The Curse of Oak Island

Author: Randall Sullivan
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 0802189059
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 441

Book Description
An in-depth look into the history of a Canadian island rumored to hold buried treasure and of centuries of failed attempts to claim the riches. Updated with new material from the author In 1795, a teenager discovered a mysterious circular depression in the ground on Oak Island, in Nova Scotia, Canada, and ignited rumors of buried treasure. Early excavators uncovered a clay-lined shaft containing layers of soil interspersed with wooden platforms, but when they reached a depth of ninety feet, water poured into the shaft and made further digging impossible. Since then, the mystery of Oak Island’s “Money Pit” has enthralled generations of treasure hunters, including a Boston insurance salesman whose obsession ruined him; a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt; and film star Errol Flynn. Perplexing discoveries have ignited explorers’ imaginations: a flat stone inscribed in code; a flood tunnel draining from a man-made beach; a torn scrap of parchment; stone markers forming a huge cross. Swaths of the island were bulldozed looking for answers; excavation attempts have claimed two lives. Theories abound as to what’s hidden on Oak Island–pirates’ treasure, Marie Antoinette’s lost jewels, the Holy Grail, proof that Sir Francis Bacon was the true author of Shakespeare’s plays–yet to this day, the Money Pit remains an enigma. The Curse of Oak Island is a fascinating account of the strange, rich history of the island and the intrepid treasure hunters who have driven themselves to financial ruin, psychotic breakdowns, and even death in pursuit of answers. And as Michigan brothers Marty and Rick Lagina become the latest to attempt to solve the mystery, as documented on the History Channel’s television show The Curse of Oak Island, Sullivan takes readers along to follow their quest firsthand. Praise for The Curse of Oak Island “Sullivan writes with open-minded balance, rendering the Oak Island story into a weirdly fascinating mystery.” —Booklist “A definitive read for fans of the History Channel television show. Sullivan delves deeper into the history, personalities, and theories presented only briefly on the show. . . . The book is incredibly well researched and the presentation . . . is very readable. If you’ve watched The Curse of Oak Island and were frustrated that snippets and possibilities were left tantalizingly unexplored, this is the book for you.” —Heather Cover, Homewood Library (Birmingham, Alabama) “Sullivan isn’t writing about Oak Island the TV show; his subject is Oak Island the place, largely as seen and imagined by the show’s viewers. So, if you’ve ever been more entranced by the show’s long trips into history and theoretical island encounters across history, Sullivan’s book probably needs to be on your Christmas list.” —Starcasm

Secret Treasure of Oak Island

Author: D'Arcy O'Connor
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493039164
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313

Book Description
It started on a summer afternoon in 1795 when a young man named Daniel McGinnis found what appeared to be an old site on an island off the Acadian coast, a coastline fabled for the skullduggery of pirates. The notorious Captain Kidd was rumored to have left part of his treasure somewhere along here, and as McGinnis and two friends started to dig, they found what turned out to be an elaborately engineered shaft constructed of oak logs, nonindigenous coconut mats, and landfill that came to be known as the Money Pit. Ever since that summer day in 1795, the possibility of what might be hidden in the depths of a small island off the south coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, has made it the site of the world's longest, most expensive, and most perplexing treasure hunt. Author D'Arcy O'Connor recounts the fascinating stories and amazing discoveries of past and current treasure seekers who have sought Oak Island's fabled treasure for over two hundred years. It has baffled scientists and madmen, scholars and idiots, millionaires and get-rich-quick schemers, psychics, engineers, charlatans, and even a former president of the United States. The island has consumed the fortunes-and in some cases, the lives-of those who have obsessively set out to unlock its secret. Despite all their efforts, the mystery remains unsolved, and not a single dime of treasure has ever been recovered. The present-day search is an archaeological dig exceeding anything ever done anywhere for similar purposes, and it may well result in the discovery of one of the world's richest and most historically significant treasures. But this is also the story of individuals who have dedicated years of their lives to discover what was buried long ago beneath this strange island. They are driven by a lust for gold, by archaeological curiosity, and by their determination to outwit the engineer who was responsible for the Oak Island enigma.

The Oak Island Mystery, Solved

Author: Joy A. Steele
Publisher: Nimbus Publishing (CN)
ISBN: 9781771087919
Category : Oak Island (Lunenburg, N.S.)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
For more than two centuries, Oak Island, Nova Scotia, has been studied, searched, probed and cursed all the while failing to give up its secrets. Joy Steele's ground-breaking historical research into the island's true history is no less intriguing. In this second edition, Ms. Steele is joined by professional geologist Gordon Fader to not only solidify her theory, but to expand on it, including a thorough explanation of the area's geology.

Oak Island and Its Lost Treasure

Author: Graham Harris
Publisher: Formac Publishing Company Limited
ISBN: 1459502604
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 289

Book Description
Civil engineers Graham Harris and Les MacPhie have spent over a decade investigating the enigma of Nova Scotia's Oak Island. In this new edition of their book, they set out the previously unknown story of how complex and expensive engineering work was undertaken to create an elaborate flood tunnel on the island. Built to frustrate treasure seekers attempting to get at the valuables buried decades earlier at the bottom of the island's Money Pit, the tunnel has admirably served its purpose. It has ensured that all efforts up to now to recover the treasure have been unsuccessful. Oak Island poses two different challenges for treasure seekers. There is a deep mine shaft, at the bottom of which the treasure lies. The authors offer evidence that this treasure came from the wreck of a Spanish galleon in the seventeenth century. Even more mystifying than the mine shaft is the complex tunnel which links it to the ocean. Harris and MacPhie have determined that the project would have required a labour force of over 100 men to supplement a small force of experienced miners. The work would have taken almost two years to complete. In new chapters written for this edition, they present the evidence they have discovered in British military history records which shows who commanded this force, how it reached Nova Scotia, and when the work was carried out. The new facts and insights offered in this book are a startling and convincing addition to the history of Oak Island.

