I survived the shark attacks of 1916 scholastic canada. The reallife jaws new jersey shark attacks in 1916 following the death of arthur medici 26 from a shark attack off cape cod, memories of the most vicious shark of all time who. In 1971, the freelance writer began working on a novel in a rented office. The 1916 attacks continued to be told anecdotally, in vague. The sharks were just trying to prevent jersey shore. Today matawan creek and the bridge where the shark was sighted still stand, a silent and eerily tranquil part of a. The jersey shore shark attack the 1916 shark attack spree began with an unsuspecting young man going for a leisurely swim off the jersey shore. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and.
Shark attack is a 2012 television film that aired on syfy on june 8, 2012 and was written by michael ciminera and richard gnolfo. According to the local paper, on july 1st, a shark had attacked and fatally wounded a lone swimmer off the coast of beach haven, new jersey, just seventy miles south of elm hills. Its the summer of 1916 and the jersey shore is being terrorized by a great white shark. A cast of characters, strikingly similar to the cast of jersey shore, try to survive an epidemic of sharks attacking miami beach. The 1916 shark attack spree began with an unsuspecting young man going for a leisurely swim off the jersey shore. The jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks along the coast of new. The peter benchley book jaws and later the movie with the same title were loosely based on this series of incidents. Well written account of the 1916 shark attacks along the new jersey shore which resulted in a number of deaths, no small degree of panic and a frantic bunch of inept amateur shark hunters. Scholastic inc isbn 9780545414876 ebook 112 pages ages 9 to 12. An account of the 1916 new jersey shark attacks that inspired peter benchleys jaws chronicles the twelveday period during which four swimmers were killed and a fifth seriously injured, examining clues and evidence to consider what actually took place. Combining rich historical detail and a harrowing, pulsepounding narrative, close to shore brilliantly recreates the summer of 1916, when a rogue great white shark attacked swimmers along the new jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching the most extensive shark hunt in history. In fact, there were two brave men who rush to save vansant from the shark attack. I made it through this retelling of the grizzly shark attacks of 1916. The 1916 shark attack spree began with an unsuspecting young man going for a leisurely swim off the jersey shore and his unexplainable violent end.
Deadly shark attacks terrorized new jersey in 1916. Gay talese capuzzos account of the 1916 shark attacks on the jersey shore recaptures the intense drama of the real events with a lyrical intensity rare in nonfiction writing. Brian donohue the front page of the philadelphia inquirer celebrates the capture of a large shark days after the last of four deaths in a series of attacks along the jersey shore in 1916. Chet, the books tenyearold hero is having a great summer. When chet sees a shark while swimming in the local creek his friends refuse to believe him. In 1916, people were just beginning to go into the ocean and swim for fun and recreation. Between july 1 and 12 of that year, a series of shark attacks terrified the coast of new jersey, as chronicled in the 2002 book close to shore. The surf rolled in and broke against the warm sands. Site of the new jersey shark attacks of 1916 matawan. With jack scalia, jeremy luke, joseph russo, daniel booko. Does it say that florida is the number one shark attack state with an average of 30 attacks a year. I survived the shark attacks of 1916 lauren tarshis. However, one of the most famous shark attacks of all time took place in new jersey the 1916 matawan creek attacks. Watch the full episode with your free trial for smithsonian channel plus by signing up.
Bob questions i survived the shark attacks of 1916. A white shark is not going to stay around very long she said. Jersey shore shark attack paul sorvino tony sirico joey fatone 2012 underwater drilling off the jersey shore attracts dozens of hungry sharks to the crowded beaches during the fourth of july weekend. It was demonstrated in the matawan creek attacks, for example, that the full moon of the.
The son of a prestigious philadelphia physician, charles was swimming. The movie jaws and this story are based on the real life shark attacks near the new jersey shore in 1916. The shark attacks of 1916 2010 read online free book by. The summer of the shark, jersey shore 1916 the birth of.
The story however, remained a new jersey legend for decades until it was released into the whole of public memory with the book and the 1975 film jaws which borrowed heavily from the story of the new jersey shark attacks of 1916. The most interesting topic to me in the new york times this week was about the 1916 new jersey shark attack. In july of 1916, new jersey became the site of a series of vicious shark attacks that would span 12 days and take the lives of four people and severely injuring one with previous deadly attacks. Combining rich historic factor and a harrowing, pulsepounding narrative, close to shore brilliantly recreates the summer time time of 1916, when a rogue good white shark attacked swimmers alongside the new jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching in all probability probably the most in depth shark hunt in historic previous. A great white shark has been attacking and killing people up and down the atlantic coast, not far from chets hometown of springfield. Jun 8, 2016 body search shark attack off the coast of nj 1916 100 hundred years ago stay safe and healthy. This story was first published on june 30, 2016 and updated on june 12, 2019. Its about the 1916 shark attacks off the coast of new jersey that gripped the entire united states and were the inspiration for peter. One hundred years ago a large shark killed two people at the jersey shore, then headed into raritan bay and up matawan creek where it. A great white shark has been attacking and killing people up and down the atlantic coast, not far from. Can 10yearold chet and his friends survive a swim in the local creek. In the summer of 1916, ten yearold chet roscow is captivated by the local news. Body search shark attack off the coast of nj 1916 100. The jersey shore shark attack smithsonian magazine.
