I was actually walking in Henlopen acres................the day before my 2nd in patient hospitilaztion for mental illness.................in the pioneer/Indian cemetery back there........Henlopen acres is a housing communitee, slightly south of the state park..

In 1935, Charles N. Colstad, an engineer from Attleboro, Massachusetts,, surveyed the ocean floor off Cape Henlopen and announced, “We have been encouraged in what we have accomplished and believe we are on the right trail.”

The arrival of harsh weather in November dashed Colstad’s hopes of retrieving the treasure of the De Braak. The expedition's crew was convinced that the wreck of the British brig was protected by a “Weather or Sea Witch” who summoned violent storms to drive away anyone who approached the sunken ship and its treasure.

The superstitious sailors decided on an elaborate ritual to exorcise the evil spirit. After the demon was drawn on cardboard, the treasure hunters then used the cardboard image for target practice.

After the first attempt to drive the Weather Witch away failed, the sailors constructed an effigy of the Weather Witch. The old hag had long gray hair that streamed from under a tall peaked cap.

Equipped with a broomstick and clothed with a flowing cape, “The witch was given the position of honor in the cabin, offered drink and food, and then was burned, with many incantations, in the galley stove.”

At sunset, the witch’s ashes were collected and scattered on the sea.

The sailors’ exorcism appeared to have angered the Sea Witch. Strong winds whipped the sea into high waves and made the salvage vessels unmanageable. Faced with the worsening weather conditions, Colstad postponed the search until the following summer.

In August 1936, Colstad used two vessels to explore the ocean floor off Cape Henlopen. On Sept. 18, the Weather Witch returned and was accompanied by a full-fledged hurricane. The storm drove one of Colstad’s boats on to the beach 300 yards from the surf and destroyed the expedition’s range markers.