Town Called Nag’s Head

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Today Nag’s Head is a beach town in North Carolina. It is an interesting story about how it got its name. Some thought the name came from some towns that were on the English coast but then a legend changed that story. The legend tells of a time in the 19th century when pirates would use a beach in the area to lure ships toward the coast so that they could rob them. The pirates would tie a lantern or lamp around the neck of an old horse also referred to as a nag. The horse would then walk in a slow gait around the beach at night. Ships coming toward shore would see the light and they would think that it was the light of another ship, therefore, they could safely sail toward the light and eventually make it to shore. Instead what happened was that they wound up grounding the ship in the shallow waters surrounding the beach and be helpless prey to the pirates. Has anyone been to Nag’s Head?