Theories surrounding the mystery of Oak Island in Nova Scotia continue to grow and change to this day.

James McQuiston, a North East, Pa. resident, teamed up with John “Doc” Hamels, Ripley resident and host of Chautauqua Sunrise, in 2023 for their video podcast, “Oak Island Plus.” Oak Island itself is an island by Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Coast that has been the subject of multiple treasure hunts since the 1700s. Nothing has yet been found on the island, but rumors and theories have continued to this day, enough that it has cost thousands of dollars and six lives, and in about the 1960s was said to be cursed.

McQuiston has one of the most well-known theories when it comes to the island, specifically that it is a conspiracy of elites, and said that since the video podcast began two years ago his theory has grown.

“There is now a much greater Masonic connection than we knew about, specifically with the Knights of Malta,” McQuiston said. “Nobody knew about their connection but I was given a hint to it by a friend in Nova Scotia who didn’t know he was giving me a hint at the time. I connected with him and Doc Hamels and we went crazy with it. There is nothing written or told about their connection besides what I wrote in my books and Oak Island Plus.”

Pictured is James McQuiston as he is featured on the History Channel’s show “Tales of Oak Island” in mid-January. Submitted photo

The expansion of McQuiston’s theory comes from more research as the podcast continues. McQuiston said he does not think of himself as changing history, more uncovering what is already there, and that he is able to do that thanks to more modern research technology helping him to be able to search and find things in books and PDFs online. He has also had a lot of help from staff members at multiple museums, so much so that he added that his research gave much more than he could use in his books or the podcast.

Some of his research has included tracking down ciphers that belonged to Mary Queen of Scots — something McQuiston said took three months to do — eventually finding them in British archives where they were not sorted or digitized. After having them digitized, McQuiston said for a while he was the owner of the only digital copies of the ciphers anywhere. The ciphers themselves were created by Mary Queen of Scots before her death and include all of the symbols that can be found on what is known as the 90 foot stone in Oak Island’s Money Pit.

Most recently, McQuiston’s work has led him to be featured once again on the History Channel. In the past he has contributed to the History Channel’s show “The Curse of Oak Island” and in mid January was featured on a spin-off of that, “The Tales of Oak Island”. This show was filmed in the oldest university in Canada.

“I was given 50 questions to look over and comment on, though they didn’t ask all of them when I was there,” McQuiston said. “It was more of commenting on my beliefs in regards to the questions. It was filmed in a fancy library in the university and included things not kept in the original show or talked about in the war room meetings for the show. I think they gave me a fair hearing and it was great.”

Additionally, McQuiston said he had not originally known his part was going to be included in the show, but he also has published his 12th book on Oak Island, which was published a few days later, though he said that was not intentional. McQuiston’s first book on Oak Island laid the groundwork for his research and what he would be writing about, and after that each book takes on a specific angle, including one on the Mayflower as they helped to settle parts of Nova Scotia, including Oak Island, as well, and one on the Knights of Malta. His newest book “CSI: Oak Island” treats the mystery more like a detective case, looking specifically at four of the biggest legends surrounding the island and showing the pragmatic side of them. “CSI: Oak Island” is out now and currently available on Amazon.

McQuiston noted that he is and probably will continue to be the most prolific writer on Oak Island, as most people who write on it only write one book.

As far as the Oak Island Plus video podcast goes, when speaking with the Post-Journal the YouTube channel had just reached around 91,000 views with 2,200 subscribers.

“It’s been going great,” McQuiston said. “When we started we thought we would have a few hundred viewers and just wanted a place to put out a few rabbit holes that we found and went down.”

The podcast continues to be filmed at Innovation Studio at the Lakeshore Center in Westfield with Randy Burt filming it. With the latest monthly episode, McQuiston said their videos get about 1,200 views immediately, averaging usually around 4,000, though one reached around 23,000 or 24,000 views. The podcast is also featured on Community Access TV and on a radio station. McQuiston said the podcast continues to grow, adding that he and Hamels look at Excel files Hamels sends every Sunday, measuring their growth, and that they have never had any “down and dirty” comments.

As far as the future goes, while McQuiston said he has been up to Oak Island and featured on the History Channel’s show a few times, he never quite knows what criteria the show uses or when he could be called up again. People involved with the show have come on the podcast, and McQuiston said his theory has been accepted as one of the most possible theories, selected in the top ten for three years, including being the second place theory at one time. While he does not know when the next call might come, he knows he is still on their radar.

For the island itself, while the History Channel show might not last forever, McQuiston said he thinks it will eventually open back up to tourists as the archaeology of the island will continue, specifically in small items that have already been found and are featured in museums there.

“The island will continue to be a destination, even if it gets to the point where there is no show anymore,” McQuiston said. “At their heart, the people involved in the show are very good people, who treat you kindly and listen when it gets to your turn. Our experience has been pretty great, and hopefully that never changes.”