Original subtitles

If you're here with us now, ring these bells or

show up on this XLS.

[gasps]

- The bell dropped. - What?

Ooh, right there, right there in the tree!

On this episode of "Expedition X"...

Lando!

...Heather and Phil set sail to North Carolina on the trail

of America's most notorious pirate, Blackbeard.

[gunshot blast]

His hostile spirit has been reported all around the place

he died 300 years ago, Ocracoke Island.

I noticed this really creepy green glow.

I just started popping photograph after photograph,

and I saw what looked like a pirate.

Is this phantom guarding his long lost pirate treasure?

Oh, that is Robo Dog alerting me of a find.

Or seeking bloody revenge from beyond the grave?

I feel like someone's here.

Phil and Heather must weather the storm to learn the truth of

Blackbeard's ghost.

Who do you want revenge on?

[theme music playing]

- Ahoy, me mateys. - You OK?

- I'm a pirate, you landlubbers. - Sure you are, Josh.

- I'm very concerned. - All right, you joy kills.

I was just trying to get us in the spirit here-- maybe this will help.

This is a photo that was taken recently on Ocracoke Island on

North Carolina's Outer Banks, and this guy said that he saw

a strange green light, and then he snapped this photo.

What do you think?

- Oh. - Hmm.

[Phil] That almost looks like a figure in a tricorn hat.

[Heather] Hold on now. Am I looking at a pirate ghost?

Maybe? That's what the eyewitness thinks.

And not just any old pirate ghost-- no, no.

The notorious 18th century pirate who died off of

Ocracoke, Blackbeard.

Oh, I remember from childhood ghost stories.

- He was beheaded, right? - Yep.

And then his body supposedly swam around the ship.

That's the legend.

And look, what we know for sure is that the life and death of

Blackbeard was a gruesome one.

He terrorized the American coast before eventually

being [guttural click] executed.

And it is said that he hasn't stayed dead.

Sightings of him continue on Ocracoke to this day,

and many theorize that it's tied to

his long-lost treasure.

I love this stuff!

Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard,

is perhaps the most notorious pirate to sail

the Atlantic during the golden age of piracy.

[men clamoring]

[Josh] His legend lives on more than 300 years later.

But, surprisingly, his entire reign of terror

lasted less than two years.

Ah!

[Josh] In early 1717, Teach acquires his own sloop and begins

raiding merchant vessels up and down the coast of

the American colonies.

In November that year, he captures a French slave ship,

freeing hundreds of African men and women,

recruiting many to join his crew.

He renames the ship Queen Anne's Revenge

and outfits it with 40 guns.

With a small fleet and nearly 300 men under his command,

he builds a reputation for savagery and showmanship.

Braiding fuses into his long, wild beard, Blackbeard lights

them as he boards other vessels, giving his victims

the impression they're being attacked by the devil himself.

- [dramatic music swells] - [gunshot blast]

[bell tolls]

In June of 1718, the Queen Anne's Revenge runs

aground off the coast of North Carolina, and Blackbeard

is forced to abandon his flagship.

He and his crew settle down on Ocracoke Island

in the Outer Banks.

Life is smooth sailing there.

That is until Blackbeard's second-in-command and trusted

friend, William Howard, gets arrested in Virginia.

To escape the noose, he betrays Blackbeard,

revealing his location to the governor.

In the bloody battle that follows, Blackbeard is wounded 20 times

before being decapitated.

Edward Blackbeard Teach is dead, but according to legend,

his headless body swims around the boat three times before

sinking to the bottom of the bay.

In the centuries since his brutal death, residents of

Ocracoke regularly report seeing the ghost of Blackbeard.

Some claim he seeks revenge for being betrayed, while others

speculate his ghost guards his lost treasure, which people

have been looking for for 300 years.

Witnesses have also claimed to see a mysterious light moving

across the water where Blackbeard was killed,

a phenomenon reported so often

it's even named after him, Teach's Light.

