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Was Emmet Bolo the World’s Greatest Historian, or its Greatest Con Man?
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Essays and Fiction by Charles Bastille, author of MagicLand, Psalm of Vampires, and Restive Souls
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Restive Souls

Was Emmet Bolo the World’s Greatest Historian, or its Greatest Con Man?

Restive Souls — Historian Emmet Bolo

Charles Bastille
Oct 10, 2024
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Was Emmet Bolo the World’s Greatest Historian, or its Greatest Con Man?
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Just before Emmet Bolo died, he claimed to be 254 years old, which is ludicrous enough that many people have wondered how many people he actually was. Was he in truth several individuals spanning generations? The answer likely perished with Bolo, who complicated matters by producing a photograph he alleged was a self portrait taken in 1830.

Who, or what, was Emmet Bolo?

Emmet Bolo Photograph circa 1830; Christchurch Library, Christchurch, New York

Of course, if he was one person, that brings up the question of how he managed to live 120 or so years longer than the oldest human in modern history.

The steadfast claim of his massive fan base is that he was directly blessed by God.

One piece of evidence in their favor is a clear consistency in his writing. His first known work was a review of the Naragganset seaport rebellions led by the secretive (at that time) Narragansett African Militia, the ragtag militia group organized so covertly that to this day we don’t know the names of their leaders. He allegedly wrote that history as part of a larger book entitled Battles that Turned the Tide of the Colonial Rebellion in 1821.

Whoever or whatever he was, we know he penned at least 150 books covering the history of the Carolina Union and its relationship with the world it inhabits. The writing style is consistent throughout that entire body of work.

His final works were completed under the auspices of United Methodist Congregation University based in Christ’s Union, as Professor Emeritus of History, hardly a title given to someone of ill repute. His appointment was the culmination of a long and distinguished career that, given the lack of contrary evidence other than our cynical and logical minds, we should assume was his, and his alone.


This is a part of the Restive Souls Series, a web-only utopian alternative history series separate from the novel Restive Souls, currently in development.


Original Photo credit: Original photo by Clem Onojeghuo from Pexels.com was Photoshopped for this story. The most difficult part of creating the “older” image was trying to make the glasses not so obviously plastic-framed, lol.

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