In July of 1916, New Jersey became the site of a series of vicious shark attacks that would span 12 days, claim the lives of four people, and severely injure one more. It was a summer that gripped the public with fear and left an enduring mark on American culture.

The first attack occurred on July 1 in Beach Haven, where Charles Epting Vansant was fatally bitten. Five days later, Charles Bruder was killed while swimming off Spring Lake. Then, on July 12, the terror moved inland—remarkably, into the freshwater Matawan Creek. There, within an hour of each other, 12-year-old Lester Stillwell and 24-year-old Stanley Fisher were both fatally attacked near Wyckoff pier. Later that same day, a third victim, 14-year-old Joseph Dunn, was attacked but survived.

Just two days after the Matawan attacks, a shark was caught in nearby Raritan Bay. The over 300-pound animal was dissected, revealing 15 pounds of human remains in its stomach—seemingly confirming it as the killer. However, modern experts believe the attacks may have been the work of multiple sharks. The Matawan Creek attacks are widely thought to have been carried out by a bull shark, the only species known to thrive in both salt and freshwater.

These chilling events heavily inspired author Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel Jaws, which he set on the fictional Amity Island—loosely based on Long Island, just across the water from New Jersey. The story was transformed into a cultural phenomenon with the release of Steven Spielberg’s film in 1975, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

While Jaws thrilled audiences and made movie history, it also had unintended consequences: public fear of sharks exploded, and widespread shark hunts followed, contributing to the decline of several shark species. Benchley later became a vocal advocate for shark conservation, regretting the fear his story helped to spread.

Today, most sharks are understood to be non-threatening and crucial to marine ecosystems. But the legacy of the 1916 attacks—and the blockbuster they inspired—continues to shape how we see these ancient, misunderstood predators more than a century later.