The year is 1590, and the America we know today was nothing more than a pipe dream and an ambitious project. At the time, England was just getting its feet wet in regards to a formal colony, and one of the only settlements was the Roanoke Colony.
Before this, there was a small garrison established on Roanoke Island, which was originally on land claimed by Sir Walter Raleigh, an English gentleman and the namesake of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Originally, this garrison was meant just to make a claim for the island, and it was nothing more than a placeholder. After a few years, the fort was abandoned, and in 1587, the colony that we recognize today had just started getting its formal roots. That year, Raleigh sent another 115 colonists to help colonize Roanoke Island. Upon arriving, the only sign of life that they found was a skeleton of one of the members of the original garrison. The colonists, unable to return to their ships per the orders of a fleet commander, pleaded with John White, a friend of Sir Walter Raleigh, to return to England and tell of the dire nature of their situation.
John White did indeed leave, leaving every colonist and his granddaughter, the first English colonist born on American Soil, behind. His path was treacherous due to hostilities with Spain, but it was just as dangerous living in the colony. The original garrison had incurred the wrath of the Indigenous People of the area, and more than once were attacks traded. Unfortunately, it took three years for John White to return, as hostilites closed his way back, but he was able to return nevertheless.
Again, we return to 1590. Bring yourself back to witness this. Imagine sailing up the cold Atlantic, the colony you helped found within site. Chest swelling with pride, John White calls for his men to weigh anchor, and he can feel himself beaming as he sweeps over the gangplank into the home that he helped to build for the people of his own country.
But, as he steps foot onto the soil, he knows something is wrong. It's too quiet; far too quiet. Everything is silent, and there was a tension so palpable that it could be cut with a knife. The crew could feel it as well, but no one was saying anything. To say it was to acknowledge it, and acknowledging it made it real.
John White continues closer to the settlement, and now he knows something is wrong.
Everyone is gone. Vanished.
Things were left out, posts taken down. When they had left, they weren't in a hurry. Quickly, he bolts for a marked tree in the distance. In the event that there were hostilities, the colonists were to carve a Maltese Cross into the tree trunk. Heels flying over the ground, he rounds the corner, finds the tree, and he finds...
Nothing.
No cross, and by that, no violence. Now more confused than ever, he continues searching along the perimeter. That's where he finds what is now the most recognizable aspect of the lost colony of Roanoke. The one word carved into the side of a fencepost.
"Croatoan."
Forgive me for the dramatics, but it's important. Because, up until now, we see Croatoan as a dramatic tool, something that we don't know and don't understand, when in all reality, Croatoan was actually an island off the coast of North Carolina, and it's called Hatteras Island today.
So, quite simply, instead of being mauled or murdered or cursed, I think they moved. There are a number of theories that do contradict this, however. Some theories posit attacks by neighboring tribes, the Spanish, and other disasters. Some say that the colonists split up, and others say that they were taken captive.
Today, however, no one looks that far into the theory, and that makes the Lost Colony of Roanoke a story that is perfectly set up for horror. What better true story than one of an early English colony in a strange new world disappearing, with the only clue being a word that was at once both rare and strange?
American Horror Story, the ever popular show, has decided to use the premise of the Roanoke colony as a base for the current season. After watching the first episode, I can already feel that they're going in the right direction. Equal parts strange and horrifying, and with a nasty cliffhanger, I'm excited to see how it turns out.
This is one of the newest incarnations of Roanoke, besides it being referenced in the show Supernatural, where it's posited that Croatoan was actually a demonic virus that drove people to homicidal insanity, and that the original colonists all killed each other, and then were whisked away.
As far as I'm aware, and I did my research, the fate of the colony is still undecided, but I'm sure that with advances in technology coming along as they have been, we'll know soon. But for now, I'm all about more horror stories that intertwine the tale of the Lost Colony.
Who knows? Maybe the Roanoke Nightmare really did turn out like that? Maybe it was something else.
Okay, definitely not, but it's a great story, and I'm excited to see it come back into popular focus again. Let's hope this season of AHS comes together, and we see a killer series.
Want to know more in depth? Check out Wikipedia. There are citations, so it's legit. I swear.