Oak Island and the Treasure Map in Shakespeare

Author: Petter Amundsen
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781518852206
Category : Ciphers in literature
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Shakespeare's First Folio and the Sonnets, dated 1609, create a functioning Treasure Map, leading the diligent searcher to the Land of the Rosicrucians. As fantastic as this may sound, the author is serious. But if the treasure should be unearthed is another question. THIS IS THE MONOCHROME EDITION. A COLOR VERSION IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT A PREMIUM.

Oak Island Family

Author: Lee Lamb
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 145970343X
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 137

Book Description
For 200 years people have sought the treasure buried on Oak Island on Canada’s East Coast. Bob Restall got his chance, but it ended in tragedy. A fabulous treasure lies buried deep within an island on Canada’s East Coast. Or so they say. For more than 200 years, treasure-hunters have come to Oak Island, spent fortunes, worked long and hard, and left empty-handed. When Bob Restall and his family got their chance to search for treasure on Oak Island, they believed they soon would succeed where others had failed. But the island resisted. For nearly six years the Restalls lived and laboured on Oak Island, spurred on by small successes and tantalizing clues. And then one August day, the Restall hunt for buried treasure came to a sudden and tragic end. Oak Island Family, written by Bob and Mildred Restall’s daughter, gives a clear account of Oak Islands strange history and the Restall family’s attempt to change it. Personal notes and more than 50 never-before-published photographs and sketches help make Oak Island Family an engrossing read. Anyone who loves mystery, adventure, and a good human interest story will enjoy this book.

The Templar Mission to Oak Island and Beyond

Author: Zena Halpern
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781544744513
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 318

Book Description
"We make landfall on an island of oaks." So reads a 12th century Templar manuscript recovered from a medieval Italian church. Two of history's great mysteries-the fate of the Knights Templar and the truth about the Oak Island treasure-reveal themselves in this fascinating saga of hidden history. "The book we've all been waiting for!" says Rick Lagina, star of History Channel's Curse of Oak Island.

Oak Island And The Mayflower

Author: James a McQuiston Fsasct
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 174

Book Description
In his sixth book on the Oak Island, Nova Scotia, mystery, James McQuiston has discovered some remarkable links of people associated with the arrival of the ship Mayflower, in 1620, to some of the more famous and recognizable names of those who settled or hunted for treasure on Oak Island. Nova Scotia was founded expressly to protect the Plymouth Colony and the colonies shared many of the same families, and to some degree, the same early history.The fact that Mayflower related families connect to Oak Island strongly supports McQuiston's theory that Sir William Alexander, a patentee of the Plymouth Colony, and the founder of Nova Scotia, had something significant to do with the beginning of the Oak Island mystery. This theory has ranked as #6 out of the top 25 with the current searcher for treasure on Oak Island.The family connections found by McQuiston are detailed and very significant in understanding this 225-year-old treasure hunt on Oak Island, as well as the history of the Mayflower descendants, and others who settled in the general area of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Oak Island Knights

Author: James McQuiston
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781725946095
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Book Description
This is the author's third book on the Oak Island, Nova Scotia mystery, and it may be a mystery no more. James A. McQuiston, a fellow with the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, has poured over reams of ancient books and papers to uncover a stolen treasure from Scotland, and how that treasure just might have been buried on Oak Island until it could be used to finance a new kingdom called Nova Scotia. Due to several circumstances, that day never came. McQuiston presented his theories to the current searchers on Oak Island and was very well received. He even appeared on the "Curse of Oak Island" TV show. This is one book you must read if you have any interest in this 223-year-old mystery.

The Oak Island Mystery

Author: Patricia Fanthorpe
Publisher: Dundurn
ISBN: 1459701062
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 235

Book Description
The Oak Island mystery has been the world’s greatest and strangest treasure hunt, and after years of research the authors have finally solved the sinister with an answer that is challenging, controversial, and disturbing. In 1795 three boys discovered the top of an ancient shaft on uninhabited Oak Island in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. The boys began to dig, and what they uncovered started the world’s greatest and strangest treasure hunt but nobody knows what the treasure is. Two hundred years of courage, back-breaking effort, ingenuity, and engineering skills have failed to retrieve what is concealed there. Theories of what the treasure could be include Captain Kidd’s bloodstained pirate gold, an army payroll left by the French or British military engineers, priceless ancient manuscripts, the body of an Arif or other religious refugee leader, or the lost treasure of the Templars. The Oak Island curse prophesies that the treasure will not be found until seven men are dead and the last oak has fallen. That last oak has already gone, and six treasure hunters have been killed. After years of research, the authors have finally solved the sinister riddle of Oak Island, but their answer is challenging, controversial, and disturbing. Something beyond price still lies waiting in the labyrinth.