For generations, stories about Milton Covel, a man known in parts of eastern North Carolina as Tricky Sam or Duke Buddy, have circulated through families and communities across the region. Some accounts describe unexplained events, seemingly impossible feats and spiritual encounters that left people both fascinated and afraid.
Now, an eastern North Carolina filmmaker is bringing those stories to the screen in a three-part documentary series that explores the man behind the legend — and why his story has endured.
Bearhug Productions announced that Tricky Sam, written, directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker James Jones Jr., is scheduled for a theatrical premiere April 10, 2027. The production released its trailer October 23.
Jones says his interest in Tricky Sam began long before he considered making a film. As a child, he heard stories from his grandfather, who described a man whose reputation could leave listeners both frightened and fascinated.
“His stories were very fascinating as the way that my grandfather put it together and, as a young child, I mean, it would have all your hair standing up on the top of your arms. So, I was extremely kind of, I was scared of him, but I was curious of wanting to know more about these stories. I found out later on that he was my grandfather's second cousin.”
That family connection eventually gave Jones a personal reason to look more closely at the stories he had heard growing up.
A name that meant different things in different places
Even the name Tricky Sam was not universal.
One person interviewed for the documentary’s trailer explains that people around Belhaven and Washington knew him by another name.
“He was called around Belhaven and Washington way...he wasn't called the Tricky Sam that we speak about today. Everybody down there know him by Duke Buddy. They would say Duke Buddy. They wouldn't say Tricky Sam. Not around, I'd say, as far as Belhaven and Washington is concerned.”
The different names reflect how the stories were passed from one person to another, shaped by family connections and local memories.
Jones says he sought out people who had direct connections to Covel, including relatives who could share their own recollections.
“Daughters that still lives right here, lives in Belle Haven, North Carolina, to give me her accounts, what she know. There was first cousins in their 80s who also can recount those same stories. If it was the driving with the no motor in the car, those types of stories that what they seen with their own eyes.”
The accounts, however, do not always agree.
Stories of a car with no motor
One of the best-known stories associated with Tricky Sam involves a car that supposedly operated without an engine.
“A lot of people swear he drove a car with no motor and when he got stopped for speeding or something else and they looked under the hood and it was like no motor.”
But even people recounting the story offer different explanations for what they believe happened.
Jones says some people described finding a chicken under the hood, while others remembered seeing nothing at all.
“That was the only difference, because some people say that, 'What I seen, it was a chicken under the hood.' And then there will be other encounters that will tell me there was completely anything under the hood, absolutely anything.”
The documentary presents these accounts as witness recollections and local folklore, rather than established explanations for what happened.
For Jones, the differences between the stories are part of what makes the subject compelling. He wants to understand not only what people say they witnessed, but also how those experiences became part of a larger community legend.
Fear, family and fascination
The stories were not always entertaining for the people who heard them. Some relatives say they were genuinely afraid of Tricky Sam.
One person interviewed for the trailer describes a mixture of affection and fear.
“I thought a lot of him, but I didn't hang around with him because I was afraid of him. I'm telling you the truth, he's my cousin, but I was absolutely terrified of him.”
Even decades later, the stories remain part of family conversations.
Another person recalls a father who continued hearing reports that Tricky Sam had been seen walking around, long after his own experiences with the stories had become part of family history.
“Before my daddy died -- my daddy died in 2022 -- he used to call me and tell me, 'Man, somebody called, said they seen Uncle Buddy walking.' Like, so he may still be out here roaming the Earth, you know what I mean?”
That sense that Tricky Sam might still be out there captures the unusual place he occupies in local storytelling: a figure rooted in family history, but surrounded by accounts that have taken on a life of their own.
The spiritual traditions behind the legend
Jones also explores the religious and cultural traditions connected to stories about Tricky Sam, including accounts involving rootwork and hoodoo.
He says his understanding of those traditions developed as he researched the subject more deeply.
“When you look at to the spiritual realm of it and the religious of Christianity and things of that nature, all of it's one in, to me, all of it's one in the combined. A lot of people in churches that are doing things or practicing things in their churches are not even understanding what it is. But it all comes back to root work.”
Jones connects those traditions to the history of African Americans and the ways spiritual beliefs and practices were affected by enslavement.
“During the slave trade and a lot of the Africans was being sold to many places. They stripped us from our language. They stripped us from what we couldn't believe in. They told us we had to read this Bible or we couldn't read at all.”
The film examines how those traditions intersect with the stories surrounding Covel. Jones also considers the ways religious beliefs can be interpreted and used differently by different people.
His approach adds a cultural dimension to the documentary, placing the stories within a broader discussion of belief, history and the meaning communities attach to experiences they cannot readily explain.
Bringing Tricky Sam to the screen
The documentary combines interviews with family members, eyewitnesses and longtime residents with dramatic reenactments. Brad Boyd, an Aurora native and co-producer, portrays Tricky Sam.
Boyd says he grew up hearing the stories, even though he had never seen the man himself.
“To grow up knowing about Tricky Sam, hearing his stories...never knew his face, but I always felt every person that walked by me as a kid that was creepy, I thought it was Tricky Sam.”
Taking on the role meant separating his own identity and beliefs from the character he was portraying.
“When you're being a character, it's a separation you have to do. I know who I am and I know what I believe in, so I don't carry it with me. I just, when the lights are off, the character's off. When they got lights on, the character's on. I just try to bring the best version of that character I can bring.”
Still, Boyd acknowledges that portraying a figure surrounded by unsettling stories could leave an impression.
“There has been a few times when I went home, the lights were off. I was making sure he wasn't to ride behind me.”
For Jones, the project grew from childhood curiosity into an effort to preserve the memories of people who knew the stories firsthand. The result aims to examine both the legend and the people who continue to tell it.
The trailer closes with a question that reflects the darker side of Tricky Sam's reputation: “What would the devil pay you for your soul?”
Tricky Sam is scheduled for a theatrical premiere April 10, 2027. Bearhug Productions says venue and ticket information will be announced later.
