There may only be a few people who can tell stories about the inexplicable things that happen around century-old inns and cemeteries in the area, or their encounter with Big Liz, a slave whose spirit supposedly haunts a buried treasure in the swamps of Dorchester, Md., after she was beheaded by her master.
Coastal Point • Submitted
From the cover of Andy Nunez’s latest book.
These stories, and many others, will soon raise questions among those who have seen and those who have yet to. Local author Andy Nunez has a knack for history and a love for the unexplainable, both of which have shown through in his writing since 2005.
Now, with four published works under his belt and a fifth one on its way, he hopes to bring new light to the shadows surrounding some of Delmarva’s unsolved mysteries.
This Halloween, Nunez will unveil “Ghosts of the Eastern Shore,” the third installment of his localized collection, following up on “Treasures of the Eastern Shore” and “Mysteries of the Eastern Shore.” The book will explore accounts of hauntings and strange activity across the Delmarva Peninsula.
“I’ve heard of a lot of things out there,” said Nunez. “A lot of it gets you wondering.”
His book even tells of accounts in St. George’s Chapel in Dagsboro, where some have claimed to see a pile of tobacco appear out of thin air on an empty pew. The church, Nunez noted, was originally purchased with tobacco.
Most recently, Nunez coauthored a photographic collection of the history of Wicomico County, Md., with Dr. Gianni DeVincent-Hayes. Reporting on times past has always been a passion for Nunez, who found an interest in studying history at an early age.
“I really got into it in high school, during my 10th grade year,” he said. “My history teacher was one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. He made everything come alive in ways that others couldn’t.”
Nunez found himself surrounded by recollections of the past, everywhere he looked.
“Growing up as I did, in the 1960’s,” he added, “all my family and a lot of friends had been through World War II. Television had a lot of shows with history and war themes behind them, and I used to watch them a lot. The stories people would tell and the things you could learn would just pull me right in.”
Born in Somerset County, living in Wicomico County and working in Worcester County, Nunez considers himself a true Eastern Shore, tri-county native, and he has been fortunate to explore the mysteries right in his own back yard. His fascination expanded the more he encountered, even as he enrolled at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
“When I got to college,” he said, “I had a teacher there who noticed my enthusiasm in history. He encouraged me to keep studying and take more courses.”
His attraction to history shaped Nunez into a treasure hunter long before he had written even one book. He learned that he didn’t have to travel far before he came across coins and artifacts from shipwrecks, Civil War battles and aged estates. He possesses coins found in Mardela Springs and the Pocomoke fairgrounds that date back to the early 1800’s, and Union militia buttons from the 1850’s.
While plenty of ghost stories and haunted tales sprout from European ruins and colonial plantations farther south on the East Coast of the United States, Nunez has exploited what’s right under the noses of Eastern Shore residents. Tales of curses accompany those of unfamiliar treasures, and from those stories come others.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “When you meet people and tell them you’re writing a book of ghost stories, they want to tell you their own. You really hear a lot of incredible things.”
Nunez has encountered skeptics who insist that most accounts of the supernatural are mere coincidence, but he has experienced unexplainable phenomena himself.
“It’s incredible when you see these things, first-hand,” he said, “and these stories come from all different walks of life. The people are from all over different areas, but seem to have similar experiences.”
Along the way, Nunez has met a number of other people with personal reports of the paranormal, and he has sought advice from other local professionals, too.
Joyce Talyor Dennis, another area author, is preparing for the release of the sequel to her mystery romance novel, “To Right All Wrongs.”
“People are surprised by the amount of history that has occurred here,” she said.
Dr. Sylvia Bradley, who helps head Mardela Springs’ historical society, has long been researching the ancestry of the area. Coastal Delawarean and history buff Dale Clifton has also guided Nunez’s research.
As “Ghosts of the Eastern Shore” prepares to make its way to area bookshelves later this year, Nunez briefly reflected on his success, and contemplated his next work.
“My first publisher to pick me up, Arcadia Publishing, picked up my nonfiction idea,” he said, “and it’s done very well. They have a great distribution record throughout the area, and I see my book everywhere. You can’t go to a drugstore in Wicomico County without finding a copy there. In fact, ‘Treasures of the Eastern Shore’ has sold all over the world. I enjoy it a lot when people come up to me and recognize my name from seeing my book or picking it up somewhere.”
Perhaps surprisingly, though, Nunez admitted that it’s fiction writing that brings him the most joy.
“I’ve always preferred to tell my own story,” he said. “Most of my writing takes a blend of history and the supernatural. It all winds itself together, and it’s great when it’s mine.”
A few years back, Nunez finished his first novel, “Crimson Need,” a supernatural tale of vampires set in Salisbury. He noted that, with the release of a fourth nonfiction title this fall, he may return to fiction until he can produce another personal collection of accounts in the area.
“I never really thought I’d be an author,” said Nunez, “but writing just comes to me as I find more things and talk to more people. It’s not a way to get rich quick, but it’s what I know and enjoy.”