General Discussion & Chat: What's a woodspirit?, 1 by woodspirit1

woodspirit1 wrote:
I thought you might like to see a picture of me. Well.....at least a woodspirit carving. They are supposed to be the ghosts or spirits of old mountain men, probably moonshiners. I can easily imagine moonshiners slipping through the woods to avoid the federal agents and getting this nickname because they were so elusive.
The carvings are somewhat dictated by the found wood the artisan uses so they vary a lot in form, but this one is pretty typical.
I had a great-uncle who was sheriff of the county where Calabash, NC is located. That's the seafood-restaurant town so famous for Calabash shrimp now served everywhere. He also made 'shine and was caught by the feds. He went to the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta. When he got out and came back home, the citizens of the county elected him sheriff again!!