Everything to Know About the Real-life Pirate Name-dropped in the 'Outer Banks' Season 3 Finale Cliffhanger

Edward “Blackbeard” Teach was a real sailor who allegedly left behind a hefty treasure

Outer Banks Blackbeard Cliffhanger
Photo: Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Outer Banks left fans with a massive cliffhanger — and an intriguing new figure — at the end of season three.

In the Netflix series' season finale, the town of Kildare is holding a special ceremony for John B (Chase Stokes) and his fellow Pogues in honor of their El Dorado victory, when a strange man approaches them with a briefcase in hand.

He pulls out a manuscript that dates back to 1718, and John B immediately identifies it as a captain's log. The man explains how he needs help looking into the log, which details the exact locations of where a ship sailed and stopped long ago, and JJ (Rudy Pankow) asks who the captain is.

"Edward Teach," the man says. "Blackbeard"

Outer Banks Blackbeard Cliffhanger
Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Teach, known more commonly by his colorful nickname, was a real-life pirate who sailed the West Indies and Caribbean in the late 1600s. His ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, was attacked by the British Royal Navy in 1718 and he was later beheaded on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina — also part of the Outer Banks.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, historic accounts paint Blackbeard as an intimidating man who "frightened America more than any comet that has appeared there for a long time." Other accounts describe him as a "large man with fierce and wild eyes," who always carried around three pistols across his chest.

Legend has it Blackbeard left behind a $12.5 million treasure of gold and other looted valuables that were allegedly hidden somewhere on Ocracoke when he died. Three centuries later, that treasure has yet to be found.

Captain Edward "Blackbeard" Teach
Getty Images

For fans that want to get a head start on the treasure hunt ahead of Outer Banks' fourth season, the site of Blackbeard's infamous shipwreck would be a good place to start. A sunken Queen Anne's Revenge was actually found in 1996 on the 278th anniversary of Blackbeard's death and is located 20 feet underwater off the shore of North Carolina's Fort Macon State Park.

Visitors to the area can even tour his home, Hammock House, and learn more about the legend surrounding the pirate through the Beaufort Ghost Walk.

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