One man says he even had a violent encounter with

a poltergeist in the woods of Springer's Point, where some

say Blackbeard's treasure is still hidden.

And now, with this extraordinary photograph,

residents are more convinced than ever that the man once

known as Blackbeard still menaces Ocracoke Island.

All right, Heather, what do you think?

A pirate's life for you?

Yo ho!

Blackbeard had such a violent life and a violent death,

and it was all centered around Ocracoke Island.

It makes all the sense in the world that he would still

be there haunting it today.

All right, get this lady an eyepatch.

Phil, what about you?

Listen, I love this legend,

but I think it is just that, a legend.

Plus, think about the atmosphere of Ocracoke.

It is part of an island chain.

It is surrounded by warm and cold waters,

perfect conditions for creating mist that could look

like a shadow figure.

I'm gonna make you walk the plank!

That's the pirate spirit, Heather.

All right, so, the two of you, get ye to Ocracoke and find out

what's really going on here.

Is the ghost of Blackbeard seeking revenge?

Is he protecting his buried riches?

Or is there some other, much more boring,

natural explanation? All right.

Oh, and before you go, very important,

what's a pirate's favorite legend?

- Uh, gotta be R. - No, Phil, that's wrong.

It's not, because pirates love the "C" ["sea"]!

Huh? Get it?

It's like an ocean, but it's the C?

No, I got it. I got it.

- We're leaving. - Yep.

Thanks. Good luck.

The flight from New York to Norfolk, Virginia, is just two

hours, but it's another three-hour drive

to the Outer Banks to get to Hatteras.

From there, the only way to reach Ocracoke Island is

the same way Blackbeard did, by boat.

[slow sea shanty playing]

[Phil] All right, sails up! Feel that wind?

[music speeds up]

- There's Ocracoke Island. - There it is.

[Phil] Lando!

Let's get this thing docked,

go find our witness.

[music ends]

Once we're on the island, Heather and I meet up with

Charlie Jenkins, the man who took the photo that

he believes shows Blackbeard.

Walk us through what happened that night.

So I was here on the island helping a friend of mine.

It was about 11, 11:30 at night.

I'd noticed there was this really creepy green glow coming

from this cemetery. The whole cemetery was lit up.

I've never seen that green glow before.

I'm trying to see, are there any street lights that could

have lit this up? - I did not see any that night.

I'm telling y'all, brother,

I put my hand on the Bible, and I swear to God.

The place was glowing damn green.

I took my phone out,

and I just started popping photograph after photograph.

Which was, like, right over here by those trees.

After I took my photographs, I started zooming in, and I saw

what looked like a pirate. - And that's the image we saw?

[Charlie] Yes, ma'am.

- That looks like a face to me. - Yes, ma'am.

So what did you do when you saw that on your phone?

I actually got scared to death.

I felt like I had...

captured something that was looking at me

that I couldn't see.

Call me crazy, but I thought I may have smelled gunpowder

in there. It's like sulfur.

- You smelled gunpowder? - Yes, ma'am.

So tell me, where else on this island have you heard stories?

There are a lot of creepy places on this island,

one of them being the marsh.

Have you ever heard of Teach's Light?

- Yeah. - Yeah, it's been around for hundreds of years.

There's one lady that-- Teach's Light actually chased her down one night.

She was in the marsh and saw a bright orange glowing light

floating across the marsh.

Went to see what it was and the light turns

and start chasing her.

She fell down and the light disappeared.

- OK. - That's aggressive.

And somewhere else you might want to check out,

the lighthouse of Ocracoke Island.

That lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in North Carolina.

I've heard stories of dark shadowy apparitions.

I've heard stories of whispers, the feeling that somebody might

be watching you, especially late at night.

During Blackbeard's time, that was actually the early

settlement area for the Ocracoke Islanders.

There is documentation out there that the Spaniards came

here and absolutely massacred

everyone in the fishing village. - Oh, goodness.

[Phil] Wow.

