Ocracoke Island - Legend of the Old Diver

An Irish-American Sailor Augustus Abner McGuire, 1913, was a diver aboard a Norwegian ship that sprang a leak off the coast of Ocracoke. The Captain sent McGuire down to inspect the damage, he surfaced, gave his report and was told to go back and repair the damage. Soon it was apparent that he was not resurfacing.

Maybe the pump and air hose were not connected; maybe he had a heart attack. But when he was pulled to the surface he was unresponsive and died on the deck. Instead of a burial at sea, Captain Weatherspoon contacted David Williams, the officer in charge of the Ocracoke Lifesaving Station. Keeper Williams found a small plot for his burial adjacent to his own family’s cemetery.

After a hasty service, a cedar post and his diving boots remained to mark the grave. Over the years, his grave marker deteriorated and the memory faded but Old Diver, as he came to be known, grew in legend among the island children.

The children would hide among the tombstones of the nearby graves and wait for the unsuspecting youngsters to pass by. They began to chant, “Old Diver, Old Diver, what do you say?” After a pause, someone would say, “Nothing”, sending the children running in fear of the ghost of Old Diver in his diving suit and brass helmet.

For years the grave remained unmarked. One of the diving boats was put on display in the Ocracoke Preservation Society Museum. Recently, a new marker was placed at Old Diver’s grave but even today, those who know the legend of Old Diver, still walk past the grave at night listening for “Old Diver, Old Diver, what do you say?”