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Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)

March 12, 2026 / 52:15

This episode covers the Matawan Creek shark attacks of 1916, featuring discussions on shark behavior, local reactions, and the tragic outcomes for victims. Alaina and Ash discuss the events surrounding the attacks, including the experiences of Renny Cartain, who encountered a shark in the creek, and the subsequent attacks on Lester Stillwell and Stanley Fisher.

Renny Cartain, a local boy, experiences a close encounter with a shark in Matawan Creek, resulting in severe injuries. Despite his warnings, other boys, including Lester Stillwell, jump into the creek, leading to a tragic attack that leaves Lester missing.

Stanley Fisher, a retired sea captain, attempts to rescue Lester's body but is attacked by the shark, suffering life-threatening injuries. The episode highlights the bravery of those who tried to help and the chaos that ensued as the town reacted to the attacks.

As the search for the shark intensifies, panic spreads throughout the community, leading to misguided attempts to kill the creature. The episode concludes with the capture of a shark that may have been responsible for the attacks, raising questions about human-shark interactions.

Throughout the episode, Alaina and Ash reflect on the nature of fear and misunderstanding surrounding sharks, emphasizing the need for better awareness and safety measures in water.

TLDR

The Matawan Creek shark attacks of 1916 led to tragic outcomes and community panic as locals faced unexpected dangers in freshwater.