We've heard stories about Blackbeard's treasure still

being on the island. - Why wouldn't it be?

If he died here, why wouldn't his treasure be here?

And if his treasure's here, it makes perfect sense that

his spirit would still be here trying to protect it.

I agree with you 100%.

[Heather] As night falls, Phil and I return to the cemetery,

hoping to witness the same green light Charlie saw,

and perhaps communicate with

whatever he captured in his photograph.

[gunshot blast]

[Phil] Getting some photos.

[camera shutter clicking]

See if any pirate spirit shows up.

In addition to the photos, we'll analyze later,

I'm setting up a handycam to run all night to see if we can

capture the same green glow that Charlie described

right before he allegedly encountered the pirate.

First things first...

[bells ring]

...spirit bells.

I wanted to use an object that the spirits of Blackbeard's time

would've recognized, a bell. And if they ring...

That means the cemetery might be a little bit more alive than

we give it credit for. - Exactly.

String them up.

Bells like these were commonly used in the 1700s

to prevent premature burial.

A bell above ground would be connected by string to

the finger of a dead person, just in case they were

mistakenly buried alive.

Tonight, we'll be using them in a call and response session.

Will they trigger a response from the dead?

Is there anyone here with us?

If you're here with us now, ring these bells or show up on

this XLS.

We saw this incredible image of what looked like the spirit

of a pirate.

Blackbeard, are you here with us?

Is there anyone else here with us?

Did you serve under Blackbeard?

- [bells ring] - [gasps]

[Heather] The bell dropped!

It's right here, hanging off this.

- Look at that. - Well, hang it back up.

Something wanted our attention, and it takes

a lot of energy to pull something down.

Maybe it needs to ring them again.

OK.

[Heather] Ooh, right there, right there in the tree.

It's right there.

Something's sitting on the limb right there,

looking right at you, Phil.

- In the tree next to me? - It's on this limb right here.

Oh, it's gone. It's gone.

- Getting anything else? - No.

It's so strange. It was like

when you weren't paying attention,

that's when it showed up.

Well, if that is your theory, let's put it to the test.

What if I stand over there and close my eyes,

see who shows up? - Go be bait.

OK.

All right,

Blackbeard...

if that was you in that photo, if you caused that green glow,

show yourself.

You could be the one to prove to me that ghosts are real.

[Heather] You feeling anything?

I mean, I'm standing in a cemetery

with my eyes closed, so a little on edge.

- [bells ring] - [Heather gasps]

Oh, this one!

What? Look, it's still swinging.

That one is completely still.

[Heather] Did you just ring that bell?

Look at this, Heather.

It takes a lot to make these things ring.

[bell rings]

Look, we have confirmation of activity.

We just have to get some answers now.

Let's see if we can give them a voice.

- I'm gonna go grab my Tempest. - OK.

[Heather] OK.

We know you were here.

You wanted our attention. You've got it.

I'm gonna give you a voice.

Use this tool to communicate with us.

Why are you here?

What do you wanna tell us?

- Navigate. - Navigate.

If we wanna know more about Blackbeard, where should we go?

- Light. - Light?

That could be lighthouse.

Or it could be the light in the marsh.

- I think we gotta split up. - OK.

There is a lot more of this island to discover,

so let's chase those lights.

I head to the marshy southern tip of Ocracoke Island,

where the Teach's Light phenomenon has been seen by

several witnesses.

I'll be kayaking along the very inlet where Blackbeard was

murdered 300 years ago.

Because this is a visual phenomena, I want to make sure

that if we do see it, we document it.

So, I've got this GoPro up here facing forward.

I have another GoPro in the back facing to my rear.

All that's left to do is paddle out there and see what we find.

Let's go.

So a woman claims that she saw a bright orange glowing light

that headed straight towards her, scared her enough that

she went running and tripped.

Now, the big question is, what is that orange light?

And I'm trying to keep an open mind to all options that are

grounded in reality.

