A grand majority of this true crime podcast episode comes from the Michael Capuzzo book, Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916. It is a wonderful resource about not just these specific shark attacks but the overall history of shark attacks in American and elsewhere, as well. The more you read, the more you will realize that the events in New Jersey act as a precursor and an inspiration for Peter Benchleys novel, Jaws, and the subsequent Steven Spielberg movie by the same name. I'm providing, rather than a comprehensive list of sources for this episode, the notes I took in preparation for the recording. Feel free to read below about the stories of the various victims and near-victims of the New Jersey shark attacks: Charles Vansant, whose parents watched in horror as he was dragged under water; long-distance swimmers Robert Dowling and Leonard Hill, who barely escaped with their lives; Charles Bruder, a Swiss captain whose hubris ended up getting him killed; and Lester Stillwell and the other Matawan Creek victims. There is so much to uncover here, I feel like I could have done a whole series on the different locations, people, and misconceptions which allow these events to occur. Feel free to check out Capuzzo's book. It's a masterful bit of reporting, and I couldn't recommend it more vigorously. *** This story begins off the southern coast of New Jersey, just beyond the front door of the majestic Engleside Hotel. It was 1916, and the U.S. hadn’t quite stepped into WWI. In fact, Woodrow Wilson was running for re-election based on his promise to keep America out of the Great War. The Engleside was well north of the more famous Asbury Park, but it was also no slouch, either. Americans had begun to discover the idea of leisure. The Victorian era was over, and people sought to be in the sunshine for more than mere backbreaking work. People in the upper middle and middle classes “vacationed” in the summer, and the Engleside was a nice place to do so. The 1915 summer season led the owners of the hotel to believe 1916 would be record-breaking. Off the shore, a horror was brewing. A female great white shark had been knocked off its course and ended up near the shores of New Jersey. And even with the fervor of Victorian scientists like Charles Darwin, little was known about carcharodon carcharias. Sharks, in general, were not considered the man-eaters of today. On July 1, a 25-year-old man named Charles Vansant was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, alongside his dog. His parents -- his father a doctor -- watched from the shore. Onlookers were horrified to see a giant beat leap into the air and drag the younger Vansant under the water. **Not knowing what to do with shark attacks back then **Died on the operating table -- literally a door **Beaches stayed open. People weren’t overly alarmed.   **Ex-Pres. William Howard Taft Hated giving speeches as much as being president Gave a speech at the Essex and Sussex Not too long later, there was a commotion down by the ocean about potential sharks   **Locals tried to dispel the idea that a shark had even killed Vansant. There were lots of rumors going around, and some even believed he had drowned, or that the newspapers had grossly overestimated his death. In other words, no one was aware of the dangers of sharks.   **Robert Dowling and Leonard Hill Two long-distance swimmers Leonard Hill was a druggist on vacation with his family Robert Dowling, the real estate scion, was a long-distance swimmer He was the first man to swim around Manhattan Island They came within dozens of feet from the shark. They swam through the feeding zone of the shark. No one quite knows why the shark ignored them, but it did Both vowed to never step foot in that ocean again “Never again,” Dowling said. “At least not here.”   **45 mi. North. Charles Bru