Cliff Notes – I visited a ‘cursed’ island and stumbled upon a 230-year mystery
- Oak Island’s Allure: The island has captivated treasure hunters since 1795, with the ‘Money Pit’ at its centre, drawing visitors and researchers alike to uncover its secrets.
- Television Impact: The show “The Curse of Oak Island,” launched by the Lagina brothers, has significantly boosted tourism in Nova Scotia, attracting millions of viewers and spawning multiple spin-offs.
- Cultural Significance: Beyond the treasure hunt, the series has provided insights into Nova Scotian history, creating a community of dedicated fans who find value in the journey rather than just the treasure.
I visited a ‘cursed’ island – and stumbled upon a 230-year mystery
I stumbled upon a million-dollar mystery I hadn’t been expecting. When I arrived in Canada’s lesser-known province of Nova Scotia, I was expecting tranquil seafronts – instead, I discovered a TV empire hinged on a 200-year-old mystery.
For millions in North America and around the world, the province of Nova Scotia conjures up just two words – Oak Island.
As I soon found out, the oft-whispered-about landmass in the eastern Canadian province is believed to be home to an as-yet undiscovered trove of treasure, following the discovery of a man-made network off the shorefront in 1795.
Over the past two centuries, hundreds have flocked to the island, specifically to the area known as the ‘Money Pit’, to see if they can uncover the mysteries that lie within.
In 2012, brothers Rick and Marty Lagina decided to televise their attempts to find this mythological treasure, backed by machine-powered drills, a metal detectorist named Gary Drayton, and various historians, in a show called The Curse of Oak Island.
At its peak during season seven, it was regularly watched by over four million viewers in the US and was touted as the number one show on cable during that time, although it has declined in viewership since then.
The show, helmed by the Lagina Brothers, has captured millions – and fuelled Nova Scotia tourism (Picture: History Channel)
Still now it draws in a tidy two million or so, remaining a TV powerhouse in a saturated landscape.
So there I was, after a frantic Google, piling onto a small boat ready to be shepherded around the island by one of the show’s professional divers, Tony Sampson, who regaled us with the whole mystical tale.
‘Some say it’s the lost King’s ransom of George II, some say it’s a French treasure destined for the American Revolution, and obviously you can’t have a mystery like this without some saying it was the aliens that did it,’ Tony recounted to us Oak Island rookies.
‘We also have bats*** crazy people that come up here. They say they’ve got a map of Oak Island from the 1600s [not possible] cause they want to get their face on TV,’ he added, revealing that the frenzy around this treasure is so great that six people have even tragically died in pursuit of it over the years.
In 2018, Tony set up Salty Dog Sea Tours as a ‘part-time gig’, but the sheer popularity of the show has drawn thousands of people to his door (and launched three spin-off shows).
Myself and diver Tony Sampson after the detailed (and windswept) boat tour around Oak Island (Picture: Asyia Iftikhar)
‘Now my whole life is talking to people about pirates and shipwrecks and treasure, which I love,’ he added.
The sea around the island even has its own version of the Bermuda Triangle where strange happenings occur, from failed radio communications to people washing up half-drowned.
Now, 12 seasons in, one local who watches the show joked that the phrase ‘Could it be?’ followed by dramatic music (duh duh duh) has become its defining takeaway.
Needless to say, so far it hasn’t been.
Although the actual existence of the treasure is up in the air, and buried under layers of sand and folklore, the area has several shipwrecks littering the seabed from which plenty of items has been procured.
On the boat, we were shown coins from centuries ago still in salvageable condition, tobacco pipes, pot lids and more.
After getting to see it in person, I went down the Oak Island rabbit hole
As such, for many viewers, the show has provided invaluable insight into Nova Scotian and Canadian history, which has created an enduring appeal.
‘This [show] is hundreds and millions of dollars in tourism and promotion for Nova Scotia with 4.5 million viewers in the US alone,’ Tony explained.
‘Wherever we go now in the world, you say Nova Scotia, they say Oak Island. I can’t go down to the States. If we get off at an airport, somebody will come up and say, “Oh my god, can you sign my T-shirt?”,’ he added with a grin.
In many ways, discovering this show in such an unexpected and hands-on way felt like stepping through the looking glass into a totally different world.
The sheer investment into this (in my opinion, doomed) treasure hunt is fascinating and baffling in equal measure. Although there is something rather sweet in the sentiment that the real treasure was the friends you made along the way.
As I delved into a season 10 episode on YouTube to see what all the fuss was about (the clip has accumulated almost 70,000 views in just the three days since it was posted), the ethos of the show was made clear.
The land mass has been famed for this undiscovered treasure for over 200 years
In many ways, it has to be seen to be understood!
After a tense 10 minutes finding very little under a drill (accompanied by a heart-pounding soundtrack and sweeping camera shots), Rick makes a rousing (and teary) speech to his crew in ‘the war room’.
‘Every journey is a shared experience and we have been on a decades-long journey together and that’s quite remarkable… think of all the others who have come before us, it’s incredible,’ he says.
‘Just give yourself a moment and say, “You know what, I was part of something much bigger than myself.”’
The comments under the YouTube video reflect just how much this show means to the audience as well, with one user, susancouder, writing: ‘I get fed up with all the nails and bull shows they find but we still love this show and love these guys.’
Dasha shared: ‘If there was any treasure they would’ve found it by now but hope is a powerful thing.’
There’s no doubt the brothers have tapped into a great market, a pocket of history fuelled by an unsolvable puzzle – and as Tony told us, there are hopes it will go on for many more years.
And who knows… just maybe I’ll be tuning in for that 13th season to tag along for the ride.
The Curse of Oak Island is available to stream on Sky History and Now in the UK.
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