A fan of AMC’s original series The Terror just made history. In a new study published on Tuesday, real life historian Fabiënne Tetteroo solved a 200-year-old archeological mystery linked to the show. Tetteroo was first introduced to the mystery of the lost expedition through AMC’s The Terror series. The Terror is a semi-historical, supernatural horror series, and its first season was loosely based on the disappearance of the HMS Terror and its sister ship HMS Erebus in 1845, during a failed British arctic expedition. The harrowing story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Dan Simmons.
Led by Captain John Franklin, the expedition turned to disaster when both ships became stuck in frozen waters of the Canadian Arctic. Little is known about what exactly happened as, unlike in the show, all 129 crew members of the HMS Terror and HMS Erebus perished. Theories as to what happened to the crew and officers include madness due to starvation, hypothermia, illness, and possibly cannibalism have also been investigated as early as 1854 after searchers discovered bones. The remains of bodies went largely unidentified for almost two centuries, until now.
Researchers have now successfully matched the DNA of some of the remains. Specifically, the remains of Captain James Fitzjames of the Erebus through a descent of his. Tetteroo was acknowledged in the scientific paper on the identification of Fitzjames’ remains for:
“…generously sharing the results of her investigations of Fitzjames’ family history and for her efforts to identify possible candidates for our Franklin expedition DNA research. It was through her efforts that we were connected with the descendant donor.”
Tetteroo was particularly intrigued by the historical figure after watching The Terror. Tetteroo runs a historical account on X (formerly Twitter) called James Fitzjames.com where she clarifies that she does not like Fitzjames’ character’s portrayal. James Fitzjames was portrayed by Tobias Menzies, known for Outlander, The Crown, and Game of Thrones. Tetteroo is currently working on a biography of Fitzjames. You can read more on her website.
What Happened In The Terror
The Terror has come to Netflix as part of the AMC collection along with other eerie fan favorites like Interview with the Vampire and The Walking Dead. The critically acclaimed series premiered in 2018. The show’s first two seasons covered the launch of the expedition and the crew’s trials stuck in the ice. Though Captain Franklin had vast naval knowledge, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus faced worse obstacles than just the conditions.
As the perilous reality of their situation began to take hold, the crew slowly succumbed to madness. The crew battled the inhabitable weather, starvation, and tense relations with the Inuit people of the area. A mysterious supernatural predator also begins stalking and hunting the crew members down. Eventually, the survivors abandoned the vessels in a desperate effort to reach the shore. Those crew members would unfortunately vanish. The series was well received with an 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Deadline reported that the hit series was renewed for a third season after a five-year delay.
“The network has ordered
The Terror: Devil in Silver
as the third installment in the anthology series. It comes after Season 2 –
The Terror: Infamy
– premiered in 2019.”
The story will be based on the novel of the same name written by Victor LaValle. Dan Stevens, known for FX’s Legion, is set to star. No official release date has been announced for The Terror: Devil in Silver, but it is expected to land on AMC in 2025.