But for now, my mission tonight, gather intel,

keep my eyes on the skies.

[Heather] I arrive at the lighthouse, the site of the earliest

village on the island.

It was once the stomping grounds for Blackbeard and his crew,

and later, the location of a terrible tragedy.

This is where people have seen

full apparitions, shadow figures.

They've heard whispering voices.

And this land itself is the oldest settlement of the island.

But there is a lot more history to this place.

Shortly after Blackbeard died, the settlers during the 1700s

were massacred by Spanish pirates on this very ground.

That will leave an imprint. So who's gonna show up tonight?

I guess we'll find out.

[suspenseful music playing]

I just saw something.

I saw a shadow over there.

Is that my shadow? No, I just saw something.

There's nothing there.

I just saw a shadow. It was very quick.

It was low to the ground,

but it popped up against the white of this fence.

It was definitely a shadow.

I need to keep an eye

on both angles here because it feels like something is

definitely watching us right now.

And we need to try and figure out who it is.

OK.

This is Heather.

I'm recording at the lighthouse.

Let's see if they want to communicate.

Is there anyone here with us?

[water lapping]

Wow!

The tide and the wind is pushing me

right through this marsh, right out to sea.

OK.

Light! Light!

There was a light! Come on.

Right there, right there.

What is that?

Where'd it go? Where'd it go?

It was right here, right in this area.

Light, light!

Right there, right there.

[sighs]

I lost it.

[Heather] I'm here to communicate with you.

I have the Spirit Box.

I'm trying to understand the activity on this island.

Are you the shadow figure that I just saw?

Yes!

Can you tell me your name?

Were you massacred by the Spanish pirates?

[static crackling]

Oh, that was very quiet.

Did you die in the settlement that was founded here?

Blackbeard, are you here?

Blood?

You want revenge?

Yes, yes.

[wind whipping]

What was that? Good Lord.

Did you hear that?

That sounded like...

like a wail of pain.

[wind whipping]

What was that? Good Lord.

[uneasy music playing]

[Phil] Unable to find a source for the light I saw, I have a new

piece of tech to help track it down again.

I just need some solid ground to set it up.

This is our most light sensitive camera.

And we have it on the most amped-up nighttime setting possible.

And it's connected to this tablet, which is running

a custom program that filters out all other colors except for

the color orange.

You will see the orange color in my hand is showing up.

And no other colors are.

If there is anything orange flying around out here,

we will get it on camera and maybe get some answers.

OK. We are rolling.

[low, suspenseful music playing]

Meanwhile, when we have the FLIR, look for anything

with a heat signature flying around in the sky.

Gotta be something out there.

[beeping]

Oh, look at that. Look, look, look.

Oh, what...

is that?

[dramatic chord strike]

[Phil] That is orange. That is not reflection.

And we have it on a low shutter speed, so it's causing it to

look like a streak moving across, but it's definitely

a focused point of light, and I did not hear any planes

in the sky.

Swamp gas with this kind of moving water, I doubt that.

And it's not a species of lightning bug.

Typically, they have a blinking pattern,

not a solid light like that.

So that is something I cannot figure out.

Heather, you there?

Yeah, what's going on?

I've seen the orange light twice, and we got

it documented. - No way!

- That's incredible! - It is really unusual.

I can't wait to show you the evidence.

How's it going at the lighthouse?

The Spirit Box has been really active.

I've been hearing things, and I swear I saw a shadow

figure, so I want to keep looking around here.

I'm getting some great evidence out here, too,

so let's just keep pursuing our leads, see where the night

takes us. - Copy that.

- Stay on walkie. - You got it.

After the responses I got when asking about revenge, I want to

dig deeper into the life of Edward Teach,

the man who became Blackbeard.

So I'm meeting with local historian Chester Lynn.

His family goes back generations on Ocracoke.

- Lovely to meet you. - Good to meet you.

[Heather] He claims to have insider knowledge about

Blackbeard's life and death on the island.

You're born and raised here.

