The Starvation Cove and Franklin expedition relic traditions

Record summary

Starvation Cove and nearby King William Island sites became central to nineteenth-century accounts of the Franklin expedition’s final retreat, with bones, clothing, boats and other objects reported by searchers and Inuit informants. Later writers sometimes transformed the landscape into a cursed or haunted zone, while archaeology and historical research have reconstructed a harsher, more material story. This lead supports comparison of relic-centered haunting, polar isolation and colonial exploration narratives. Researchers should identify which object or testimony is under discussion and consult expedition reports, Inuit knowledge and archaeological publications separately.