Episode

52:15
00:00:00
Hey, weirdos. I'm Alaina. >> I'm Ash. >> And this is Morbid. Morbidito. And guess what? What's up,
00:00:21
girl? You better keep your eyes peeled on Friday the 13th for so for various reasons. Because it's a spooky
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>> day, one, and two, cuz if you're on our Instagram, which like where are you? If
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you're not on Actually, to be honest, I I understand if you're not on Instagram at all. Well,
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yeah, that is >> not on Instagram, maybe you don't need to go back on >> That is understandable. Um good for you
00:00:44
for getting off of it. But if you're on our Instagram or want to, we're going to
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be announcing something on Friday the 13th, which is tomorrow when this comes out. Yep. So,
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it's going to be pretty cool, everybody. And if you're not on Instagram, don't worry. We'll be announcing it on the
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pod. >> Too, just not on Friday the 13th because we don't have an episode out that day.
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>> It'll be Monday. Whatever day that is. Jinx. What is it? 13? 16th? Yep. Yep. Monday the 16th, we will
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announce it on the pod. So, you know, you're going to hear it. >> oddy. You're going to hear it, you're
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going to see it, you're going to feel it. You're going to sense it, all the things.
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>> Yeah. So, it's going to be awesome. >> It's going to be [ __ ] awesome. I'm excited for this announcement.
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>> I'm very excited for it as well. Can we put trumpets when we announce it on the
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poddy oddy? Pa pa ra Announcement. Who just put that? >> That's what we'll do. Uh like you said, I won't be doing that.
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Like he's just staring at us like, are you two all right? Has something gone awry?
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>> know. We're kind of silly today. I'm not sure why. Is it What's Is it Friday?
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Oh, we have a It's cuz we have a new a new setup in this room. Well, almost. >> Well, it it's definitely new. We're
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working on it. Everything is everywhere right now, and maybe that's why our energy is so cray-cray. Yeah, we're
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we're moving everything around in the room. >> over there. There's just a stack of bins
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with a bag on top of it and half a couch. I'm like, "Damn, that's precarious as fuck." We're
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just, you know >> have workers insurance? I think we do. >> I don't know. Who knows? Don't let that
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fall on your head. It's going to be It's going to be great. >> All right, are we back to talk about
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shark attacks? We are, and this second one Is it going to be like >> somehow gets even more wild.
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>> Okay. Like There's already been two shark attacks. I'm not sure how you how you outdo that.
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I can definitely outdo it. >> I can outdo it. So >> I believe in you. I'm not saying I
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don't. So, we I said last time that we were going to be moving on to um a creek. Oh, yeah, a creek. A shark is in
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a creek. Isn't a creek a pretty Yeah. shallow body of >> Yeah. Wait, is it the same shark? Yeah.
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No. Yeah. No. I think it is. What even is a creek at the end of the day? >> a shallow body of water.
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>> But does it connect to the ocean? Well, obviously. >> No, it doesn't. It doesn't.
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No, the shark is The shark Ubered real quick into the nearest creek. I worked that out on my own, okay? Get out of
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here. This [ __ ] has been making fun of me today. Um I think you have been making
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fun of me. >> fun of you, too. I have been making fun of you, too. Look at the Look at her trying to round up the
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listeners right now against >> I am not. I am absolutely not. I'm absolutely not. She's been making fun of
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me. She's hurting my feelings. I made fun of you for a tiny minute today. It wasn't that It wasn't that
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much. What was I going to Google? What is a creek? What is a creek? Leave me alone. What is a creek?
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Can I say something? When people say, "Leave me alone," I [ __ ] hate that. Yeah, I mean
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>> like that. >> It's never like a good thing when someone says that. It just has that that energy. Leave me
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alone. No. Um Anyways, I don't really come across people saying that that often. I was going to say, do
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you hear that in your everyday life? >> Yeah, it just says a stream brook or minor tributary of water. Yeah.
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So, which like a minor tributary, that tells you how little it is. Yeah. Like a stream or a brook. An inlet.
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Yeah, this is little. Another a similar word is fjord. A fjord, I love. I love a
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fjord. >> the word fjord. >> I love the Conan song that he sings about fjords. Well, this one is called
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the Matawan Creek Attacks. >> Okay. Uh so, now you know, remember they had totally
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they had kind of like gone into high gear after all those last attacks. They had, you know, all people
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were patrolling. >> Yes. Trying to stay out of the water. Now, with the shark problem seemingly
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under control for a minute, >> at least, visitors to the Jersey Jersey I just said Jersey.
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Jersey Shore flocked to the beaches in record numbers, all eager to get in the water and enjoy the summer. And for
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those who were still not entirely comfortable getting back into the ocean, there were plenty of local rivers and
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creeks. Creeks. >> Where the chances of an encounter with a shark were like non-existent,
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right? Right. Right? Mhm. Yeah. You're fine in a creek, right? >> I thought so. should be.
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>> I've never been in a creek. Now, in Matawan, New Jersey, a small village about 30 miles from Spring Lake, the
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tourism industry was much smaller, and so was their capacity to serve like a lot of people. But, the village was
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happy for the business, and the visitors were happy for the opportunity to finally get into a body of water without
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a fear of a shark attack. >> Right. >> In fact, there are only a handful of sharks that can travel between salt
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water and fresh water, and only one of them, the bull shark, Yes. is large enough and suitably aggressive enough to
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attack and kill a human. >> They're like some of the most aggressive. >> I remember learning about them. On Shark
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Week. >> On Shark Week. Shark. That being said, other sharks, including the great white
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shark, can pass between fresh water and salt water temporarily. Oh. >> But they can't linger very long without
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being significantly harmed. It's not good for them. >> even know that they could temporarily do
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that. >> Yeah, they can do that. But because of this, the bathers and residents in
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Matawan had every reason to believe that they were safe that summer where they were. Mhm. Even now, so many years
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later, it's really not well understood how this shark came to find itself in the waters of Matawan Creek that year.
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>> Because this is literally a great white. Like, what the [ __ ] The most How did it
00:06:30
even fit in the creek? That's the thing. The most likely theory is that it had been exploring the coast and followed an
00:06:36
inlet into the creek, like accidentally. >> just said inlet. >> Yeah. But once it got into the 8-ft body
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of water, 8 ft, guys. That's just like a pool. Yeah. It became confused and couldn't
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find its way back out. That's actually really sad. >> It is sad. That's the thing that This is
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sad. That of course people are dying here. It's horrific. >> There's sadness on both sides, but this
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is an animal. It's It doesn't have like like this animal is not killing people because it's like
