” The Matawan Shark Attacks ” That Inspired JAWS Movie
Bizarre Buffet Podcast – All You Can Eat Weird
Learn About The Matawan Shark Attacks Right Here!
On this episode of Bizarre Buffet, the gang sits down to discuss the shark attacks that inspired the JAWS movie.
Was the JAWS movie inspired by true events? Most people are familiar with the famous Steven Spielberg film. What some may not realize, is that a series of shark attacks in New Jersey were the original inspiration for the iconic film.
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The Matawan Shark Attacks – Episode Credits
Original Episode Art & Story Concept By Mark Tauriello
Production By Marc Bluestein
The Matawan Shark Attacks – Episode Show Notes
What Do You Think The Deadliest Animal Is ? – A Comparison Chart
- Mosquitos – 1,000,000 human fatalities per year.
- Humans – 475,000 Homicides per year.
- Snakes – 50,000 fatalities per year.
- Dogs – 25,000 fatalities per year.
- Freshwater Snail’s – 10,000 fatalities per year.
Sharks – Only 10 fatalities per year.
Champagne Corks Kill More People Than Sharks
Champagne corks are more deadly, on average 24 people die a year from a Champagne cork.
Shark Attacks In New Jersey
In July of 1916, our very own state of New Jersey was subject to multiple shark attacks. Between July 1st – July 12th, in which 4 people were killed and 1 was injured. During that summer, there was a combination of both a Polio epidemic in the US and major heat wave.
Due to the heat wave, thousands of people flocked to the seaside towns and resorts of NJ whilst being on the eve of World War 1. The increase in beach tourism paired up with the heat wave was the perfect combination for hysteria after the shark attacks that transpired.
Timeline Of New Jersey Shark Attacks
July 1st Shark Attack
July 1, 1916 in Beach Haven NJ, A man by the name of Charles Van Sant was on vacation with his family. Upon going into the water, this 25 year old man was attacked by a shark just a few minutes after entering into the water. Onlookers heard him scream, thinking he was playing with his dog… as life guards came to his rescue they has noticed that his belly was torn off and he died shortly after. He was only 50 feet out.
After his death, no safety precautions for the public were made on any of the beaches, most likely because it was peak season for tourism, and they did not want to jeopardize tourist base businesses. Even though there were reports from sea captains spotting sharks off the coast of Newark, and New York, still nothing was done. Often, these shark sitings were quickly written off as hallucinations due to the heat.
July 6th Shark Attack
July 6th, 45 miles north in Spring Lake, a 27 year old man with the name of Charles Brewder was fatally bitten in the abdomen and legs while swimming in the ocean. Lifeguards carried him to shore where he bled to death. This made news stories all over the country. Since Sharks were not widely known at the time, and not seen as deadly…. Other sea creatures such as whales and sea turtles were being blamed for these alleged sightings and attacks.
This began to negatively impact tourist culture to the point that on that the museum of natural history held a press conference to inform people to not be afraid of sharks and that these attacks were super rare and unusual. But after only 4 days of these claims, 2 more deaths occurred.
July 12th Shark Attack
On this day, 2 more victims in NJ found themselves fatal victims to another shark attack. Only this was was more unusual because it took place in a creek which sat over a mile and a half away from the ocean. Sharks are never found in creeks and not known to travel outside of the sea. From the attacks, the shark traveled north now from Beach Haven, to Spring Lake, and somehow managed to go around Sandy Hook and into Raritan Bay before heading west into Matawan Creek.
Shark Sighting In New Jersey
The day of this shark attack, Capt. Thomas Catrell said he saw a shark swimming below a Trolley bridge in the town of Key Port. He called the town Marshal to report this siting, but was immediately dismissed because the town marshal said that sharks would not swim up a fresh water creek. After that response, Capt. Catrell hopped into his small motor boat to find the shark and warn others. Today it would be impossible for a shark to make its way to the creek because of a damn that was built to create Lake Lefferts. The creek today is now very shallow and muddy. But in 1916, it was 15 feet deep.
As Thomas made his way up the creek, so did the shark, and in the path of the shark were 5 young boys who were swimming in the creek. These boys consisted of Albert Ohara, Johnson Catran, Frank Clowes, Charles Vanbrunt, Lester Stillwell, and Anthony Bublin.
Death Of Lester Stillwell
Out of the 5 boys, Lester Stillwell was the one that was swimming out the furthest from land, putting himself in the direct path of the shark. When the 300 lb shark arrived, Lester was pulled under in seconds, not giving the boys enough time to respond and fully know of what was happening. The other boys ran out of the water screaming, and ran into town for help as Lester was being devoured by the shark. Nobody believed the boys!
Stanley Fischer – Witness
24 Year old tailor, Stanley Fischer witnessed the boys cry for help. Since he knew Lester, snd was aware that he often had seizures due to epilepsy… he came to the rescue. He assumed he was having a seizure in the water..
Unfortunately when he arrived at the creek it was too late, and he was met with water which was red from Lesters blood. By this point the shark was gone. Townspeople frantically searched for the boy on boats, but could not find his body.
Stanley eventually dove into the bloody water and swam 15 feet to the bottom and collected the body of 12 year old Lester . When he swam to the surface, the shark camera back and immediately bit and attacked his upper thigh as everyone watched, trying to rescue him.
Some say Stanley fought back, but he had an 18 inch gash where an artery was severed.. he lost so much blood. After being pulled from the water, he died at the near by hospital 1 hour later.
More Shark Attacks
Less than an hour after this attack, 3 teenage boys who were swimming further up near the Key Port Bay. These 3 boys were 12 year old Joseph Dunn, 14 Year old Michael Dunn, and 16 year old Jeremiah Houlihan, were swimming near the NJ brick Yard peir, where the shark was swimming back to the bay. These boys too were now in the sharks path. Upon their swim, somebody yelled out to them to get out of the water due to the attacks. As they swam back to shore, it was already too late and the shark had bitten one of the boys leg, trying to pull him into the water. A gentleman in a boat jumped into the water, and rescued the boy from the shark attack. The young boy survived the attack and was the only survivor.
The Aftermath
Days after, there was a shark hunt to find and kill the shark that had gone on this rampage. Whether it was 1 shark or more is TBD… however, it created a frenzy of people killing sharks for vengeance and award money.
Days after, newspapers reported that a great white shark was caught in Raritan Bay. Upon catching the shark, they found 15 pounds of human flesh inside of its belly. But there was no way to identify the remains. It was determined that the human bones inside of the animal could have come from a human that had been dead for much longer, making it possible that human remains were not of the victims of this 12 day attack.
Some folks propose that man that found this shark planted human remains inside the stomach to win the reward money.
The shark was eventually put on display in a shop in NY.
Nobody really knows for sure if that was the shark. It is also noted that instead of a great white shark, it could have been a bull shark bc they would be more likely to swim into rivers and creeks, and great whites stick to the salt water of the oceans.
Lester and Stanley are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Matawan.
60 years after, the novel Jaws was written…and then the film was made. The aftermath of all this has created a common fear of sharks, even though the likely hood of being eaten and attacked by one is incredibly slim.
Current Day
In the creek where Stanley and Lester had been bitten, is now a mural of a shark that sits on an old train bridge, where you can enter the mouth of the shark via a small boat,. The mouth frames the edge of an arched tunnel, making it look like you are swimming into the mouth of the shark. It has recently been featured in the latest issue of WEIRD NJ, and you can visit this location where these attacks took place.
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