From carpenter to pirate to a head in a pickle barrel—John Phillips took a wild turn off the straight and narrow. A tale of bad luck, worse choices, and one truly salty ending.

A ruthless pirate, a chance encounter, and a narrow escape — if not for a fisherman’ s words, Ned Low’s reign of terror could have ended in St. John’s.

Just over 300 years ago dreaded pirate Bartholomew Roberts set his sights on Newfoundland and began a 2-week reign of terror. Maybe.