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"Fuck you. I'm going to eat you because I'm mad." It's desperate, hungry, scared, and like flipping out. Like just
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doesn't know where it is, where it's supposed to go, doesn't have its family, doesn't have anything.
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>> It's crashing I have to say this great white is crashing out. One could say that this great white
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had the most massive crash out. And it's valid. This shark did have a crash out.
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To be clear, it's funny that the [ __ ] to say the shark is having a crash out. It's
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obviously not funny what happened. >> No, I'm not laughing at what happened. >> I think if there's there's neurons
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firing, you guys We have to explain everything we say sometimes. The girlies who get it get it. That's it. The
00:07:55
girlies who have crashed out I get it. It We I crash out on the weekly. >> We've all been where the shark is
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at one point in our lives. >> That was me earlier this week. Mikey was legit afraid of me. We all were.
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You were Here's something you didn't know. Mikey just ripped off his headphones.
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Can confirm. I don't even know what was wrong with me. I think it was the lunar eclipse.
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She was scary. >> I just I I I think at one point I was like, "I'm going to kill you all."
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>> No, you literally said that at one point. And then we're all just like, "No." You said, "I'm going to I You
00:08:30
said, "I'm going to kill everybody." And we were like, "Not us though, right?" And you literally go, "I said
00:08:34
everybody." And we were all like, I can't feel safe here. We've not marked safe.
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>> know. I was I was pissed. So see? Anyways, but I get it. Yeah, I was probably hungry. We've all been there.
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Yeah. That's the thing. Yeah, it's probably Exactly. I've crashed out. I need to be clear that like this [ __ ]
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It's It is when you look at this like obviously the sensational part of it and the horrifying part of it is that like
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people, kids, >> Yeah. like the like human beings were terrorized, traumatized, murder like
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murdered not murdered, killed, eaten, or like harmed in irreparable ways. But also you have to look at it on the
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other side that like this animal, it's really sad what happened. >> Yeah. That like they it was like
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>> It was so turned around. >> Yeah, it just it made me really sad. It does make me really sad.
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>> Because of what I don't think there's malicious intent on this animal's part.
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I think it was literal desperation. And just evolution. That's just what it is. Um so again, he got confused. He
00:09:35
couldn't find his way And under those circumstances, that shark wouldn't have just been hungry, it
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would have also been really frightened, like really scared, extremely agitated, and all those things together
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makes for a dangerous situation. >> It does. And again, it's not eating. It doesn't have food. Animals have to eat,
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we all do, and it's like that to them, this is just meals arriving. Like that's Right. That's all it is. It's not being
00:10:03
like, "Wow, a human, I'm going to hurt it." >> Yeah. So, on the morning of July 11th, while
00:10:08
bathers clogged the beaches of resorts in Asbury Park and Spring Lake, 14-year-old Renny Cartain, a Matawan
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local, opted for, you know, the muddier waters of Matawan Creek. As they had done so many summers before
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that, Renny and two friends ran down to the old swimming hole. They stripped off
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all their clothes, they reached the dock, and they dove into the cloudy waters. They were splashing, stirring up
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the water, doing all the things that you do when you're 14 jumping in a muddy creek. 14?
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Yeah. Uh Oh my [ __ ] I would do that right now. >> Yeah. Renny had barely poked his head up from
00:10:44
below the water when all of a sudden, the ordinarily cool waters of the creek felt warmer. Huh. There was considerable
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temperature difference. The sensation was not like anything that he had really experienced before, and he couldn't put
00:10:56
his finger on it, but something was wrong. Yeah. Then the cloudy water suddenly looked crimson
00:11:04
around him. And suddenly, Renny's nervous system went into overdrive, sending waves of
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burning pain through his torso. Oh my god. >> So, he didn't even feel the initial
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bite. That's what happened. >> crazy. >> And that's what they talk about, that like painless torture, that it's like
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you don't feel that initial bite the way that you think you probably would feel.
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>> the thing that's so fascinating here, like with this these specific episodes,
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is like I said it when I came into work this morning. I couldn't stop thinking about that heartbeat thing from part
00:11:35
one. How they hear your heartbeat and they're just designed to feel that way. It's also insane that our human bodies
00:11:41
take such good care of us that when a shark rips through your [ __ ] torso, you are designed not to feel it
00:11:47
initially. >> shock. Right. Like it's nuts. Even when you break a bone sometimes. Like when I
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broke my pelvis, I don't remember what that felt like. >> Yeah. And like your body was like, "Nah,
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you don't need to feel this." I knew it was bad and like I literally couldn't move.
00:12:00
>> Mhm. But I didn't It didn't hurt. Yeah. Like it was It's a very weird sensation.
00:12:04
>> Yeah. It's so That's why like when I when I did autopsies, I remember like every single day when we would do one, I
00:12:13
was like, "Damn, our bodies are crazy." Like when you see how complex and wild and delicate but also crazy strong these
00:12:21
systems are, it's you'll never stop thinking about it. Like you really won't. >> Like when I had the when I had my twins,
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I lost like a ton of blood. >> Yep. And I went in like my body was basically just shutting down.
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So my kidneys just shut off. Like they were just like, "Bye." And the doctor was explaining to us that like, "Oh,
00:12:42
your brain thinks that you're dying." And so it's being like, "Hey, let's conserve energy so that you die slower.
00:12:49
Like let's let's not So like maybe we can get you help before you die." Like that's
00:12:54
>> It's just like those kind of things you're just like, "Why does it know that?" Like a perfectly run system. It's
00:13:00
science, man. >> Truly. Science is so cool. [ __ ] love science. So it was only when he saw
00:13:05
something large and dark moving in the water beneath him that Renny started putting the pieces together and he swam
00:13:11
as fast as he could to shore cuz he wasn't being held on to right now. He scrambled out of the water in a panic.
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And once he's out of the water, of course he's like, "What the fuck?" Like he's looking around like, "Are there
00:13:21
pieces of me missing? Like what's going on?" And that's when he could Renny and the other boys could see the large
00:13:27
scrapes and cuts across his chest. And blood was streaming down his chest and stomach, but it they were huge like
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lacerations. And despite his panicked state, Rennie explained that something in the water
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had hit him and cut him. But his friends who hadn't seen anything below the surface, they were not sure.
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They were like, "What do you mean something just went by and cut you? Like what?"
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>> To them it looked like he may have brushed up against something that was jagged like a jagged branch or
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something. And his friends were like, "Are you just exaggerating? Did you get a Did you get a cut? Now
00:14:01
you're like smearing it all over yourself." >> And given what happened the next day,
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it's more than likely that what Rennie experienced was an exploratory bump by a shark. So it just like bumped its teeth
00:14:13
into him? >> Basically it's something that a shark does to assess the size and threat level
00:14:18
of potential prey. Uh it it do they don't do it with their mouth. That's an exploratory bite, but a
00:14:23
bump is just with their skin. But their skin is so rough and abrasive, it can cut or tear human skin.
00:14:30
>> Wow. >> Which is why he was bleeding so much. I like bumped across him cuz he saw the
00:14:36
big shape. Like he saw the shark. >> Right. Uh once they determined their friend was
00:14:40
no longer in danger, the rest of the boys jumped back into the creek. Oh [ __ ] >> And Rennie is being like, "No." Like