Then suddenly, there were five attacks, for deaths over two weeks. A shark sunk its teeth into charles vansant, the 25yearold son of a philadelphia businessman, out for an evening swim in the resort town of. As in, the famous jersey shore shark attacks of 1916, in which two swimmers were killed along the beaches in beach haven and spring lake and then two more in the brackish creek that runs through. Since 1916, scholars have debated which shark species was responsible and the number of animals involved.
It tells the story of chet, as he stays with his uncle jerry while his parents are on a business trip in california. According to michael capuzzos 2001 book on the attacks, close to shore. The terrifying shark attacks of 1916, scientists at the american museum of natural history in new york cited oelrichs as. A series of fatal and neardeadly shark attacks in 1916 new jersey scared thousands of people out of entering the ocean. The shark mania that grips the country each summer began july 1, 1916, when a young stockbroker from philadelphia headed into the surf at beach haven, n. The jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks along the coast of new jersey between july 1 and july 12, 1916.
The terrifying shark attacks of 1916 9780767904148. There are only four known species of sharks that have attacked humans. Almost 100 years ago to the day date of upload, the coastal towns of beach haven, spring lake and matawan in new jersey, usa were terrorized by an apparent maneating shark over the space of 12. Children will love the combination of fact and fiction in this story where they can find a hero in someone their own age. In july 1916 a lone great white left its usual deepocean habitat and headed in the direction of the new. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do so. Many assumed that one monster shark was responsible for all the attacks, although three sharks seems more likely. In this fictionalized account, 10yearold chet is newly arrived in springfield, new jersey, 10 miles from where the attacks have occurred. The 1916 shark attacks were an anomaly, levine said. July 1st is the 100th anniversary of the most frightening series of shark attacks on record. Sharks inshore marine biology new jersey scuba diving. The shark attacks that were the inspiration for jaws. It was the trio that rushed in on the morning of july 3rd, 1916, just as chet was finishing up his shift at his uncles diner, to report the big news. He is trying to fit in to his new town, but there is a shark epidemic about sharks being in creeks.
The shark attacks of 1916 is a chilling book about the shark attack of 1916 which actually happened. Along with its riveting doses of sheer terror, it recreates an era. This scholastic novel series focuses on the brutal shark attack on the jersey shore in 1916. Does the book say that in the july of 1916 four people were killed in shark attacks. I survived the shark attacks of 1916 by scott dawson. The only one of these that you are ever likely to encounter in local ocean diving is the relatively inoffensive sand tiger, not the similarly named and extremely dangerous tiger. The jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 were a series of shark attacks along the coast of new jersey, in the united states, between july 1 and 12, 1916, in which four people were killed and one injured. Yet the jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 still loom large in the publics imagination, mostly thanks to peter benchley. Jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 is a featured article.
Throwback thursday 1916 new jersey shark attacks the. Commemorations of the attacks the 1916 jersey shore shark attacks were memorable enough to scare up a whole. On july, 1916, john nichols, the ichthyologist from the american museum of natural history, arrived at matawan, the site of the most recent attacks. The attack happened in beach haven, new jersey on july 2nd, 1916.
Its the summer of 1916, and tenyearold chet roscow is just as captivated as everyone else along the jersey shore by the local news. They never imagined something like a shark attack, so the events were particularly shocking. In twelve days in the summer of 1916 shark attacks along the new jersey shore had left four dead and one maimed with the rogue shark still on the loose. I loved all the rich historical details that puts the reader right in the year 1916, along with feeling as you are an actual eye witness to each terrifying shark attack. The jersey shore shark attacks of 1916 kids news article. A documentary of the tragic 1916 jersey shore shark attacks and a theory surrounding them. The incidents occurred during a deadly summer heat wave and polio epidemic in the united states that drove thousands of people to the seaside resorts of the jersey shore. The first victim during that steamy hot july was charles vansant. Close to shore the terrifying shark attacks of 1916 provides the chronicle of the attacks by a great white shark off the jersey shoreline in the summer of 1916.
So, last week was shark week, which has become so highprofile that its virtually a national festival. The global shark attack file, which provides current and historical data on sharkhuman interactions, lists it as a shark fatality. The reallife jaws new jersey shark attacks in 1916. A definitive investigation of the 1916 new jersey shark attacks. What was even more shocking is that two, including elevenyear old lester stilwell, were not even in the open ocean.
Shark week has always been a big thing for my family and i, and having the opportunity to read about this topic was great. After years of leading a nomadic life with his parents he is finally spending an entire. Therefore, you can only imagine the surprise and disbelief when one appeared along the shores of new jersey on july 1st, 1916, and over a period of twelve days, fatally wounded four people and injured one. Before 1916, there had been no recorded shark attacks along the jersey shore.
Im sure youve been so inundated with shark lore in the past week that i hesitated to do this post at all, but i figured, what the hell. A century later, memories of fatal shark attacks linger in. In the summer of 1916, panic struck the jersey shore. Based on actual events that occurred in 1916 when a great white shark terrorized the jersey shore. July 1, 1916, was a fine day at the new jersey resort town of beach haven. Just make sure you read it after your beach vacation.