{"id":3511,"slug":"whydah-pirate-wreck-wellfleet-massachusetts","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Whydah is the '17 — the 'slave ship' that's the turned pirate, the 'Black Sam' that's the Bellamy. The '52 ships' is the plunder — the '4.5 tons gold' that's the held, the 'April 26' that's the nor'easter. The 'two' is the survived — the '146' that's the drowned, the 'hanged' that's the Boston.","The '1984' is the found — the 'Clifford' that's the discovered, the 'bell' that's the 'WHYDAH GALLY 1716'. The 'only' is the pirate — the 'verified' that's the wreck, the 'museum' that's the West Yarmouth. Whydah is the legend — the 'Maria Hallett' that's the witch, the 'gold' that's the still washing.","The file keeps Whydah: the 1717 wreck, the slave-ship turned pirate, the 1984 discovery, and the inscribed bell.","Whydah is the archive's Massachusetts file — the pirate's proof."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Whydah is the archive's Massachusetts file — the wreck's bell.","A wreck keeps its gold — the file's suggestion being that Whydah's hold is the verified: the 'slave ship' that's the origin, the '146' that's the drowned, and the 'bell' that's the proved."]}],"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","aliases":[],"type":"SITE","type_label":"Site","cats":["LOCAL_FOLKLORE","LEGEND_SITE","PIRATE","TREASURE","MARITIME_DISASTER"],"groups":["legends"],"desc":"April 26, 1717—the pirate ship that the storm took.","full_desc":"A site in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Whydah pirate wreck is filed here for what the record attaches to it. April 26, 1717—the pirate ship that the storm took. The presences in its file go unnamed: the pirates, the record says. The dossier holds 2 reported claims, 1 legend and 1 documented fact, with the verified spine filed separately from the lore. The site is open to visitors.","address":null,"city":"Wellfleet","county":null,"state":"Massachusetts","postal":null,"region":"Northeast","lat":null,"lon":null,"coord_kind":null,"status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"SHIP batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":59.4,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.65,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":0.3999999999999999,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":3830,"type":"NAMED_GHOST_LEGEND","description":"The pirates are reportedly seen. The site in Wellfleet, Massachusetts gives the account a documented setting: real place, real history, unresolved reports. The story is documented as legend — recorded and retold, never verified as fact. A ghost with a name outlasts a ghost without one; the reports keep it employed.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":"The pirates","where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whydah_Gally","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]},{"id":3831,"type":"TREASURE","description":"The wreck’s recovery is documented. Whydah pirate wreck in Wellfleet, Massachusetts carries the report the way old places do — as part of its identity. Coverage gave the claim its audience; proof remains another matter. Sources including 'Whydah pirate wreck' keep the claim in circulation. The haunting claim is now part of the site's identity, filed alongside the documented history.","evidence":"MEDIA_REPORTED","evidence_label":"Media reported","entity":null,"where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whydah_Gally","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"The April 26, 1717 wreck is documented. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. The record holds it as fact — documented, not retold. 'Whydah pirate wreck' documents the entry. It is the kind of fact the rest of the dossier leans on. The reports keep the address on the map.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":"1717-04-26","confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whydah_Gally","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"The pirates are reportedly seen. Whydah pirate wreck's file is thin on proof and long on persistence — the standard profile of American place-lore. 'Whydah pirate wreck' preserves the telling; the record keeps it filed where it belongs, as lore. The account appears in 'Whydah pirate wreck'. The retelling is the record now — the legend metabolized the facts long ago.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whydah_Gally","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"entities":[{"name":"The pirates","claimed_identity":"The pirates","verified":null,"summary":"The pirates are reportedly seen. The reports at Whydah pirate wreck are the site's second history — unofficial, unverified, and stubbornly retold. The report is preserved in sources like 'Whydah pirate wreck'. The lore has a face now: The pirates. The telling survives; the proof stays folklore. The lore keeps its witness.","behavior":"The pirates are reportedly seen.","area":null,"first_ref":null,"source":{"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whydah_Gally","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Site access varies; verify before visiting.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Whydah pirate wreck","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whydah_Gally","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":2,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":1,"sources":1}}