Is The Terror based on a true story? Franklin’s lost expedition explained

The Terror tackles one of the most enduring mysteries of the sea, and the true story is just as frightening as the show’s fictionalized take.

Joining the slate of new TV shows on Netflix this month, The Terror is set to give audiences a chill. Based on a very real disastrous expedition in the 1800s, the show depicts every explorer’s worst nightmare.

The Terror, and its subsequent anthology-style seasons, have kept up the trend of real-life inspirations. So, how much does the show adhere to what really happened on that fateful journey? What went down in the icy depths of the Canadian Arctic?

Here’s a breakdown of the real events that inspired the horror series, plus details on how the show portrays things a little differently.

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror explained

HMS Erebus and HMS Terror were a pair of Royal Navy warships that left England in 1845 to traverse the remaining parts of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic that hadn’t been explored.

Their mission was to travel the Passage and record magnetic data there, in hopes of seeing whether their new understandings could aid navigation.

Erebus was named after the the personification of darkness in Greek mythology, while Terror’s namesake remains an eerie mystery.

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The two ships totaled a crew of 129 officers and men, all of whom would vanish during the course of the expedition under strange circumstances.

The expedition of the two ships was led by Captain Sir John Franklin.

What was Franklin’s lost expedition?

Franklin’s expedition was considered “lost” after the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, along with their entire crews, disappeared after traversing the Northwest Passage.

It’s a real life horror story that comes from what’s now considered to be a “failed” mission. While there are still questions surrounding the fate of the ship and their crews, there are a few facts that hint towards what might have happened on this ill-fated sea voyage.

The two Royal Navy ships left England in 1845 for the Northwest Passage. This was the last time they were sighted, by a whaling ship in July 1845.

Disaster struck when both the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror became trapped in Victoria Strait near King William Island. Essentially, the ships became icebound, holding them in place.

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The ships remained stuck for over a year, and in April 1848, it was decided that they would be abandoned in hopes of survival. At this point, two dozen men (including Captain Franklin) had died, most likely due to hypothermia or starvation.

The remaining men, now led by Francis Crozier and Erebus’s captain, James Fitzjames, headed out to find the mainland. However, they disappeared without a trace.

What happened to the men?

Unfortunately, it’s unknown what became of the few survivors who headed out to the mainland, but it’s presumed that they all perished under various circumstances.

With no survivors or record of what happened, it’s impossible to determine how each person met their fate.

Jane Franklin (John Franklin’s wife) urged The Admiralty to conduct a search for the missing crews in 1848. In the years following, a number of searches continued, though all that was found were artifacts from the expedition and the remains of only two men.

It’s since been assumed that the men died over a long period of time, with the most likely causes being hypothermia, starvation, lead poisoning, zinc deficiency, and scurvy.

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The hostile environment and unfriendly conditions doubtless played a major part in the deaths of the men, since they would not have been prepared to be trapped in such a place, nor have the means to head out into the wilderness.

One of the most eerie details from the expedition comes from the recovered bones found during one of the searches. Cut marks on the remains led to allegations of cannibalism, first cited by John Rae in 1854.

The ironic success of the Franklin expedition

Strangely, despite the morbid fate of the men on the expedition, it was considered something of a success, since the two ships did explore the Northwest Passage and led to a discovery.

On one of the investigations, led by Robert McClure, a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean was discovered. The Northwest Passage wouldn’t be properly navigated until 1906, on an expedition made on the ship Gjøa.

In 2014, a Parks Canada search team found the wreckage of Erebus in the Queen Maud Gulf. Two years later, the Arctic Research Foundation found the remains of Terror, South of King William Island (in a body of water named Terror Bay, mind you.)

The sights of the wreckage are now protected as a National Historic Site, and diving expeditions and research continues.

How much of the series is based on facts?

The Terror is inspired by the mystery of Franklin’s lost expedition, and depicts the difficult circumstances of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror’s journey, though it does put a fictional and supernatural twist on the fate of those involved.

When it comes to adaptations of real-life events, that’s the million dollar question. In The Terror’s case, the events of the show are based on Franklin’s lost expedition, but offer a fictionalized answer as to what happened to the crews of the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.

The show begins in the same way: the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror set out on their expedition, and become icebound and forced to survive amid the harsh conditions. (Warning: spoilers ahead!)

However, as the show goes on, it becomes clear that something else is stalking the survivors. Where it takes a turn for the bizarre is when it’s revealed that the crew are being hunted by horrifying man-eating spirits known as Tuunbaq. (Think polar bears, but even more frightening.)

It’s a twist more akin to a horror movie than an accurate historical retelling.

Of course, we’ll never know exactly what happened to the crew of the two ships, but it’s safe to say that they probably didn’t get hunted down by mutant monster mammals.

For more real-life tales, check out all the true crime and documentaries out this month. You can also learn about the reality behind some of this year’s biggest hits, such as the Hit Man true story and Longlegs true story.