Randall Sullivan: Who is journalist behind book on The Curse of Oak Island?

Randall Sullivan from The Curse of Oak Island
Randall Sullivan from The Curse of Oak Island. Pic credit: History

Fans of The Curse of Oak Island know that Randall Sullivan has visited the fabled treasure island several times and has a keen interest in the history surrounding the Oak Island mystery. But just who is the prolific author of the book, The Curse of Oak Island: The Story of the World’s Longest Treasure Hunt, which details the 220-year old hunt for treasure on the mysterious Nova Scotian land mass?  

The Los Angeles native first wrote about the island in 2004 for Rolling Stone magazine. He’s a high-profile investigative journalist, screenwriter, film and television producer, and host of Miracle Detectives on OWN.

Sullivan described himself as an adolescent football jock constantly in trouble, but he eventually graduated with a Master’s degree from Columbia University.

His newspaper stints included writing for the New York Daily News, the L.A. Herald Examiner and Rolling Stone, where he was a contributing editor for over 20 years.

Three of his books have been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize: The Price of Experience: Money, Power, Image, and Murder in Los Angeles, LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records’ Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal, and The Miracle Detective: An Investigative Reporter Sets Out to Examine How the Catholic Church Investigates Holy Visions and Discovers His Own Faith.

This week Sullivan returns to the island not only to give treasure hunters Rick and Marty Lagina signed copies of his latest book but also to offer up a theory so stunning that the brothers decide on the spot that it needs further investigation.

Sullivan believes he may have found a crucial clue that could lead the team to recovering the island’s hidden bounty at long last. The exhaustive research he did for his latest tome convinced him that the man behind the Oak Island mystery could be Francis Bacon.

Many experts believe that Bacon came to Oak Island with Shakespeare’s manuscripts and buried them there in a lead box filled with mercury.

Sullivan sees this theory as entirely plausible. He cites the fact that after 1626, documents written by Bacon were published after his death, and within these documents are curious phrases which Sullivan believes may allude to the Oak Island mystery.

Sullivan believes that based on his interpretation of these phrases, the flood tunnels key to accessing the legendary treasure are located a distance from the south shore. In 1980, Dan noticed several large holes in the southern shore bay, and these were again observed in 1987.

Are these actually the flood tunnels that must be shut off before any chance of finding artifacts can take place? “It’s worth investigating,” Rick declares.

If Sullivan’s theory is right, he will have contributed not only an incredible written history of the Oak Island mystery, but also played a part in solving it!

The Curse of Oak Island airs Tuesday nights at 9/8c.

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