This tiny island is said to be cursed. In fact, it is said to be the mot dangerous cursed island on earth, Despite this, generations of fortune hunters have been drawn here in the hope of getting rich. This is the story of that supposedly cursed island.
Welcome to Charles Island
The island lies just off the coast of Connecticut, America’s most pointless state. Yet it is one of the more historically important. And just half a mile from the island is the city of Milford, founded in 1639.
Among the strange and infamous criminals to pay Milford a visit was William Kidd. The Scottish pirate better known as Captain Kidd. It was 1699 and captain Kidd was making his way through the waters of New England. Along the way, he stashed his treasure in various small islands. That’s what you do when you’re a world famous pirate. But he would never get to retrieve said treasure. Lured into Boston was a false promise of clemency, the Governor of New York had him arrested, and taken back to England where he was executed.
In the aftermath, countless treasure hunters set out to find captain Kidd’s fortune. And one of the prime locations they flocked to was Charles Island. But many who went looking here were met by a tragic fate. According to local lore, the betrayal of Captain Kidd caused his treasure to be cursed. Is is even said that the closer you get to it, the sooner and more painful your death will be. Strangely, though, this is not the first curse to have been put on the island.
A Cursed Island
Six decades before, the island was purchased by a man called Charles Deal. He stuck by his surname, striking a great deal with local natives. When I say great, I mean one sided, and we are told the local chief was furious. Regardless, it went ahead. Charles Deal transformed the island into a small tobacco plantation. For 15 years business boomed. Huge amounts of Charles Island tobacco were exported in the colony and beyond. Then for some unknown reason, it went bust. Shutting down virtually overnight. There is a wide variety of reasons a colonial tobacco plantation might fail. But the overwhelming answer given was supernatural in nature.
If the theory is to be believed, that local native chief who was furious with Charles Deal is behind it. It is said he placed a terrible curse on the island. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from horror movies, it’s that native American curses are the worst. It goes native American, then gypsy, then pirate, then everything else. And so, being a cursed island, no new plantation was even attempted here. It simply stood there, forgotten by the outside world.
Fast forward to the early 17 hundreds, and yet another cursed treasure comes into the picture. This story has less credibility. So if you already think I’m talking nonsense, I can only apologise.
The Final Curse
It involves a hoard of gold once belonging to the last Aztec Emperor. Having hidden it from the Spanish 2 centuries before, it was now discovered by accident. An accident triggered by a group of 5 Americans exploring an underwater cave. The treasure was so well stashed that 4 of the 5 divers died trying to claim it. Finally, though, it was extracted. But in a pure panic, the final diver offloaded it on Charles Island. Why Charles Island? I have no idea. At this point, why not Charles Island.
These are the three curses. But the dark history of Charles Island does not end there. Following centuries would see further tragedy. Like the death of Elizur Pritchard. He was a wealthy industrialist. A reckless one. In the mid 18 hundreds, he foolishly tried to open a luxury resort here. One of the things that attracted him to Charles Island was it’s land bridge. A treacherous strip of land only appearing at low tide. Mistime your visit, and you may find yourself trapped on the island. Or swept away by the tide while walking. But that is not what killed Elizur Pritchard. Like so many others travelling along the land bridge, he suffered a sudden heart attack.
He was not the last to die on the land bridge. Many have since. Many have also tried to use the cursed island in various business ventures. All seem to have failed. Today, Charles island is uninhabited. No one is crazy enough to try and live on a cursed island. Because while it may be small, superstition has a habit of driving buyers away.