--- title: American Horror Story Season 6: The True Story of Roanoke description: In 1587, a group of Englishmen settled at Roanoke Island. When the captain left and returned to the settlement, he found something shocking. canonical: https://time.com/4495614/america-horror-story-season-six-true-story/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-15T20:27:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T12:26:18.000Z article:section: History og:title: The True Story Behind 'American Horror Story' Season Six, As Told in 1930 og:description: "Carved on a tree was the word 'Croatoan'" og:url: https://time.com/4495614/america-horror-story-season-six-true-story/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7035912d81282fc/6988a6568e06010c0a4677ea/screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-3-46-50-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1687 og:image:height: 949 og:image:alt: screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-3-46-50-pm og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The True Story Behind 'American Horror Story' Season Six, As Told in 1930 twitter:description: "Carved on a tree was the word 'Croatoan'" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7035912d81282fc/6988a6568e06010c0a4677ea/screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-3-46-50-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The True Story Behind _American Horror Story_ Season Six, As Told in 1930 > Sponsored content. 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Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is included in a TIME print and digital subscription? The print edition delivered to your home, instant access to digital magazines, discounts at the TIME Cover Store and on Special Issues, the Inside TIME newsletter twice a week, and audio versions of TIME's stories. It is from $29 for one year or $49 for two years at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### What is the difference between TIME's digital and print plans? Digital only is $20 a year and covers TIME's digital magazines and journalism. Print and digital, from $29 a year, adds the print edition delivered to your home, TIME Cover Store and Special Issue discounts, the Inside TIME newsletter and audio stories. #### Is TIME a reliable news source? TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923. Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:26 PM UTCPublished: Sep 15, 2016 8:27 PM UTC  FX  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Updated: Jan 24, 2024 12:26 PM UTCPublished: Sep 15, 2016 8:27 PM UTC [_American Horror Story_](http://time.com/4494853/american-horror-story-season-six-premiere-surprise-theme/) often trades in the [fantastical](http://time.com/4029863/american-horror-story-trailer-new/): Vampires, ghosts and monsters haunt the FX show. But the [series’ sixth season](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/science/the-roanoke-colonists-lost-and-found.html?%5Fr=1), which premiered on Wednesday night, proves truth can be scarier than fiction. _My Roanoke Nightmare_ recounts the true story of the lost colonists of Roanoke. In 1587, a group of Englishmen led by Captain John White created a settlement at Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina. Captain White returned to England for supplies. When he sailed back to the colony four years later, he found something unsettling. The story, an eerie aside to the history of the United States’ founding, was [recounted in TIME in 1930](http://time.com/vault/issue/1930-09-01/page/19/) on the occasion of the birthday of Virginia Dare, White’s granddaughter and the first English baby born in America: --- > “” --- At the time of that anniversary, TIME reported that some inhabitants of Robeson County, N.C., claimed to be descendants of those lost colonists, but there was no proof. And to this day, nobody knows what happened to the over 100 colonists who vanished. Historians have speculated that they were either slaughtered or dispersed, though archeologists recently [uncovered English artifacts](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/science/the-roanoke-colonists-lost-and-found.html?%5Fr=1) like flintlocks in nearby Native American sites that suggest the colonists probably assimilated into those tribes. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) If this story sounds familiar, it’s because an _American Horror Story_ character [relayed it in the first season of the show](http://time.com/4495264/american-horror-story-season-six-roanoke/). In that version, the settlers became ghosts that haunted the island and who were eventually banished with a curse using the word “Croatoan,” the same as the one carved on the tree. In season six of the show, the story comes full circle: A couple named Shelby and Matt move to the area and find things amiss: Cathy Bates’ character appears in colonial garb, and Shelby (Sarah Paulson) wanders into the forest and finds herself seemingly in the 1500s. This season will likely offer its own interpretation of what happened to Virginia Dare and her fellow colonists. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4495614/america-horror-story-season-six-true-story/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4495614/america-horror-story-season-six-true-story/"},"headline":"The True Story Behind American Horror Story Season Six, As Told in 1930","datePublished":"2016-09-15T20:27:27.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T12:26:18.000Z","description":"\"Carved on a tree was the word 'Croatoan'\"","url":"https://time.com/4495614/america-horror-story-season-six-true-story/","keywords":["Television","True Story Behind"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7035912d81282fc/6988a6568e06010c0a4677ea/screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-3-46-50-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta7035912d81282fc/6988a6568e06010c0a4677ea/screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-3-46-50-pm.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"screen-shot-2016-09-15-at-3-46-50-pm","caption":"","creditText":"FX","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4495614/america-horror-story-season-six-true-story/","name":"The True Story Behind American Horror Story Season Six, As Told in 1930"}}]}] ```