00:14:47
protesting being like, "You got to get back out of the water." In the end, the other boys won out and they stayed in
00:14:52
the water while Rennie went the [ __ ] home. Yeah. He's like, "Nope." Fortunately, everyone did make it out of
00:14:58
the creek that day with all of their limbs intact. >> just like lingering in the creek though?
00:15:02
>> Yes, but in others were not going to be so fortunate in that creek. So the next morning, retired sea captain
00:15:09
Thomas Cottrell set out for his usual walk along the creek. He had done this every morning for
00:15:15
years. >> Yeah. And he had heard the story about Rennie's brush with some unknown sea
00:15:20
creature the day before. And that morning he stopped and he kind of just like lingered on the edge of the creek.
00:15:25
He's looking at the water and he's like, "I you know, I just wanted to see if anything unusual was in there."
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There was a storm that we had talked about in part one the previous days that had kind of stirred
00:15:36
up the the sea in the water a little bit. And it was still hazy in there, but then
00:15:43
he could see what appeared to be a large gray shape moving under the surface. And having been out to sea more times
00:15:50
than he could count, he was a retired sea captain. He immediately recognized that shape as a shark.
00:15:55
And he said, "A big one." And he said, "How the [ __ ] is it in the creek?" >> Exactly. By his estimation, he said it
00:16:01
looked to be about 9 or 10 ft long. Damn. And it was just swimming casually in the creek
00:16:07
like it belonged in the creek. That's so sad cuz you know it was like, "What the
00:16:11
[ __ ] am I doing here?" How do I get out of here? Yeah. Now, once the surprise had passed, uh Thomas turned and head
00:16:17
back towards town walking as fast as he could cuz he wanted to beat the shark into town cuz it was traveling in the
00:16:23
same direction. Oh damn, they're just like walking and They're just having a walk together. A walk-off. It's a
00:16:28
walk-off. It's a walk-off. David Bowie showed up and said, "It's a walk-off." Now, unfortunately, when he reached the
00:16:33
town constable who also served as the town's barber cuz it's 1916, Iconic. the normally very respected Thomas Cottrell
00:16:41
was quickly dismissed by people and his story about a shark in the creek, which is a crazy story, Yeah, but maybe go
00:16:49
check. >> was laughed off by all the men who had gathered around town that day. Right.
00:16:53
After all, everyone knew sharks swim in the open ocean and no one could think of
00:16:58
any having ever gone into a fresh water of a creek, >> Yeah. much less one that was barely 8 ft
00:17:04
deep. Despite their dismissal, Cottrell persisted and moved all around the town telling everyone he could warning them
00:17:11
away from the creek. He was like, "I don't give a [ __ ] if you don't believe me. I'm letting you all know because I
00:17:15
can't have this on my head. So that afternoon, Bill Stillwell and his sons, 16-year-old Russell and
00:17:22
11-year-old Lester, were hard at work at the local basket factory, which was one
00:17:27
of Madawaska's biggest employers. When the factory boss rang the bell signaling that it was the end of the
00:17:32
shift for the afternoon, Russell and Lester, the two boys, both made a break to the door and they wanted to run right
00:17:38
to the creek cuz it was an intense summer. It was really hot that time. >> Neither the Now, the boys or their
00:17:45
father, neither of them had heard, you know, any of the warnings from Thomas that day cuz they were at work.
00:17:50
>> Mhm. And even if they had, it they might have dismissed him too as like, what the
00:17:54
[ __ ] >> Right. Now, at the center of town, Lester joined up with a group of other boys and
00:17:59
they all walked together down Doc Road towards the creek. They all did the same thing. They all
00:18:04
like, you know, ripped off all their factory uniforms and just jumped into the creek.
00:18:10
And by the time they had jumped in the creek, Captain Cottrell had already made his way through town and was now heading
00:18:16
further down the waterway to warn others, which like, Thomas Cottrell Just the fact that like everyone's lolling at
00:18:22
him, he's like, I'm going to keep spreading my word. >> going. He's like, I don't want people in
00:18:26
this water. So, with no idea of the danger that was lurking near literal feet from them, the
00:18:33
boys were wrestling, they're playing in the water, jumping, diving, you know, jumping off that dock at the end of the
00:18:38
water and the water is murky, remember? >> And they're getting out and keep and repeatedly jumping in, which is churning
00:18:45
the water up, creating a huge commotion. >> Yeah. And they'd only been in the water
00:18:49
for like 15 or 20 minutes when one of them, Charlie Van Brunt, saw what he described as, quote, "The biggest,
00:18:55
blackest fish I had ever seen." I saw a fish, baby. >> And it was swimming swiftly below the
00:19:00
surface in Lester's direction. >> Oh. Just seconds later, they all heard Lester shriek as the shark grabbed him
00:19:07
as it burst from beneath the surface. Its teeth and underside, you could see They said they could see its belly
00:19:14
because it rolled after it got him because sharks will do that. They'll literally like a crocodile almost will
00:19:20
roll to like trap you almost and to like drown you essentially. Yeah. Now and so he's pulling Lester under.
00:19:28
Lester resurfaces a second or two later, but the shark still had him by the arm and was whipping its head back and forth
00:19:35
jerking this like 11-year-old back and forth. The shark went under a second time taking Lester with it and this time
00:19:43
it's its huge tail. They said it was huge. It whacked one of the other boys in the face.
00:19:49
And it knocked him several feet back into a like some pylons. Like literally sent him flying.
00:19:55
Then just as suddenly as it all started, it was over. But Lester was gone. Nowhere to be seen.
00:20:03
A large bloom of blood on the surface of the water was the only thing left. And they freak the [ __ ] out and all five
00:20:12
of them scrambled out of the water and they just ran screaming into town for help. None of them even got dressed.
00:20:20
That's how scared they were. They are literally naked running into town like covered in their friend's blood
00:20:26
screaming. Can you imagine this? So they're smeared with mud, grass, streaks of blood. They're running into
00:20:34
town screaming shark to anyone who will listen. And when Rodney Cartan had told his story about being cut by something
00:20:41
big in the water, most people didn't really believe him. Just like Thomas and when you know, when
00:20:46
Thomas raved about the shark in the creek, everyone was like, yeah, I don't know about that. But
00:20:51
this time it was different. This was clearly not a prank. These boys were genuinely terrified, genuinely
00:20:58
traumatized and screaming about how a shark had not just bit their friend, but had eaten Lester Stillwell. my god. the
00:21:06
constable gathered up a group of, you know, able-bodied men of the day and they all hurried down to the creek
00:21:11
hoping they would reach him, maybe find him and help him. But at this point, they figured that the boy had just
00:21:17
drowned. >> Yeah. Now back in town, all the boys continued telling their story. Though at
00:21:23
this time, it's weird because so like some of the town was believing of them and obviously ran down to the creek. But
00:21:29
some people are still like, "Are you sure that's what you saw? Like are you sure he didn't just drown? Like, you
00:21:33
know, like did something bad happen?" But finally when they reached the business of Stanley Fisher, who is a
00:21:39
[ __ ] real one. Oh, thank goodness. >> They found an adult who was willing to listen to them.
00:21:45
>> The fact that it took them a minute is crazy. >> Fisher had grown up the son of a sea
00:21:49
captain and he had spent more than a little time on the water and >> is brought to you by sea captains.
00:21:54
>> Sea captains, you know? Uh men of the sea, which my father is, so and my grandfather, so men of the sea. Yeah,
00:22:01
let's go. >> Hell a lot of time in the water. He knew what sharks were capable of. And operating
00:22:07
under the assumption that the boys were telling the truth, he followed them. And he he ended up closing his shop for
00:22:13
the day and changed into a bathing suit to rush down to the creek cuz he was like, "I'm getting I'm getting this
00:22:19
kid." >> I'm like, "Don't get in that water, brother." So as the most experienced on
00:22:23
the water, Stanley Fisher took command immediately when he got to the creek. Uh he started assigning each of the men
00:22:29
tasks to do. Like he was just like, "Let's go, girls." For his part, he climbed into a rowboat with another man
00:22:35
and after crafting a net out of chicken wire and stones, they started dragging the water for Lester's body.
00:22:42
>> Oh, wow. By then, many other locals had gathered at the shore and they were all
00:22:46
calling for Lester. It was like a whole scene. Um after an hour of searching the
00:22:51
shoreline and dragging the water, the men still didn't find anything. And Fisher suggested the boy's body may have
00:22:57
sunk to the bottom where the next nets weren't reaching. >> Right. The only way they would know for sure
00:23:03
was to dive down and look. And like who the Why would you get in the water and do that?
00:23:08
>> And, you know, obviously it's super muddy, it's super silty in there. So, it's like you're not going to see
00:23:13
anything. But, having accepted that there was no other way, Stanley Fisher and a few other men left the boats and
00:23:19
started diving to the bottom of the creek. Just trying to find Lester's body. >> Oh my god.
00:23:25
>> Which like wow. Just of their own volition, too. >> And they just wanted to bring this boy's
00:23:29
body out of the water. They didn't want to leave him. Now, for the next half hour or so,
00:23:33
Stanley Fisher repeatedly dove and resurfaced determined to find Lester's body. As one by one other men gave up
00:23:42
the search and begged him to abandon it, too. >> Yeah. Finally, in the late afternoon, he
00:23:47
resurfaced and shouted, "I've got it." Wow. >> whole shore like applauded and cheered.
