One of my favorite historical stories that I learned in school was that of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Yes, of course, it gave me nightmares, but it also fascinated me — and Ryan Murphy must feel the same way since he made the theme of Season 6 of American Horror Story be My Roanoke Nightmare. If you weren't haunted by the mysterious story of the American colony that went missing when you were in school, then here's a refresher to prepare you for the rest of Season 6 since American Horror Story is bound to dig up the past.
If you've ever visited North Carolina's Outer Banks, then you might have experienced firsthand the history of the Lost Colony since Roanoke Island exists today. But what made the area infamous occurred in the 16th century. In 1587, 11 children, 10 women, and 90 men traveled from England to the New World and landed in Roanoke, North Carolina, as National Geographic outlines. These colonists were led by John White, who was accompanied by his pregnant daughter Eleanor Dare and her husband Ananias Dare. In August 1587, Eleanor gave birth to a daughter — named Virginia — who became the first English child to be born in the New World of America, the Outer Banks website reports.
White left only 10 days later to get more supplies from England, but according to History, he was delayed three years due to England being at war with Spain. Queen Elizabeth I ordered every British ship to fight the Spanish Armada, so White was unable to return until 1590. When he did, he found no trace of his family or the rest of the colonists — only the words "Croatoan" carved into a post and "Cro" carved into a tree. Every time I think about all of those people disappearing I get chills, so now you can understand why Murphy and I are intrigued by this story and why it makes for the perfect theme for American Horror Story.
Although theories abound, not only did White never find out what happened to his family, neither has anyone else. National Geographic reported that researchers were still investigating what happened — whether the settlers were all killed by a disease, relocated, or split up between Native American tribes — as recently as 2013. While no one will probably ever know for certain what did happen to those lost people, with Murphy targeting this story for American Horror Story, he's going to give his own take on the subject. And though it might not necessarily be historically accurate, it is most certainly going to be entertaining and give you nightmares just like my elementary school history lesson did.
Image: FX
