Charles Island

Connecticut · USA · Church

A Wepawaug chief cursed this Connecticut island after his people's defeat. Captain Kidd is said to have buried part of his treasure on it anyway.

Charles Island lies off Silver Sands beach at Milford, Connecticut, and carries one of the oldest recorded curses in New England. The island was contested ground between English settlers and the Wepawaug, who regarded it as sacred and tied to spirits. After the defeat of the tribesmen, the chief is recorded as pronouncing that any shelter raised there would crumble to the earth, and whoever raised it would be cursed.

Roughly twenty five years later, Captain Kidd is understood to have buried part of his treasure on the island. He knew its reputation, which is generally read as the reason he chose it. Treasure hunters have been coming ever since.

The account most often repeated dates from 1850, when two men are said to have found the cache and then fled the island, screaming about a screeching, flaming skeleton. Whatever stands behind that story, the island has an unusual record: attempts to build on it have repeatedly failed, which is exactly what the curse specified.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Charles Island?

Charles Island ligger i Connecticut, USA.

Image: pedrik / CC BY 2.0 via flickr