00:23:55
So, intending to help, two men rowed out to where he was while another man, George Berlew, dove into the water and
00:24:02
began swimming towards Stanley. Now, George hadn't made it more than 10 or so feet when he suddenly stopped
00:24:07
swimming. Oh god. >> The water around him started churning and swirling and he was like something
00:24:13
big was moving under the surface. >> Yeah. And it just like stunned him. He just stopped where he was. George then
00:24:20
looked up towards Stanley Fisher just in time to hear him cry out, "He's got me."
00:24:25
He got Oh my god. He's literally >> middle of search and rescue. Yep. And he's got Lester's body.
00:24:33
Yeah. >> Like he's got Lester's body and now he's being >> Which you wonder if the shark was going
00:24:37
to go back to and that's why he ended up going after Fisher. Ding ding ding. Now, though it's hard to see from their
00:24:43
position on the shore, it looked like the shark had grabbed Stanley by the leg and was dragging him back and forth in
00:24:49
the water as he was trying to pull himself out of its mouth. George later said, "I never saw the the
00:24:55
fish, but from the tremendous upheaval of the huge tail that thrashed above the water, it had to be a big one. Yeah.
00:25:02
From the shore, everyone watched in horror as Stanley Fisher fought this large shark, beating it in the head,
00:25:09
kicking it as hard as he could as this great white shark dragged him under at least four more times.
00:25:14
>> Holy [ __ ] >> four times. Just beating the shark. The men in the rowboat made it out to
00:25:19
Stanley just in time to see him get dragged under a fourth time. And the sharks They said this is when they could
00:25:25
also see the shark's white belly again cuz it was rolling trying to pull him deeper.
00:25:31
But remember, it can't even go that deep. Right, cuz it yeah. Yeah. Meanwhile, George was paralyzed with
00:25:36
fear. I mean, this was his friend. Like Stanley's his friend, and he's just standing there staring at him being
00:25:42
mangled by a wild animal. He said later, "I don't know how I ever even got to the shore, but I remember
00:25:48
the awful fear that the shark was right behind me and had slated me for his next
00:25:52
victim." >> Oh. When the men in the boat saw Fisher go down for the fourth time, they assumed
00:25:57
that was it. Yeah. But to everyone's incredible surprise, Stanley managed to free himself from the
00:26:04
shark's jaws, resurfaced a few seconds later, and he was still carrying the remains of
00:26:11
Lester Stillwell under his arm. >> Stanley swam while holding Lester's body towards the shore,
00:26:19
but it was clear to everyone he was clearly like exhausted and mortally wounded. On the shore, several men
00:26:26
grabbed oars and started slapping the water to make as much noise as possible to try to distract the shark.
00:26:32
>> at least they're doing it from like different places. >> They're trying to like pull the shark
00:26:35
towards them >> Right. uh to get him to the shore. He had managed to get within about 10 ft of
00:26:40
the shore when his body was violently yanked back, causing him to cry out. This time,
00:26:47
the shark had grabbed Lester's body, not Stanley's, and had pulled it from Stanley's grasp. And then he just
00:26:56
disappeared with it. Cuz he the shark fully thought like >> Yeah, he was like, "You're coming after
00:27:01
my thing, and that's why I'm fighting you." >> And in an incredible display of courage,
00:27:09
Stanley Fisher did not hesitate to dive back at the shark to try to get Lester's
00:27:16
body out of it out of its mouth. Stanley. Unfortunately, when he resurfaced a few
00:27:21
moments later, Lester's remains were nowhere to be seen. And Stanley had to get back I mean, thankfully, Stanley's
00:27:28
getting onto the shore, but he didn't have Lester's body, which must have been so infuriating. And what happened to
00:27:34
him? So, so much emphasis had been placed on the retrieval of Lester's body, obviously, that no one was
00:27:40
thinking like you. They kind of and they were watching his like incredible battle with the shark.
00:27:45
>> Right. That like initially, no one really thought like, "Oh, wait. We should look at how Stanley is."
00:27:52
>> So, he's fully out of the creek, and the Matawan Journal reported um that there
00:27:56
was a crowd of 200 or 300 people present at the time. And the sight of Mr. Fisher
00:28:01
being brought ashore was sickening, to state it mildly. In fact, it was only when Fisher
00:28:07
attempted to climb up the embankment that he and everyone else saw that half of his thigh was missing.
00:28:13
And when he lifted his leg to inspect it, he quietly said, "Oh my god," before falling back into the water. Oh.
00:28:20
Now, a group of men managed to carry him from the creek to the home of Dr. George
00:28:25
Reynolds. They had tied a rope tightly above the wound to try to slow the bleeding.
00:28:29
>> Smart. Unfortunately, like the doctors on the beaches in Spring Lake and Asbury
00:28:33
Park, though, Reynolds hadn't seen any wound like this before. And it's He said it stretched 18 in from just below his
00:28:41
hip to just above his knee. Oh. The flesh around the edge of the The was ragged. It was shredded. So they had to
00:28:48
stitch that back up. And the femur had been scratched by the teeth of the shark. Like there was a deep gouge in
00:28:55
the femur bone. >> Holy [ __ ] dude. >> Dr. Reynolds did his best to dress it while Fisher still fully conscious
00:29:03
still fully conscious >> sink in. told the man about how he'd seen the shark feeding on Lester's body.
00:29:11
And he had tried to retrieve retrieve the remains and it dropped the boy and grabbed his leg when he tried to do
00:29:16
that. >> Oh, wow. Now as a small town doctor, Reynolds didn't have even a fraction of
00:29:21
the supplies that they would have needed to treat Stanley's wound surgery at this
00:29:25
point. >> the best he could with what he had. And while he worked, he instructed the men
00:29:29
to fashion a stretcher from whatever they could find in the house. If Stanley Fisher was going to make it,
00:29:34
he needed to get to a hospital now. And the closest one was about 10 miles away.
00:29:38
>> Oh, [ __ ] With Fisher's wound packed and wrapped, they carefully put him on a
00:29:42
stretcher and brought him down to the train station where all they could do was sit and wait for the train. Oh my
00:29:49
god. >> Which was scheduled to arrive at 5:06. >> Oh my god. >> If everything went according to plan,
00:29:55
they would make it to the hospital by 7:45. >> you have to think of this. This was
00:29:59
literally before ambulances. >> Uh-huh. When was the first ambulance? >> Yeah, when was the first ambulance?
00:30:06
That's inconceivable. >> had to get on a train. They had to wait for the train. The first civilian ambulance service
00:30:13
started in 1865 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It's essentially what this is. >> But modern equipped ambulances weren't
00:30:21
until the 1960s. >> Damn. >> That's actually crazy to think about. >> Wow. >> here, it's like a seaside town, a little
00:30:31
resort town. It's like And also when I'm saying the first civilian ambulance, that was horse
00:30:37
drawn. >> Yeah. And then they moved to in 1899. So like Not too long. >> Not that far off from where we are. From
00:30:43
where we are. That was the motor uh first motorized ambulance. >> Holy [ __ ] >> 1960s finally like modern ambulance.
00:30:49
That's wild. >> waiting for the train to get Stanley to the hospital. We're not done with this
00:30:55
afternoon. Just so you know. Okay. >> We're not done. Like that craziness that just happened, take a quick little
00:31:02
breath in. We're not done. Okay. While several of the towns people waited with Stanley Fisher at the train station,
00:31:09
word started spreading about these attacks, but not fast enough. Less than a mile down the creek from the
00:31:16
Wyckoff dock where the attacks on Stillwell and Fisher occurred, 12-year-old Joseph Dunn and his
00:31:21
14-year-old brother Michael were swimming in the creek by the brick yards with a friend, Jerry
00:31:27
Hourigan. During the year, they lived in New York City, but that summer they were staying
00:31:32
at the Jersey Shore with their mother in Cliffwood just outside of Matawan. Now, that afternoon was so hot like I'd
00:31:39
said. And they were all eager to get into the creek. None had heard about Renny Cartons encounter with the shark
00:31:46
the day before and they hadn't heard about the attacks that had happened a [ __ ] mile down the creek a half hour
00:31:53
earlier yet. >> Oh my god. >> Because it just hadn't got to them yet. So they were just looking for a place to
00:31:57
cool off. Right. >> Hadn't heard about anything. Now, they raced through town down to the
00:32:03
brick docks where again they jump right into the creek. Uh had they looked up the creek aways, they might have seen a
00:32:10
large dark shape moving slowly in that direction or maybe they would have caught sight of a fin break the surface
00:32:16
of the water maybe giving them some kind of warning. >> Yeah. But you're not looking for it.
00:32:21
They're not going out to the creek expecting a great white shark. >> But again, their minds are just I it's
00:32:27
summer, I'm having fun, I'm cooling off. Later, it would seem strange to everyone
00:32:32
that the boys would have willingly jumped in the water right after a vicious attack less than a mile away,
00:32:37
but Captain Cottrell and the group of small boats still hadn't made it that far down the creek, so there was just no
00:32:42
way for them to know. Yeah. Now, they'd been in the water about a half hour splashing, wrestling, when a man comes
00:32:49
racing towards the shore shouting a warning about sharks and urging them get out of the water.
00:32:55
Now, Jerry and Michael were the first to hear the warning, and they were like, "Fuck that." They swam right to the
00:33:00
ladder, pulled themselves out of the creek. Joseph had gone swimming to the middle of the creek and couldn't hear
00:33:06
what they were shouting. >> Oh. Still, he could tell that something was wrong, so he started swimming
00:33:10
towards the dock. He later recalled So, okay. He later recalled, "I was about 10 ft from shore
00:33:18
and looked down and saw something dark. I did not see him the first time he hit me. Then he turned around and got my
00:33:23
leg." Oh. Now, as Joseph This is a half hour This is about an hour out of what happened down the creek, by
00:33:31
the way. We're already on another one. >> Like, so listen, sharky, you're not hungry anymore. As Joseph desperately
00:33:37
tried to pull himself in the direction of the shore, the shark pulled in the opposite direction determined to drag
00:33:42
him under. Had it not been for the shallowness of the water, it's pretty likely that he would have met the same
00:33:48
fate as Lester. But because of the shallowness, the shark was not able to move quickly and swiftly,
00:33:53
>> Uh and it struggled to turn around. That's how shallow this was. Wow. He said later, "Suddenly, I felt a tug,
00:34:00
like a big pair of scissors pulling at my leg and bringing me under." At that point, Joseph began screaming in terror.
00:34:06
He said, "Not from pain, just terror." But the And he said that honestly, the biggest thing on my mind was I'm going
00:34:12
to be dragged underwater and drown. Yeah. He said, "It seemed the fish was trying
00:34:17
to get my whole leg inside its mouth. I thought he would kill me. I thought he was going to swallow me."
00:34:22
Now, as luck would have it, just as Joseph was struggling with the shark, a local man named Jacob Leferts was
00:34:28
motoring slowly towards them in his boat. Without hesitation, this man dove into
00:34:34
the water fully clothed and started swimming towards the shark and Joseph. >> What? I'm like, who are all these
00:34:40
people? >> Yeah, heroes. >> is wild. From the other direction, Michael Dunn had dove back into the
00:34:45
creek and was swimming towards his brother to help as well. Wow. >> That's a sibling right there.
00:34:50
>> Yeah, it is. >> Like damn. They both reached him around the same time and together began pulling
00:34:55
Joseph and kicking the shark's head. Unfortunately, the shark was determined to hold onto its prey though and its
00:35:01
jaws remained clamped around Joseph's leg. Finally, after a long tug-of-war, the
00:35:07
shark let go enough for Michael and Jacob to get Joseph out of his mouth and to shore, but not before the shark
00:35:14
grabbed a hold of his leg one last time. By then, they were able to stand up in the water.
00:35:20
And the shark was putting itself, honestly, at great risk of drowning at this point. He was literally coming onto
00:35:25
the shore with them. That's how scary this is. Like he's like terrifying. >> By the time By that time, Captain
00:35:30
Cottrell had arrived in his own motorboat and after doing their best to slow the bleeding from Joseph's mangled
00:35:36
leg, they lowered him into the boat and quickly made their way back up the creek
00:35:40
in the direction of the hospital. Now, in the end, luck was on Joseph Dunn's side.
00:35:46
The men managed to get the boy to Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick and he was rushed into surgery
00:35:51
and the surgeons did manage to save his life, but he had considerable mangling and scarring on his leg and he had a
00:35:58
permanent disability because of it. >> Oh. Now, unfortunately, that same luck was
00:36:04
not on the side of Stanley Fisher. >> No. >> Which breaks my [ __ ] that man. He's a
00:36:08
hero. >> Although the men in Matawan managed to get him onto the train, he bled to death
00:36:13
a short time later on the train. >> a lot of blood loss. >> Long before he was able to get proper
00:36:18
medical care. >> Now, in the span of an afternoon, the shark in Matawan Creek had killed
00:36:25
two people and attacked another. >> gravely injured another all in full view of like hundreds of people.
00:36:32
>> And within like a couple hours. >> Yeah. In the wake of the attacks, two things
00:36:36
happened. First, there were several people around town likely seeking attention and their time in the
00:36:41
spotlight who claimed to have had interactions with the shark. 13-year-old Ernest Dunham, for example,
00:36:47
claimed that he had also jumped into the creek to search for Lester's body when the shark, quote unquote, nipped him.
00:36:52
Yeah, where's your bite, bud? >> Considering that brushing up against the shark had caused severe abrasions on
00:36:58
Riley Cartain's chest, a nip or exploratory bite would have been devastating. You would have seen it.
00:37:05
100%. >> Now, the second and more important outcome was that the entire town and
00:37:09
surrounding areas became consumed in a panic over the, quote unquote, man-eating shark that had invaded the
00:37:16
Jersey Shore and was picking off residents at an alarming rate at this point. In an effort to find the animal and kill
00:37:22
it, hundreds of people descended on Matawan Creek, dragging the water with large nets and using dynamite to kill
00:37:29
whatever was in the creek. That's terrible cuz there's other things there, too. >> It's like
00:37:35
most of the story, you're like, "Wow, the humanity here. People are diving into the water, saving each other, doing
00:37:41
what they can, going all out." And then they do things like throw dynamite in a creek. And I said,
00:37:46
"Wow, we can't we really can't we can't always get the the bat a thousand, you know? We can't."
00:37:51
>> "Damn, don't go swimming in that creek again." >> "Damn." And throughout the night, armed
00:37:56
men patrolled the creek in boats, periodically tossing in sticks of dynamite. Okay.
00:38:02
Like, we could we could just get him out of the creek. >> You don't have to dynamite about it.
00:38:06
Now, at the same time, New Jersey Governor James Fielder put out a statement urging the towns along the
00:38:11
coast to adopt the same safety measures taken in Asbury Park. >> That's the other thing I'm like, "How
00:38:16
about safety measures?" >> Yeah, like maybe do that. >> Like, you go to like the Cape now and
00:38:19
there's a a of signage like, "Don't go in the water. It's shark time. >> Now, the state could not afford to mount
00:38:25
a serious effort to keep the sharks away from the coast, so that would have made
00:38:28
more sense. Fielder's statement also makes the natural assumption that the attacks were
00:38:34
not the actions of a single shark, but simply the behavior of sharks in general.
00:38:38
The governor said, "It is very evident from the widely scattered points at which attacks are being made that the
00:38:44
entire coastline is being frequented by schools of sharks." >> Yeah. In simple terms, as far as the governor
00:38:50
and the public were concerned, it was inconceivable that so much carnage could have been caused by one single shark.
00:38:56
But he was right. >> They were not right. Now, by the following day, the search efforts
00:38:59
started paying off. On the morning of July 14th, two local men were patrolling the banks of the
00:39:05
creek when they saw the remains of Lester Stillwell rise to the surface. >> Oh, it makes me happy that at least he
00:39:10
was found, you know? >> According to the press, {quote} great jagged wounds in the abdomen and breast
00:39:16
showed where the shark's teeth had closed over the 12-year-old boy's body. The recovery of his remains renewed the
00:39:22
efforts of locals to catch the shark, which was by then being described as somewhere between 12 and 15 ft.
00:39:28
Within a few hours, the creek was once again packed with men and men in boats carrying rifles, harpoons, and dynamite.
00:39:36
Despite how unlikely it was for a shark to have made its way into the creek in the first place, the panic in Matawan
00:39:41
was so much that people were starting to see see sharks everywhere. According to the article an article in
00:39:48
the New York Times, there was well-corroborated testimony indicating that there was at least four in the
00:39:53
stream within 2 mi of where it enters Raritan Bay. And to that point, it was generally
00:39:59
understood that sharks couldn't live in fresh water, but the experts had also informed the public that sharks didn't
00:40:04
attack people, so the growing consensus was that the experts were wrong about sharks.
00:40:09
>> Yeah, basically. There's more to learn about sharks. >> Yeah, in fact, in Manhattan, several
00:40:13
people reported seeing two large sharks in the Hudson River. Evidence that the panic had clearly
00:40:18
reached beyond the borders of New Jersey and was stretching out into other places.
00:40:22
>> In reality, the dramatic increase in sightings could be explained. It was a combination
00:40:28
of hysteria, mistaken identity, and fabrication. But at least some of the sightings were
00:40:33
definitely genuine. >> Yeah. And simply the result, and I don't think we think of it like this, the
00:40:38
result of people having gone looking for something that had always been there. >> Yeah.
00:40:43
But they But they just didn't notice it before. >> Nope. The northeastern coast of the
00:40:46
United States, we know this now, has a large and diverse population of sharks that if you were to go looking for it,
00:40:53
it really wouldn't be that difficult to find. You can find sharks around. Especially now.
00:40:58
>> So the fact that people were seeing them in that moment only came as a surprise
00:41:02
because most people had no idea they were there in the first place. >> Mhm. More importantly than their mere
00:41:07
presence were the assumed implications of their discovery, mainly that the sharks possessed an immediate and
00:41:13
extreme danger to humans. Only if you get in the water, though. Right. Like it's one of those things
00:41:19
that I'm like, yeah, sure. Don't go in the water. Right. Like as Jaws says. I mean. Stay out of the
00:41:25
water. Now, the story of the man-eating shark finally came to an end on the evening of July 14th after countless
00:41:32
sharks had been pulled from the waters around the shores of New York and New Jersey.
00:41:36
>> But they were just like Yeah. >> keeping them out? >> Yeah. Oh. Among them was a seven and a
00:41:41
half and a half foot great white caught near Raritan Bay about 5 miles from Matawan by New York taxidermist Michael
00:41:47
Schleisser. According to Schleisser, which is a hard name to say, Michael, he had been dragging his net behind the
00:41:54
boat when he turned and saw, quote, a big bifurcated tail flash out of the water.
00:41:59
Michael attempted to haul the shark on board, but the weight of it and its constant thrashing caused the stern of
