Since the release of the Pirates Of The Caribbean series of movies, our curiosity regarding pirates and the life of a pirate has been piqued. However, research into these free men of the sea finds them to be merciless individuals who were known for their plundering and destruction. And pirates still exist today, but instead of knives and swords, they have AK-47s and other lethal weapons at their command.
But today, we will be taking a look at some of the many mysteries that are related to the pirates of the old:
Blackbeard’s Ghost Ship
You must have heard of the famous pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. In the early 1700s, he and his crew would ambush ships that passed the Topsail Island which had helped him earn a massive fortune in riches. However, the creepy mystery regarding Blackbeard is the appearance of a ghost ship on Rich’s Inlet that appears in today’s times. This ghost ship is said to be only visible on radar and is claimed to chase vessels out of Topsail Island like it did in the 1700s.
William Wilcox’s Shadowy Ghost
The ghost of deadly pirate William Wilcox is supposedly still around in a cave near Cornwall, England. This mysterious encounter was experienced in 2015 by John Dyer, a businessman when he took a photo of a darkened cave. This photo revealed a dark shadow at the back of the cave that is claimed by the locals to be William Wilcox’s ghost. According to local folk law, the pirate was on the run and hid in the caves but ended up drowning due to the rising tide, leading to his ghost haunting the area.
Captain Kidd’s Cursed Treasure
Captain Kidd is one of the most well-known pirates who was said to have roamed the seas around the present Nova Scotia, Canada which is where this deadly mystery takes place. Oak Island that is off the shores of Nova Scotia was found to have a large and unnaturally created depression on the ground by Daniel McGinnis in 1795. According to records, the depression has oak planks every three meters beneath the surface which are said to have a carved stone after a few layers of the planks. The stone was found to be carved with symbols that indicated a hidden treasure beneath. Unfortunately, after many decades of searching, modern excavators have yet to find the treasure due to the complexity of how it was buried. During the excavations, more than seven people have already died, leading to many believing that the area is cursed.
The Mystery Of The Kraken
Many pirate movies have included the giant squid that can destroy and sink ships known as The Kraken. While there is no modern evidence of this sea creature existing today, Paleontologist Mark McMenamin is documented to have found signs of a huge squid-like creature with similarities to an octopus. This creature is also claimed to have lived in the deep sea by the analyses of the bones indicating the ability to cope with the water pressure at that level. Whether this creature is an indication of the Kraken’s existence or not is still an unsolved mystery to this day.
Olivier Levasseur’s Dying Cryptogram
La Buse or pirate captain Olivier Levasseur was executed by hanging in the late 1800s for being one of the great pirates that roamed in the Indian Ocean. He was another pirate with a hidden treasure, but he did leave a very mysterious clue behind. This clue was a Cryptogram that he flung out into the crowd with the final works, “Find my treasure, the one who may understand it.” While the latest descriptors have failed to understand this cryptogram, the one who is said to have come closest was Reginald Herbert Cruise-Wilkins in the 1950s who claimed that the treasure hidden was worth over £100 million. He may have found some evidence like a few coins and a 17th-century wine jug, but he ran out of funding for this expedition and gave up. If there really is a treasure, it may just be still around.
It seems that not all pirates are lucky like Captain Jack Sparrow when it comes to cheating death and escaping with their ill-gotten riches. But, real pirate stories are just as mysterious as the movie plots that have us hooked year after year.