Categories: History

Two Babies Were Exiled on this Abandoned Island as Part of a Bizarre Experiment

In 1443, King James IV approved a language deprivation experiment involving two babies who were exiled to Scotland's Inchkeith Island.

The abandoned Inchkeith Island is located in the Firth of Forth, which is the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland. According to historical accounts, people lived on the island intermittently many centuries ago. It also happens to be the location of a strange language deprivation experiment.

In her article on Urban Ghosts, Alice McGurran wrote, “It was an important island, strategically and militarily, and therefore suffered many attacks from the 14th century onward, first during the Scottish Wars of Independence, right through until World War Two.”

Inchkeith Island might as well be called "Exile Island."

There was also a period when the island was used as a place to isolate those who had incurable diseases.

In 1443, King James IV decided to conduct an experiment. The king was known to be fascinated with scientific insights and anything considered as “new knowledge” in those days. It so happened that he wanted to find out if babies who were not taught to speak would be able to develop language skills on their own.

King James IV constantly came up with weird experiments.

As such, the king ordered two babies to be exiled to Inchkeith Island along with a mute woman as their caretaker. King James IV’s theory was that the babies would still be able to develop the language that was the supposed “God-given lingo.”

Royal historians say that the babies were left on the island for several years. Perhaps periodically, provisions were delivered to the mute woman.

King James IV picked 2 babies to be left on the island with a mute woman.

In any case, after several years, King James IV supposedly came to see the children. However, he was allegedly disappointed when the kids were unable to speak. They were only able to make wild gestures and mimic the sounds that they heard in nature.

It’s presumed that the experiment was stopped and the kids were taken back to Scotland. Later on, though, there were claims that the children were able to speak Hebrew. However, this is highly unlikely. That claim was probably just made by people who wanted to flatter King James IV.

Remnants of structures from centuries past give a creepy vibe.

That episode remains one of the most bizarre events on Inchkeith Island. It would later be referred to as King James IV’s language deprivation experiment.

It’s now the perfect setting for a horror film.

Source: Scot Clans

Many scholars continue to speculate about what happened to the children who were used for the king’s experiments. Unfortunately, there seems to be no record kept about their life after the failed experiment.

Leave a Comment

Recent Posts

March 14th Holiday – Pi Day or Something Else?

Table of Contents: Introduction: The Significance of the March 14th Holiday The Mathematical Marvel: Unraveling…

November 1, 2023

Mystery Of Missing Pages

Who made them disappear? What was the reason? Where did they go? Why? Gather round,…

July 26, 2023

Bees Kill Penguins by Stinging Them in the Eyes

Swarm of bees stings the eyes of penguins in Cape town 60 penguins died from…

November 16, 2021

2000 Kilogram Sunfish Caught Off North African Coast

A massive ocean sunfish measuring 2,000 kilograms was caught on North African Coast It is named Mola alexandrini or…

November 16, 2021

Man Embezzles $57K in COVID-19 Relief to Buy Pokemon Cards

A businessman in Georgia utilized the Covid-19 relief to buy a limited edition Charizard Pokemon card He committed…

November 8, 2021

Florida Man Catches and “Recycles” Alligator in Driveway

Man captures an alligator in his neighbor's yard in FloridaHe uses a trash can to…

November 1, 2021

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience.