Mystery, fear, enigma encompass the seafaring ghost ships’, or phantom ships’ tales that has been passed around throughout centuries by sailors, anglers and others. These mysterious ships are fantasized as spectral phantasms that materialize in the middle of the sea and disappear quickly, which is apparently a bad omen. In addition, abandoned ships, which are found adrift, left desolated under fearsome and cryptic circumstances, are also included in this category.
Albeit these all being marine legends and sometimes lacking authenticity, some of these haunted ships continue to provoke speculation and fearful anticipation. We present you with ten such mysterious ghost ships of the maritime world that would surely give you an eerie feeling and goose bumps.
10. The Caleuche
It is a legend of the Chilota mythology, where it is described as a ghost ship, which comes into being every night near the island of Chiloe. It says the ship carries the spirits of all the people who have drowned at sea. The Caleuche is strikingly beautiful, bright and gay as always surrounded by party music sounds and laughter.
However, it only stays for a few moments, and then suddenly disappears or submerges itself under the water. Three Chilota ‘water spirits’ – the Sirena Chilota, the Pincoya, and the Picoy – who resemble mermaids, summons the spirits of the drowned.
9. The SS Valencia
In 1906, the SS Valencia sank off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia after encountering bad weather near Cape Mendocino and thereafter became a subject of mysterious ghost stories. Eventually 37 of merely 108 people were saved using lifeboats, among which one simply disappeared.
Since then, many a fisherman has claimed to witness ghost ship sightings with human skeletons even after many decades post sinking.
8. The Ourang Medan
In 1947, two American ships, while passing through the Strait of Malacca, went off to a rescue mission after receiving a distress call from Ourang Medan. The caller claimed to be a crewmember and conveyed the message of death of everyone else on-board. His words weirdly ended with “I die”. The rescuers found the ship unharmed but the entire crew, including the dog, dead with terrified faces and expressions.
Before further investigation, the abandoned ship caught fire and exploded. The probable reason could be over-exposure of nitroglycerin, which it was carrying illegally. The other mystery revolves around the story of paranormal activities and/or alien invasion.
7. The Carroll A. Deering
This ship ran aground in the notorious Diamond Shoals near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in 1921, where it was stuck for several days before any rescue team could arrive. Later, the Coast Guard found that the equipment, logbook and two lifeboats were missing from the abandoned ship, otherwise undamaged.
Investigation showed few other ships had also disappeared under mysterious circumstances around the same time, which could be the pirates’ barbarity, crews’ mutiny or extra terrestrial activity around the infamous Bermuda triangle.
6. The Baychimo
Built in the early 1920s this is one of the real-life ghost ship which was, in 1931, became trapped in the pack-ice near Alaska, leaving no hopes for the owner Hudson Bay Company but to abandon it. However, amazingly it remained adrift for the next 38 years and was frequently sighted floating aimlessly in the waters off Alaska.
Weather condition had always made it impossible to salvage, but since 1969, it has disappeared completely. A few expedition programmes had since been launched to trace back this mysterious ghost ship.