00:42:05
the boat to sink and raise the bow into the air. >> Well, maybe you're not supposed to catch
00:42:09
that shark. Yeah, you're not supposed to put this giant shark on your boat, I don't think. Now, by the time he made it
00:42:14
to the rear of the boat, he saw quote the shark rising out of the net and onto the stern snapping its great jaws. With
00:42:21
all the weight on the back of the boat, gravity went to work pulling everything towards the shark, not only putting
00:42:26
Michael in danger of being bitten, but also threatening to sink the entire ship.
00:42:31
In fact, it seemed that Michael to Michael that the shark was actually doing everything it could to reach him
00:42:37
and his sailing partner at the time. I mean, I think it's probably just protecting itself.
00:42:41
>> Yeah, I think so. Thinking quickly, he grabbed one of the now broken oars of the boat and began beating the shark in
00:42:47
the head, striking it on its snout, its gills, and anywhere else he thought could damage it. All while the shark is
00:42:52
continuing to snap its teeth. >> All while the shark is continuing to snap its teeth. Finally, the shark took
00:42:58
one last leap onto the boat trying to grab them both, but missed giving both the opportunity to strike the final
00:43:04
blows and ultimately killing him. The [ __ ] are you doing killing a shark that's in the water?
00:43:09
>> Yeah, just leave it You're not supposed to be in there if they're there. That's
00:43:12
where they live. >> And we don't even know >> somebody walking into your house and
00:43:16
beating you over the head with something. >> just don't go there. >> You live there. You're allowed to be
00:43:20
there. >> Exactly. That's how I feel, man. I really do feel it's not my that the the
00:43:24
water is not my home. >> obviously tragic and like the the shark shouldn't have been in the creek and
00:43:29
like that's awful that that happened, but sometimes those things happen in nature.
00:43:34
>> Well, and it's like when like a bear will attack or something when somebody's
00:43:37
like out in the woods and they're like euthanizing the bear. >> It's not the bear's fault. Yeah, you can
00:43:42
see that like yeah, this [ __ ] happens. Somebody died. Like that's >> tragic. It's tragic, but it's it's hard
00:43:48
to swallow that we're just going to kill a wild thing for acting like a wild thing.
00:43:53
>> like a a wild thing. >> In their own habitat. Habitat. That's the thing. >> me off.
00:43:57
>> In water especially is the thing that I'm like that is theirs, man. That's theirs. I can't I can't sit here by no
00:44:06
means did anyone deserve to lose their life do something that they should have lost
00:44:12
their life. Like you should obvious like honestly, I want everybody to be able to
00:44:16
go swimming in the water, but it's not ours. Right. It's just >> can't like it's
00:44:21
it's a double-edged sword. It really is because obviously you want to keep people safe.
00:44:25
And this was horrific and tragic. But to yank a yank a like go looking for it and yank it onto the boat and beat
00:44:32
the [ __ ] out of it that just doesn't feel right to me. It's supposed to be where it is.
00:44:36
>> But again, we're also in 1916. >> Yeah, we didn't have all that knowledge. We were much less educated. We don't
00:44:41
know how enough about sharks at this time. But really sad. >> But from this point of view, I'm like
00:44:47
you guys are really being [ __ ] >> Yeah, and it's like uh it's just it's all sad. It's the whole thing is sad.
00:44:52
Now after resting and regaining their composure, they managed to push the shark and the net back into the water
00:44:58
righting the boat and allowing them to haul it back to the docks. When asked about this experience, he said it was
00:45:03
quote the hardest fight for life I've ever had. Now by the time and again I should say too, if I'm on a boat and a
00:45:11
shark is trying to get on the boat and eat me, yeah, I'm probably going to beat it with an oar to get it out of my boat.
00:45:17
>> But he was trying to catch the shark so you wouldn't be in that position. >> thing. It's not like it just jumped on
00:45:22
your boat out of nowhere. Sharks don't just jump on boats. >> you're going to defend yourself
00:45:26
obviously. You're not supposed like I'm not telling anyone well accept your fate
00:45:29
and go into >> No, of course not. >> But like the likelihood of the shark just jumping on the boat being like I'm
00:45:34
going to eat you. Like you pulled him onto the boat. >> of food in the in where you are for the
00:45:38
for the shark to eat. >> Now that by the time Michael and his partner had made it back to shore, many
00:45:42
others had returned with various kinds of sharks. >> me so sad. >> All convinced they'd caught the
00:45:47
so-called man-eater. As a result, everyone seemed pretty skeptical that this New York taxidermist
00:45:52
and amateur hunter had caught the shark that was responsible for the deaths of Van Zant, Bruder, Stillwell, and Fisher.
00:45:59
But when they cut the shark open and revealed the contents of its stomach. They discovered, quote, two bones, one
00:46:05
11 inches long and the other a small fragment. >> Really? When they were examined by the
00:46:10
medical examiner, it was determined that, quote, the long bone appears to be the shin bone of a boy. Aw.
00:46:17
By the time they finished the examination, they also discovered roughly 15 pounds of suspicious fleshy
00:46:23
material that was later determined to be human remains. So, this was the shark that had done it.
00:46:29
>> Yeah. After the remains were removed from the shark's stomach and sent to a pathologist, Michael Schleisser, took
00:46:35
the shark's body back to his shop in Harlem, New York, where it was stuffed and mounted.
00:46:40
Now, although they could never say for sure whether his shark was the one shark that was responsible for all the
00:46:47
attacks. >> Right. Uh, there was evidence to support that it was. And, aside from the human remains found
00:46:53
in its stomach, it had been caught roughly in the same area where the attacks had occurred, and it matched the
00:46:58
descriptions of the shark in the attacks. >> And more importantly, after he had caught the shark off of Raritan Bay, the
00:47:05
attacks stopped. Yeah, so. >> And there was no other additional sightings in Matawan Creek.
00:47:10
Now, prior to the 1916 attacks, it was widely believed that, with a few notable exceptions, sharks were pretty shy
00:47:17
creatures that didn't attack humans. Maybe that's why in the wake of the attacks, so many people still refused to
00:47:23
believe it was a shark at all and insisted, still, >> That it was like sea turtles or orca
00:47:30
whales, which like Valid. These stories aside, the 1916 attacks prompted experts to reconsider what they
00:47:36
thought they knew, and they emerged with a new theory about sharks that suggested, while they do generally stay
00:47:43
not interested in humans as a source of food, like they're not out here trying to eat us.
00:47:47
>> They're not hunting us. >> They still pose a danger, and even their curiosity can result in harm. Like with
00:47:53
Rodney. Like even just bumping against you to see what you are, that can still hurt you.
00:47:57
In the case of the Jersey Shore attacks, John Nichols, a curator of the Museum of
00:48:02
Natural History, offered what was the most plausible explanation. He said, "It is very certain that they do not
00:48:08
ordinarily attack bathers, but if one of them got lost his way and got out of the
00:48:13
Gulf Stream, where he could no longer find the green turtles to which he was accustomed, he would forget about or he
00:48:19
would forage about and might seek to make man his staple diet." Yeah. Although he may have been wrong about
00:48:25
some of the specifics, his theory is more or less accurate, at least by standards now. And having been thrown
00:48:31
off course, this animal would have gone looking for food and not found what it's
00:48:37
used to eating, so it's turning to mammals, of course. If something's moving in the water, by the time it had
00:48:42
found itself trapped in Matawan Creek, it was not only hungry, but it was terrified. That's so sad.
00:48:48
>> would have really explained the extremely aggressive and territorial behavior.
00:48:53
Add to all of that the facts we now know about shark behavior, including its feeding patterns and the distress
00:48:58
behaviors it associates with food, and all the attacks in New Jersey suddenly have a very rational
00:49:06
still terrifying explanation. >> But at least a rational explanation of he was hungry and lost. It make I mean,
00:49:14
it makes perfect >> a food source. >> Right. Like eating tiny fish is not going to do it for a giant great white
00:49:19
shark. >> He's hearing the heartbeat, so he knows that it's something that he's >> Yeah. He knows it's a mammal.
00:49:24
>> He knows like he's experienced at least something similar to. So he's like, "Well, this will work." Oh, but that's a
00:49:31
really, really terrible case through which it happened. >> of blood. Wow. >> is indeed.
00:49:37
Yeah, that's that's a Yeah, horrific summer. A horrific summer and a fascinating and very tragic case on all
00:49:47
ends. Yeah. Yeah. Damn. All right, well, let me find a uh oh A fun fact. >> Oh. Here's a good animal fact for you.
00:49:56
A group of bunnies is called a fluffle. Yeah. It's called a fluffle. >> Yeah, it is.
00:50:01
>> A lot of people call them a herd, but parts of northern Canada Canada Parts of
00:50:05
northern Canada call them a fluffle. >> No, they are a fluffle. >> And that's from good housekeeping.
00:50:10
>> Yeah, they're a fluffy Fluffle forever. >> A fluffle. One thing about Delores is
00:50:14
she bullies bunnies. >> Yeah, I think that's like dogs, right? It is. They're right. We have bunnies
00:50:20
>> live under our porch Yeah, we have bunnies that live under our porch and she will not leave them alone. They just
00:50:25
love a bunny moment, you know? >> That's a fluffle. They love it. All right, guys. Well, we hope you keep
00:50:31
listening. And we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that you like kill a shark. Yeah.
00:50:40
I understand that this was a tragic story, but you don't have to go and kill a shark.
00:50:43
>> Don't go killing sharks. >> sad. Come on. Keep it so weird that you have a fluffle. Yeah.
00:52:14
>> Mhm.

