By Eilis Flynn
I am constantly amazed when I read about something new being discovered in the depths of the ocean. On occasion it’s something that was thought to be extinct long ago, like the coelacanth (but alive and well, it turns out), or something that might have its closest relatives as something that lived millions of years ago.
And that’s the stuff that can be proven. Then there are the myths and legends—mermaids, selkies, the Lady of the Lake, to name only a few. And ghost ships!
You’ve heard of the Flying Dutchman and the Mary Celeste, but there are more stories about ghost ships out there. Did you know there’s a legend about a ghost ship in Wyoming?! Three times it’s been seen on the Platte River, and all three times the person who saw it has seen a loved one onboard—and yes, all three times that loved one died that day!
What about the Queen Mary, docked in Long Beach? Legend has it that a man was killed in a fire there in the engine room. That engine room’s door is reportedly often hot to the touch, and there are wisps of smoke occasionally—and there’s nothing to show for it! Not only that, there have been reports of a hammering, as if someone were trying to get out. Psychic Peter James claims that he’s communicated with more than a hundred different ghosts on the ship!
And the Flying Dutchman and the Mary Celeste, the stories get even odder. If you’ve never known the stories behind those ships, in the case of the Dutchman, it’s a legendary ghost ship, cursed to sail the seas for all eternity. There are numerous stories about the ship, the oldest of which is from the late 1790s. Later stories has the ship glowing with an eerie light (because why else would we have a ghost ship story)? Catching sight of the ship means doom for those who’ve seen it, of course.
The legend gained more detail, including a claim that hurricanes are signaled by the ghost ship, and a theory that the crew was cursed because of a mysterious and terrible crime. Since the story was first told, there have been numerous sightings, including one in the late 19th century by the future George V of Great Britain.
Then there’s the Mary Celeste. This merchant vessel, in good condition, was discovered in 1872 in the Atlantic Ocean, with no one aboard and one lifeboat missing, even though the weather was fair and the crew seasoned sailors. Most of the cargo was intact (except for some of the alcohol…hmm) and the crew’s belongings were still there as well, even though the navigation equipment was missing. But nothing else. What happened? Waterspouts? Piracy? Mutiny? A giant kraken?
The ship eventually met her end when in 1885 her final owner (after the incident the ship changed hands seventeen! times) wrecked her deliberately in an attempt to commit insurance fraud.
The oceans are the final undiscovered country of planet Earth, and they’ve been feared and respected as long as mankind has been around. Do we truly know what’s there? Eilis Flynn has written comic book stories, fantasies, and short stories. She’s also a professional editor and has been for more than forty years, working with academia, technology, finance, genre fiction, and comics. She can be reached at emsflynn.com (if you’re looking for an editor) or at eilisflynn.com (if you’re looking for a good read). Her latest book is Water Beasties Across the Seven Seas, available on Amazon.
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