Your family's been here since the 1600s?

Now, I hear you have a theory about what happened to

Blackbeard's body, after he was betrayed by

William Howard and killed.

Hmm.

Where do you think they buried him?

So Blackbeard is buried somewhere on Springer's Point.

So essentially, Springer's Point was his home.

Yes, yes.

- [Heather] So that oak was there when Blackbeard lived and died. - Yes.

[Heather] Wow!

Find a giant tree, and we know we're on the right track of

the area of where Blackbeard was.

What about Blackbeard's treasure?

You think it's on this island?

OK.

[Heather] Oh, my.

[Heather] Wow.

Essentially, that's evidence of Blackbeard being there.

[Phil] While Heather talks to the historian, I'm heading to

Springer's Point to speak with another eyewitness.

Wade McVey is a longtime local who had a frightening

experience in the nearby woods that he cannot explain.

[Wade] What brings you to Ocracoke?

I've heard too many stories about this place,

and I understand you've got some yourself.

Yes, sir. I've got a few stories.

One particular time, I was out here with a buddy of mine

catching sunset.

But before the sun had even finished setting,

he got real antsy.

And he demanded that we leave the beach right then,

being like, "We need to go."

And I'd never seen him act like that.

And as we started up the path,

he had a glass bottle in his hand.

And as we're walking, something smacked

that bottle out of his hand,

hit the tree next to it with a fair amount of force.

- [glass shattering] - Shattered.

- He didn't just slip and let it go flying? - Nope.

Nope. He didn't slip.

He didn't fall. I saw the whole thing.

And I don't have an answer for that.

He goes, "We need to get out of here now."

We ran down the trail.

Once we were out of Springer's Point, he told me,

"Man, when we were watching that sunset, I just started getting

these creepy vibes." - Hmm.

Like something was watching him.

All right, let's suppose that there was some force that

knocked this bottle out of his hand and smashed it.

Why?

Could have been the ghost of the pirates.

See, Blackbeard had a camp here.

Being that pirates are known to be pretty territorial,

they're going to guard this area.

Not to mention,

nobody really knows where Blackbeard's treasure's at.

Could be here.

He doesn't want one of us to find it.

And you think you've seen enough to convince you that

the legends are real?

Knowing the history here and everything that's happened,

it's easy to put the dots together.

It seems like Springer's Point is the place to be.

Oh, definitely.

A lot of really creepy stuff happens here at night,

and you might just run into it.

[Heather] As the sun sets, I meet with Phil at Springer's Point on

the southern end of Ocracoke, where Blackbeard and his crew

once had their camp, and where my expert Chester

believes Blackbeard, and maybe even his treasure, is buried.

It's crazy to think we're on Blackbeard's turf right now.

Not just his turf.

This could be where Blackbeard is actually buried.

And my historian did say that some artifacts from

Blackbeard's time have been found out here.

Great. I brought a metal detector.

I want to look for any remnants of the past and where

Blackbeard's treasure might be.

And while you're doing that,

I want to find Blackbeard's oak.

This tree is a living connection to the past.

If Blackbeard's ghost is here, being close to that tree

is my best shot at communicating with him.

Well, I'll look for a shiny treasure, and you look for

your tree. - OK.

Well, good luck finding anything in this terrain.

Don't worry. I brought backup.

I got Robo Dog. All right.

- Stay walkie. - All right.

So, we have rigged Spot with a mobile metal detector.

I'm going to set one up on my own,

so while Spot takes on the south side of Springer's Point,

I can take on the north, and if he finds something good,

I'll get an alert.

All right. Here we go.

I'm going to use his laser radar, or his LiDAR, to perform

a grid search of the area.

People have been seeing Blackbeard's ghost at

Springer's Point for over 200 years.

And I gotta say, it is very creepy.

Is there anyone here with me?

Blackbeard...

do you want me to find Blackbeard's oak?

Am I going the right direction?

[footsteps crunching]

Blackbeard...

is your treasure buried on Springer's Point?

