Cannibalism at Jamestown

The article I just completed was on the latest season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY entitled MY ROANOKE NIGHTMARE, wherein the series’ writers are mining colonial-era American history to tell us some scary stories. The “lost” colony at Roanoke, Virginia went missing sometime between 1587 and 1590, and the mystery of what happened to it is providing great fodder for the TV series. The Jamestown colony was established, also in Virginia, in 1607, some 17 to 20 years afterward. New scientific evidence has revealed that a horror story happened there, too. But this one isn’t fictional.

The skeleton of a young woman has been unearthed at the site displaying signs of butchery, this last occurring during the harsh winter of 1609-1610. There were already written accounts, and these make for some chilling reading, but the skeleton provides physical confirmation. The victim in this case was estimated to have been around 14 years old. Scientists have been able to reconstruct her face using skull fragments. She was pretty. Was she a servant in life or a member of a noble family? No one knows. At least the experts do believe the evidence shows her to have been dead at the time of the butchery. She wasn’t killed for food, but likely died from natural causes. THEN somebody chopped her up, cooked her and ate her. Small mercies, I suppose.

By The Evil Cheezman

WAYNE MILLER is the owner and creative director of EVIL CHEEZ PRODUCTIONS (www.evilcheezproductions.blogspot.com, www.facebook.com/evilcheezproductions), specializing in theatrical performances and haunted attractions. He has written, produced and directed (and occasionally acted in) over a dozen plays, most of them in the Horror and Crime genres. His first novel, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER: WEREWOLF, is available for purchase at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/734763 MORTUI VELOCES SUNT!

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