havent watched this since i was a kid :P but i wanted to try and find the version i remember...
all i remember is that it starts at night, cold raining, and theres these guys at an old pub or bar i think - and all i remember is some guy walks up to another guy and gives him a peice of white paper crumpled up. the guy opens it up, and its a black spot. he freaks out like its some kinda curse or sign and... thats all i remember!
i dunno if the version i saw when i was a kid was a tv adaptation or a proper film. i only remember that scene cuz it was the one part that used to freak me out :P i remember vaugley what the kid looked like...
The piece of paper called The Black Spot meant that death was imminent. Blind Pew gives Billy Bones the Black spot because he has Captain Flint's treasure map.
The child is Jim Hawkins whose mother owns the inn. He takes the map from Billy Bones' wooden chest and takes it to the local squire who decided to go and search for the treasure.
Worked on a old large manor house years ago, and apparently a jail scene from that early film was shot in the ice house there.
On closer inspection of the bars and locks of the cells they were wood and dowel rods, so there may have been some truth in this story.