Seafaring ghost ship stories, or phantom ships’ tales, are filled with mystery, horror, and ambiguity. They have been handed down through the years by sailors, fishermen, and others. These ghost ships arise amid the sea & vanish just as suddenly, according to folklore, which is presumably a terrible sign.
Also covered in this category are abandoned ships that are discovered drifting, deserted, and mysteriously abandoned. Along with other popular ghost stories, while these tales of ghost ships may or may not be true, some of them continue to elicit skepticism and apprehension. It is our pleasure to present to you 10 of the most fascinating and terrifying ghost ships in the marine world.
Ourang Medan :
After getting a distress signal from Ourang Medan in 1947, American vessels embarked on a rescue operation via the Strait of Malacca. The caller pretended to be a crewman and relayed the news that everyone on board had died.
The strangest part of his speech was the last “I die” he said. After a long search, the rescuers discovered an unscathed ship but a distraught crew—including the dog. The stranded ship caught fire & detonated before any more inspection could be done.
Because it was carrying illicit nitroglycerin, the most likely explanation is that it was exposed to too much of it. Paranormal activity and/or extraterrestrial invasion are the other mysteries.
The Baychimo Ghost Ship:
The Hudson Bay Company was forced to leave this real-life ghost ship in 1931 when it got stranded in the pack ice off the coast of Alaska. Despite this remarkable feat, the ship continued to drift in the Alaskan seas for the following 38 years.
By 1969, it has been entirely obliterated by the effects of the weather. This strange ghost ship has been the subject of several expeditions since then.
The Caleuche:
The Chilota folklore describes it as a ghostly ship that appears every nightfall near the shore of Chiloe in the Pacific Ocean. People who have lost their lives at sea are said to be transported aboard the ship.
As usual, the Caleuche is bathed in the sounds and laughter of party music as it is stunningly gorgeous. But it only lasts a few seconds before disappearing or submerging itself in the sea. Mermaid-like three Chilota “water spirits,” the Pincoya, the Sirena Chilota, & the Picoy, are summoned to bring back the souls of those who have drowned.
The Carroll A. Deering:
It took many days for a rescue crew to reach this ship after it went aground in the infamous Diamond Shoals off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 1921. The equipment, logbook, and two rescue boats were later discovered by the Coast Guard to be gone from the unattended ship but otherwise unharmed.
Only a few other ships vanished around the same period, which might be due to mutiny or alien activity in the Bermuda triangle, according to an investigation.
The SS Valencia:
Shocking tales of ghostly encounters with a shipwrecked SS Valencia that sunk off Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1906 have been passed down for generations.
Using lifeboats, 37 of the 108 individuals on board were rescued, one of whom just vanished. Even decades after the ship sank, several fishermen claim to have seen ghost ship encounters with human remains.
The Octavius:
In 1775, a whaling ship called the Herald discovered the Octavius floating aimlessly off the shore of Greenland with its whole crew frozen to death by the frigid cold.
With a notebook in front of him, the ship’s captain was completing a 1762 log entry while seated at his desk. This might imply that the Octavius was a ghost ship that had returned to England from the East through the Northwest Passage after a 13-year drift in the Atlantic.
The Lady Lovibond:
The storyline of the haunted ship is enhanced by a compelling love triangle including lust, resentment, and anger. It set off on February 14, 1748, a day before Valentine’s Day, to commemorate the marriage of the ship’s captain.
The ship was sunk by its captain’s buddy, who was deeply in love and drove it into the renowned Goodwind Sands to exact his revenge. Since then, it’s been seen cruising near Kent every fifty years or so. Some ships sent out rescuers, believing the ship was in trouble, but subsequently couldn’t find it.
This ship has been seen by tourists since the years 1798, 1848, 1898, and 1948. This legendary ghost ship, even though there was no verifiable observation in 1998, remains to be a legendary myth.
The Joyita:
This fishing & charter boat was discovered deserted there in South Pacific in 1955, 5 weeks after it was reported missing. When an air-search operation failed to locate it, a commercial ship discovered it floating 600 miles from its initial location with no evidence of personnel or cargo.
Despite the presence of a doctor’s bag and multiple bloody dressings on the ship’s deck, no one on board was ever seen again, and the transmitter was turned to the worldwide distress signal.
The Flying Dutchman:
This phantom ship has left a lasting impression on maritime legend, spawning many works of art such as paintings, films, literature, and even opera. Even after pledging to float till the end of time, Van der Decken, the commander, strove desperately to navigate his ship through the bad weather at the Cape of Good Hope on its journey to the East Indies.
According to legend, they have been doomed to spend forever at sea. Hundreds of deep-sea fishermen and sailors still claim to have seen the Flying Dutchman continues its seemingly endless journey across the oceans.
But what do you know about the terrifying devil’s sea? Know about the mysterious incidents around the world.
The Mary Celeste:
It’s hard to imagine a better example of a real-life ghost ship than the Mary Celeste, which was discovered in 1872 drifting there in the Atlantic Ocean in perfect shape with all her sails still up and its cargo hold filled with almost 1500 alcohol barrels intact.
Everything saves the lifeboat, the captain’s journal, and the whole crew remained. Tales of crew mutiny, water-spout killing, and toxic food-causing lunacy arose since pirate assaults could not be held accountable for such an event.
However, the most logical theory is that the crew was forced to leave the ship due to a storm or a technical difficulty, and they perished at sea. Additional enigmas surround this haunted ship, including reports of sea monsters, extraterrestrial abduction, and other supernatural occurrences.