Ooh, big spike.

[whispering] OK.

I'm going in the right direction, I think.

[normally] What was that?

Is there anyone there?

Ooh.

OK.

Somebody's there.

Is this where Blackbeard used to camp?

- [dramatic chord strike] - Oop.

Oop. That-- did y'all see that?

OK.

Am I going in the right direction?

[footsteps crunching]

Ooh, big spike, big spike.

[suspenseful music playing]

[metal detector buzzing]

OK, we got something.

Come on.

He brings a robot, but forgets a shovel.

Get some of this dirt aside. Let's see if...

whatever I'm detecting is inside this pile.

What's that?

What is that?

There's something in here.

[exhales]

What is that?

[blows air] Look.

Look at that.

This must be part of a chain.

We got one loop right here, another loop right there.

This could easily be from the 1700s.

A remnant of Blackbeard's life.

OK, let's keep searching.

There it is.

Look at that.

I found Blackbeard's oak.

Wow!

The stories say Blackbeard and his men camped next to this

very tree, which has been standing here ever since.

It's like a witness tree.

I think it's my best chance to actually communicate with

Blackbeard himself. - [dramatic chord strike]

[beep]

Oh!

Hear that?

That is Robo Dog alerting me of a find.

OK, let's go.

I see it.

All right.

I can back it off.

So...

So it was right over here,

right under that poison ivy

that I will brush aside into the sand.

This is the good part.

Oh.

Oh. Wait, wait!

Oh my god!

We got a coin!

This could be a coin that was used by Blackbeard's pirates.

Even used by Blackbeard himself.

You can see how it's oxidized a little bit,

but it has enough features that if I get some photos,

send it to Josh, I guarantee

he will be able to give us a date.

And if only I could take the credit

for actually finding it. Good job, Spot.

- Phil, do you copy? - Yeah, what's going on?

- I found Blackbeard's Oak. - Amazing!

Send me the coordinates. I'll be over there.

- Copy that, Hustle. - Good boy, Spot.

I leave Robo Dog to keep patrolling Springer's Point

and head off to meet up with Heather.

Whoa, so this is Blackbeard's Oak?

- I know, isn't it incredible? - Absolutely amazing!

Well, I found a few things it might recognize.

- What'd you find? - Take a look at that.

That is a chain. Could have been used on a ship.

Could have been used to lock up your treasure.

- That's incredible. - And this isn't all we found.

Spot had to one-up me and found this.

No way! Oh my gosh!

[Phil] This, to me, looks 1700s.

These artifacts could be from Blackbeard himself.

And we know this tree is from his time.

This is a golden opportunity to do a really powerful

call-and-response session.

- Let's get set up. - OK.

All right, this is Blackbeard's flag.

This would have been like his coat of arms, so you got to

hang it up. - OK.

So, we have objects that are most likely from

Blackbeard's time and rum.

[bottle pops]

I'm gonna start the audio recorder.

This is Heather and Phil.

Blackbeard, if you're here,

we've come to communicate with you using this flame.

If the flame goes higher, I'll take that as a yes.

If it goes lower, I'll take it as a no.

Blackbeard, if you're here...

give us a sign.

[Phil] Ooh.

[whispering] Seems like a yes.

[dramatic chord strike]

The pirate Blackbeard lost his head.

Literally, his actual head is missing.

After killing the pirate in 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard

gifts Blackbeard's head to Virginia's governor,

Alexander Spotswood.

The skull is then mounted on a pole at the mouth of

the Hampton River as a warning to any would-be pirates.

But then, one day, it vanishes.

In the 1800s, it's alleged that the skull is plated with silver

and used as a punch bowl.

Then, in the 1980s, this disturbing drinking vessel

is seemingly rediscovered.

The estate of historian Edward Snow

hands over what they say

is Blackbeard's silver-plated noggin

to Salem's Peabody Essex Museum.

