deadman’s island The remains of dozens of people who were buried more than 200 years ago are being slowly exposed on an island in Kent. Horror stories have been handed down the generations about the mysterious site, known as Deadman’s Island, so the BBC’s Inside Out South East programme took a boat across to investigate […]
HUMAN remains potentially containing contagious diseases are slowly being revealed on a creepy UK island.
While there are some spooky islands in the , this haunting isle was a former burial site and is off-limits to the public.
Human remains are being revealed on a creepy UK island that potentially contain contagious diseases
Deadman’s Island lies on the River Medway estuary of Kent
Deadman’s Island is a small island in the River Medway estuary of and has long been the subject of gruesome tales.
More than 200 years ago, the island was used as a burial ground for convicts who died aboard ships, known as hulks, anchored nearby in the 18th and .
Many succumbed to horrendous conditions with regular outbreaks of sweeping through the ships.
Hundreds were buried in unmarked wooden coffins, six feet under the mud.
Trevor Mason, who runs Deadman’s Island social media page, told the BBC : “Unfortunately in many cases sailors were sick, and in some cases they died, so while the boats were moored here those who succumbed to those contagious diseases were buried.”
“The sailors who would have been living on board those ships must have been in horrendous conditions – not being able to come off the ship to go [on] land and see their families etc, and the risk of catching a disease from their fellow sailor.”
He added that an revealed some of the remains may still contain contagious diseases.
For many years the grim finds remained invisible to the human eye.
But now, changing and erosion are bringing the human remains to the surface.
It’s not uncommon for them to be washed out into the Estuary or discovered on the Kent coastline.
In 2016 the remains of more than 200 humans were found on the island, believed to belong to men and boys who had died on board the floating jails.
The uninhabited mudbank is owned by , who lease it to two people.
Visitors are banned from the island, though camera crews are sometimes permitted.
Human bones are littered among the shells, while coffins that were once six feet under have risen to the surface, threatening to expose their contents.
As well as a graveyard of bones, the protected wetland also serves as an important breeding and site for birds.
where you can only visit by kayak.
It was said that local fisherman spotted human ghosts calling out to them to come and save them.
as they continue to uncover skulls, ribs and jawbones on the island.
Previous footage shows dozens of human remains scaled in barnacles and littering the sludgy banks.
What looks like it could come straight out of a horror film, the truth behind the creepy area was .
