonna find this and discover you’ve been pulling their leg. lol
I don’t know that I remember that song, but I lived in the Myrtle Grove area from the time I was nine until I moved out in college. But when you said, “I wasn’t born in 1980,” I felt real old! I also spent three years traipsing around Columbus and Bladen Counties in the early 80s, but never went to Woolsey Swamp. I enjoy your stories.
Btw, wasn’t Charlie Daniels from Leland? Across the river from Wilmington.
Thanks, Jeff! To be honest, I’m not sure where Charlie lived. He was born in Wilmington – but folks have said he lived in Hampstead or Leland before his family moved out of state. I do know they lived in Bladen County and Lee County at one point too, though. 🙂