The Mystery of Oak IslandPhoto Credit: Dustin Scarpitti.

Photo Credit: Pavan Trikutam.

Have you heard of

“The Mystery of Oak Island”?

It starts with a fellow adventurer…

Daniel McGinnis saw lights in the distance.

Photo Credit: DeShannon Bynum Dixon.

Where, below a hanging

tree…

Lay a mysterious pit.Photo Credit: Beata Ratuszniak.

With John Smith and Anthony Vaughan, he rowed to the

cryptic island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Photo Credit: Owen Walters.

Sun dripping from dirt

skin, the boys dug 30

feet down to flagstones

and logs.

But no one would ever

fully excavate the pit.

Photo Credit: Ashley Morgan.

Photo Credit: Joe Nickell.

In 1803, the Onslow

Company dug to 90 feet

and found a stone tablet

written in an odd language.

In 1845, the Truro

Company dug down to 86

feet and found an artificial

beach.

Photo Credit: Ashley Morgan.

Photo Credit: Ashley Morgan.

Drilling attempts led to flood tunnels all over the island.

Photo Credit: Loreta Pavoliene.

In 1909, Franklin D. Roosevelt, before he became the

American president, also looked for the treasure.

Photo Credit: Ashley Morgan.

Robert Restall always loved adventure

and became obsessed with the treasure

in Oak Island’s money pit.

Photo Credit: Joseph Lalonde.

Then the whole Restall

family pursued the pit.

In 1965, Robert and

Robbie succumbed to

its toxic fumes.

Photo Credit: Cbcs.

A total of six people died.

One more person must die before the

island gives up its secret.

Photo Credit: Tomas Chevalier.

Shuddering, I flip my book. Theories, anyone?

Photo Credit: It’s Art Magazine.

Did the

Vikings build

the money pit?

Did pirates inhabit the island and

bury their treasure there?

Captain William Kidd? Blackbeard?

Photo Credit: Barbara Busquet.

Photo Credit: Salzburg.com.

Did Francis Bacon bury

the original Shakespeare

manuscripts in the pit?

What plays?

New ones?

Photo Credit: Pixshark.com.

Will Canada’s Blankenship ever

sell the island?

Obtain the gold?

Not in my lifetime, perhaps.

The search

continues...

Photo Credit: History Channel.

Photo Credit: James Donahue.

One day, my

friends!

One day.

References Dunning, B. (2008, Nov. 25). The Oak Island mystery. Skeptoid. Retrieved February 22, 2015 from

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4129 Foot, R. (2003, Jan. 10). For sale: N.S. treasure island: Group wants heritage site, not monster homes. National Post.

Retrieved February 21, 2015 from http://www.lexisnexis.com/lnacui2api/api/version1/getDocCui?lni=47N4-WMP0-01D6-K1PX&csi=270944,270077,11059,8411&hl=t&hv=t&hnsd=f&hns=t&hgn=t&oc=00240&perma=true

Keyes, B. (1999). Treasure: Oak Island: The story of Oak Island. Active Mind. Retrieved February 25, 2015 from http://www.activemind.com/Mysterious/topics/oakisland/story.html

Krystek, L. (1998). The mystery pit of Oak Island. UnMuseum. Retrieved February 22, 2015 from http://www.unmuseum.org/oakisl.htm

Morgan, A. (2014, Sept. 12). Oak Island money pit – the last great unsolved mystery. Oak Island Money Pit. Retrieved February 24, 2015 from http://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/

Nickell, J. (2000, March/April). The secrets of Oak Island. CSI. Retrieved February 20, 2015 from http://www.csicop.org/SI/show/secrets_of_oak_island/

Patterson, E. (2012, July 29). Oak Island obsession destroyed family. The Chronicle Herald. Retrieved February 25, 2015 from http://thechronicleherald.ca/books/121875-oak-island-obsession-destroyed-family

Strochlic, N. (2014, Feb. 27). Treasure hunt to discover Oak Island’s mysterious pit. The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 23, 2015 from http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/27/treasure-hunt-to-discover-oak-island-s-

mysterious-booty.html Whipps, H. (2005, Nov. 7). For sale: Island with mysterious money pit. LiveScience. Retrieved February 22, 2015 from

http://www.livescience.com/466-sale-island-mysterious-money-pit.html

Photo References Busquet, B. (2011, Nov. 30). <http://barbarashdwallpapers.com/pirates-of-the-caribbean-wallpapers/> Cbcs (2014). Gyard. <http://morguefile.com/archive/display/884533> Chevalier, T. (n.d.). <https://unsplash.com/photos/aGmGLe_06OM/download> Dixon, D.B. (2015). Life After Death. <https://deshannonspeaks.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/lifeafterdeath.jpg> Donahue, J. (n.d.). The Ghost Ship off Nova Scotia Coast. <http://perdurabo10.tripod.com/ships/id303.html > History Channel (n.d.). <http://www.history.com/shows/the-curse-of-oak-island/about> It’s Art Magazine (n.d.). Vikings. <http://www.itsartmag.com/features/vikings/> Lalonde, J. (2006). Girl Running After Brother. <http://www.jmlalonde.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Girl-running-

after-brother.jpg> Morgan, A. (2014, Sept. 12). Oak Island Money Pit. http://www.oakislandmoneypit.com/ Pavoliene, L. (n.d.). <https://unsplash.com/photos/_VMOdjWWZQo/download> Pixshark.com (n.d.). Beowulf dragon. <http://pixshark.com/beowulf-dragon-treasure.htm> Ratuszniak, B. (n.d.). <https://unsplash.com/photos/608SA-ldxfE/download> Salzburg.com (2015, March 5). <http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/welt/kultur/sn/artikel/der-ewig-neue-

shakespeare-warum-verlage-klassiker-neu-uebersetzen-140482/> Scarpitti, D. (n.d.). <https://unsplash.com/photos/26-lAP0XprM/download> Trikutam, P. (n.d.). <https://unsplash.com/photos/avJ9uz9Qhcw/download> Vlasach, J. (n.d.). Ocean. <http://thepatternlibrary.com/#ocean> Walters, O. (n.d.). https://unsplash.com/photos/8C-TxFyk6UE/download

Background Music: “Of Treasure” by Alestorm from the album, Captain Morgan’s Revenge.