Another quite plausible hypothesis is that it was a not-so-elaborate prank, and many of the more elaborate details of the story are actually folklore that has b

Another quite plausible hypothesis is that it was a not-so-elaborate prank, and many of the more elaborate details of the story are actually folklore that has built up over time. Joe Nickell wrote a rather nice article proposing that idea for Skeptical Inquirer a while back: http://www.csicop.org/si/show/secrets_of_oak_island/ http://www.csicop.org/si/show/secrets_of_oak_island/