This beach scene was taken outside the Engleside Hotel located in Beach Haven, NJ. The image was taken on a bright and unseasonably warm Sunday morning in November. As I walked barefoot on the beach in the early morning, I was greeted by fishermen, fresh air and an overall sense of calmness and tranquility. It is hard to believe that this is the same location where Charles Vansant, a twenty-four year old broker from Philadelphia was killed by a shark in 1916. This shark attack was one of five that rocked the New Jersey coastline during the summer of 1916 and inspired the movie Jaws.
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| The Engleside Hotel circa. 1916 |
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| Charles Vansant |
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| National and Local Newspapers downplayed the attack. |
For more specifics on Charles Vansant and the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916 check out Twelve Days of Terror. Chapter One profiles the attack in Beach Haven and several primary source artifacts and accounts are profiled throughout the book.
Fernicola, Richard. Twelve Days of Terror. Lyons Press: Guilford, CT, 2001.
It seems like the past summer there were more shark sitings on the east coast, particularly around Cap Cod. Some people think it might be connected to climate change - the water heats up, allowing sharks to travel places they have not gone before.
ReplyDeleteIt is striking, however. The attack by "fish" does downplay it quite a bit. Now, with media events like "Shark Week" I"m sure we would not have heard the end of it.
You never know what tragedy might have taken place on the land you are standing on, but family members of those affected certainly feel the spot in a different way.
I try to stay away from all shark related news in relation to LBI-- I want all my experiences to be fun and happy... so I would have a completely different relationship with that space. Does the Engleside Hotel still exist? Do they have any artifacts from that time?
ReplyDeleteI never knew that this incident was famous for being the inspiration for Jaws. I'm sure the town was not happy with that reputation afterwards!!
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting that they downplayed the event. If things like this occur today, the media now tends to over emphasize it. Funny how portrayals change huh?