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Most shocking
  • 80
    Most dramatic
  • 80
    Most surprising

Episode Highlights

  • Announcement Excitement
    The hosts tease an exciting announcement coming soon, urging listeners to stay tuned.
    “It's going to be [ __ ] awesome. I'm excited for this announcement.”
    @ 01m 23s
    March 12, 2026
  • The Matawan Creek Attacks
    A discussion about the unusual presence of a shark in a creek, leading to tragic events.
    “How did it even fit in the creek?”
    @ 06m 30s
    March 12, 2026
  • Understanding Shark Behavior
    Exploring the desperation of a shark that ends up in a creek, leading to confusion and danger.
    “This animal is not killing people because it's like 'Fuck you.' It's desperate, hungry, scared.”
    @ 07m 01s
    March 12, 2026
  • The Shark Attack
    Lester Stillwell is attacked by a shark while swimming, leading to panic among his friends.
    “But Lester was gone. Nowhere to be seen.”
    @ 19m 59s
    March 12, 2026
  • Stanley Fisher's Heroism
    Stanley Fisher dives into the water to retrieve Lester's body but faces a shark attack himself.
    “I've got it.”
    @ 23m 50s
    March 12, 2026
  • Joseph Dunn's Escape
    Joseph Dunn is attacked by a shark but is rescued by his brother and a local hero.
    “I was about 10 ft from shore and looked down and saw something dark.”
    @ 33m 18s
    March 12, 2026
  • The Panic Over the Shark
    The town became consumed in panic over a man-eating shark attacking residents.
    “The entire town and surrounding areas became consumed in a panic over the man-eating shark.”
    @ 37m 07s
    March 12, 2026
  • Discovery of Human Remains
    A shark caught revealed human remains, confirming it was responsible for the attacks.
    “The long bone appears to be the shin bone of a boy.”
    @ 46m 11s
    March 12, 2026
  • A New Understanding of Sharks
    The 1916 attacks prompted experts to reconsider shark behavior and their danger to humans.
    “They do generally stay not interested in humans as a source of food, but they still pose a danger.”
    @ 47m 45s
    March 12, 2026

Episode Quotes

  • You're going to hear it, you're going to see it, you're going to feel it.
    Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)
  • It's not being like, 'Wow, a human, I'm going to hurt it.'.
    Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)
  • Oh my god.
    Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)
  • I thought he would kill me. I thought he was going to swallow me.
    Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)
  • Oh, it makes me happy that at least he was found, you know?
    Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)
  • The hardest fight for life I've ever had.
    Episode 765: 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks (Part 2)

Key Moments

  • Shark Confusion06:50
  • Renny's Encounter10:44
  • Captain's Warning16:41
  • Panic in the Water19:59
  • Shark Panic37:09
  • Heroic Efforts37:37
  • Shark Discovery46:29
  • Tragic Summer49:43

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown