Marty and Rick Lagina’s quest for treasure, which is the focus of History show The Curse of Oak Island, features in a book of the same name.
The book is written by former Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Randall Sullivan, who has featured in several episode of the popular series and has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize three times before.
It takes readers on a journey with the Lagina brothers as they attempt to search for a purported fortune hidden down a shaft on the titular Oak Island, which lies off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.
The mystery which surrounds the 57-hectare isle began back in 1795 when a strange circular area of depressed soil was found by a teenager.
This led to rumors that there was treasure buried underneath, and when the top-soil was taken away a mysterious shaft lined with clay was found underneath — the island’s so-called “Money Pit”.
However, as excavators travelled down the shaft, which featured several layers of soil as well as platforms made of wood, their quest was halted in its tracks when at a depth of 90ft water poured in and flooded the shaft further down.
People drawn to the mystery in the past include a young Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who went on to become the 32nd President of the United States.
Since the early years a string of bizarre finds have reignited treasure-hunters’ intrigue, including code written in stone and markers made of rock which form a cross, as well as a scrap of parchment.
Two people have lost their lives during excavation works, while theories as to what lies in the Money Pit range from treasure buried there by pirates to the lost jewels of French queen Marie Antoinette.
Author Sullivan has written for a string of large publications during his journalistic career including The Washington Post, Wired, The Guardian, and Esquire, as well as spending over 20 years as a contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine.
He famously wrote an article about Oak Island for Rolling Stone back in 2004.
Sullivan has also written several non-fiction books before, including 2012’s Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson
His three other non-fiction books have all been nominated for the 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.
In other news, it looks like The Curse of Oak Island IS returning for Season 5.
The Curse of Oak Island by Randall Sullivan is set to be released in early 2018, published by Atlantic Monthly Press.