I want to take you to a little island off the coast of Maine. It's called Wood Island.

And we're going to start with the legend of how Wood Island lost all of its wood.

In 1869, the legend starts.

This is Richard Parsons.

He's the author of Wood Island Lighthouse, stories from the edge of the sea.

The keeper on his day off went ashore to one of the local watering houses in Old Orchard Beach and was pickpocketed.

The keeper, a man named Edwin Tarbox, rushed to the local police and sent them after the robbers.

The police sprang into action. They caught up with the pickpockets and gave Edwin his stuff back.

But then, one of the pickpockets turned to Edwin.

He launched a curse.

And he said, to you and yours, to all whoever occupy your accursed island,

there shall come a blight. And so sure enough, Keeper Tar Bocs returned to the

island and the next day there was this terrible storm. And there were stories that waves were coming

over the island, washing away the trees,

slamming rocks up against the trees,

and after that, the island was basically denuded.

But there's no doubt that by the late 19th century,

if you looked out there, you wondered why it was ever called Wood Island.

I'm Dylan Thurris, and this is Atlas of Skira, a celebration of the world's strange,

incredible, and wondrous places.

This episode was brought to you in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism.

Maine's Coast is guarded by around 60 historic lighthouses. Each one has its own colorful history of

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