History to Premiere New Series THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND, 1/5

By: Caryn Robbins Dec. 16, 2013

In the North Atlantic is a mysterious, and possibly booby-trapped island that has fired the imagination of treasure hunters for more than 200 years. Oak Island could be hiding one of the greatest treasures in history, but no one has ever been able to crack the code of how to get at it. Fortunes have been spent and lives have been lost. A prophecy says that seven people will die before the treasure is found, and six have died in various accidents already. In the new series THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND, two brothers from Michigan will take new technology and old-fashioned knowhow and attempt to discover what's buried there once and for all. The series premieres Sunday, January 5 at 10PM ET/PT on HISTORY.

No one knows what's buried at Oak Island. Theories range from pirate treasure to Shakespeare's Lost Folios to a priceless religious artifact brought over by the Knights Templar. The myths of the island have proven irresistible to many, including historical figures like John Wayne, Errol Flynn and Franklin D. Roosevelt, who all financed or took part in digs in what's become one of the longest treasure hunts in history.

It all began in the late 1700's, when three teenaged boys were drawn to a strange, man-made hole that would become known as the "Money Pit." As the boys began to dig, they ran into layers of logs every few feet, possibly put there to keep the hole from collapsing and revealing its location. As the story goes, the deeper people dug, the stranger things got. A gold chain, tools, nails, and lots of coconut fibers (the nearest coconut tree is some 1500 miles away) were found, as well as a mysterious and now-missing stone with strange, symbols. Decoded, it allegedly read "Forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried." But the searchers may have unwittingly sprung a trap. The hole filled with water. The leading theory it was fed by a series of intricate underground booby traps linked to the sea. Who would go to such extreme measures to hide something, and what would be so valuable? This mystery has been an obsession for many, but now two brothers aim to find answers.

Rick and Marty Lagina are two Michigan brothers who grew up in a working-class family that believed in the American dream. Rick became a postal worker, while his younger brother Marty earned a small fortune in the energy business. At an early age, Rick read an article about Oak Island and became obsessed with the legend. Knowing what it meant to his brother, when Marty made his fortune he decided to buy the rights to much of the island so they can try and solve the mystery together.

Using modern technology and good old American know-how, the brothers will search the island for treasure. In the past, many strange artifacts had been found. Evidence of deadly booby-traps, man-made beaches and the list goes on and on. Is it all a lot of smoke, or might something be there? The clock is ticking. The search is expensive, and the brothers need to find the truth before they either run out of money - or one of them falls prey to the tragic curse that has already claimed six lives.

THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND is produced for HISTORY by Prometheus Entertainment. Kevin Burns serves as executive producer for Prometheus. Matt Ginsburg and Mike Stiller are executive producers for HISTORY.

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