The museum is unconvinced, but it certainly seems like

a fitting end to me. Your skull filled with alcohol?

Sounds like every pirate's dream.

Cheers, Blackbeard.

Is this where your camp was?

- The flame just went up. - Did it?

Yeah.

OK, keep talking.

[Heather] Blackbeard, are you still on this island because

you're guarding your treasure?

- [Phil] It's dying down. - [Heather] It is.

- [Phil] That's a no. - [Heather] That's a no.

Are you looking for revenge?

Ooh!

- That got high. - Right when you said revenge?

Yeah. I mean, did you see that?

I felt like I needed to scoot back a little bit.

And it's raining.

We asked for a sign.

[Phil] So we have a sign of revenge.

- Yeah, OK. - Stay on that.

Are you still here on this island because William Howard

betrayed you? Your own crew member.

- Ooh! - Wind picked up.

Your own crew member. Ooh!

That seems like a yes.

I'd say, I would be very angry if it was my own close

crew member that I'd worked with forever.

[thunder rumbling]

- Wow, it's really starting to pick up. - Yeah.

Are you here looking for revenge?

- Who do you want revenge on? - William Howard?

[thunder rumbling]

Flame just went out. That still recording?

- Yeah. - All right, flame's out.

Storm's coming in. Just get out of here.

- Yes. - All right, let's move.

Let's move.

Oh, god.

[Josh] Phil and Heather escaped a storm worthy of

the high seas.

Once they dried off and reviewed their shipload of

evidence, Heather believes they not only found the man,

but also his motivation.

She is convinced they were communicating with the ghost of

Blackbeard and even thinks she's worked out why.

But we begin with what on the surface is the most

valuable find of all,

the coin Phil and Robo Dog discovered.

[Phil] Wait!

We got a coin!

[Josh] It's a colonial Spanish 8 maravedís,

dated 1659.

Given that Blackbeard pillaged the seas just 58 years later,

it's possible this coin really could be one small part

of the pirate's lost treasure hoard.

So perhaps there was evidence of the treasure, but what about

the evidence of the man who might have owned it,

Blackbeard himself, Edward Teach?

Light! Light!

What is that?

[Josh] Phil analyzed footage he captured of the so-called

Teach's Light phenomenon.

Its uniform movement and consistent light signature

has Phil convinced that, far from being an echo of

something from 300 years ago, it's something entirely modern,

a local resident flying a drone.

The photos Phil took in the cemetery also failed to

capture the same eerie green glow, or, more importantly,

pirate-shaped shadow figure that those of our witness did.

And while there wasn't visual evidence of Blackbeard's phantom presence,

Heather feels there was a disturbing amount that was audible.

[Heather] You want revenge?

Yes, yes.

- [wind whipping] - What was that?

[Josh] Throughout the team's time on Ocracoke, whenever Heather

brought up the topic of betrayal or revenge,

not only did the paranormal activity pick up,

but so, curiously, did the weather.

Are you here looking for revenge?

- Who do you want revenge on? - William Howard?

[Josh] Heather points to the theory that spirits can influence

wind and rain.

If that's really true, then the ghost pirate's presence

was most certainly felt.

[thunder rumbling]

And there's more.

[Heather] Ooh, right there, right there in the tree!

In the tree! In the tree!

[Josh] A cannonball-sized revelation.

The cemetery where Blackbeard's supposed ghost was seen

is the Howard Family Cemetery, named after a William Howard,

who purchased Ocracoke Island in 1759.

For decades, historians believed this was

a descendant of the William Howard who was

Blackbeard's quartermaster before betraying him.

But now recently discovered documents suggest this was no

descendant of William Howard.

Stunningly, it was William Howard himself.

Yes, the same man who betrayed Blackbeard went on to purchase

the entire island of Ocracoke and is most likely buried in

the very same cemetery, the pirate seemingly haunts.

If Blackbeard's ghost really is looking for revenge, it seems

we can now prove something seriously shocking.

He's looking in exactly the right place.