Tор Ten Hаuntеd Ships оn thе Hіgh Sеаѕ (Part 1)
Ghost ships, also known as phantom ships, have long been a part of maritime folklore passed down through generations of sailors and fishermen. The ships are said to be dark apparitions that surface on the horizon before rapidly dissipating, and are thought to be a symbol of impending doom. The term is often used to wrecked ships that have been discovered adrift without a crew or passengers, sometimes in terrifying and enigmatic circumstances.
The below are the ten most notable ghost ships that continue to inspire curiosity and intrigue in the nautical community, whether true tales about these derelict ships or legends about phantom craft trawling theses. The Calichon is number ten. The Caliche, a phantom ship that appears at night near the island of Chiloe, is one of the most well-known stories of Chiltoma folklore in southern Chile. The ship, according to local tradition, is a conscious entity that sails the seas around the city, bearing the souls of all those who have drowned at sea.
The Caliche is a beautifully lovely and bright creature that is often accompanied by the sounds of party music and people smiling as it is spotted. The ship is said to vanish or submerge itself beneath the water after emerging for a few moments. The drowned spirits are called to the ship by the Sirena Chiltoma, the Pincay, and the Picky, three Chiltoma “sea spirits” that resemble mermaids, according to Chiltoma mythology. The drowned were said to regain their lives as they were until they died while onboard the phantom ship. The SS Valencia is number nine. The ѕtеаmеr ship SS Vаlеnсіа ѕаnk off thе соаѕt оf Vаnсоuvеr, British Columbia, іn 1906.
The ѕhір had bееn hіt by bad wеаthеr nеаr Cape Mеndосіnо, and had drіftеd оff соurѕе, hіttіng a rееf аnd tаkіng оn water. The crew began ѕіnkіng lifeboats containing the ѕhір’ѕ 108 раѕѕеngеrѕ іntо thе water аѕ ѕооn аѕ роѕѕіblе, but some of them сарѕіzеd аnd оnе vаnіѕhеd. Just 37 of the approximately 180 passengers on board survived the sinking of the Valencia. A fisherman reported five months later that he had uncovered a life raft with eight skeletons in a nearby cave. A search was conducted, but no results were found.
Valencia became the focus of several ghost ship stories as a result of its tragic conclusion. Sailors claimed to see the steamer’s specter floating near the reefing PA Chena Point, and the ship continues to be the subject of many crazy hypotheses and ghost ship sightings to this day. One of the Valencia’s life rafts was discovered floating happily in nearby Barkley Sound 27 years after the ship sank.
The “ghost raft” was said to be in outstanding condition, with much of its original paint coat remaining intact. The Ouyang Medan is number eight. The story of the Ouyang Medan begins in 1947, when two American ships were cruising the Strait of Malacca, off the coast of Malaysia, when they received a distress call. The caller appeared to be a member of the Ouyang Medan crew, a Dutch ship, and claimed that the ship’s Captain and crew were dead or dying.
Before fading off and finishing with the words “Edie,” the texts were jumbled and bizarre. The ships rushed to the scene to assist. When they returned, they discovered that the Ouyang Medan had sustained no injury, but that the entire crew, including the ship’s dog, had perished. Many were pointing at something that wasn’t there, and their bodies and faces were frozen in frightened poses and gestures.
The ship mysteriously catches fire, forcing the rescuers to evacuate before they could explore further. The Ouyang Medan is said to have exploded shortly after and then sunk. Although the facts and overall integrity of the Ouyang Medan story are still being discussed, multiple hypotheses on what caused the crew’s death have been suggested. The most common theory is that the ship secretly shipped nitroglycerin or another illicit nerve agent, which leaked into the cabins due to inadequate security.
Others, on the other hand, have suggested that the ship was the object of a UFO attack or some other paranormal case. The Carroll A Deering is number seven. The Carroll A Deering, a schooner that runs aground near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 1921, is probably the most prominent ghost ship on the Eastern Seaboard. The ship had just returned from a commercial trip to supply coal in South America, and a lightship near Cape Lookout had last seen it just south of Hatteras.
It ran aground in the infamous Diamond Shoals, a notorious shipwreck hotspot, and remained there for days before any assistance arrived. When the Coast Guard landed, they learned the ship had been sunk completely. The navigation devices and logbook, as well as the two lifeboats, were all missing, but there were no other indications of foul play. The US government conducted a major probe, which found that many other ships had vanished under suspicious circumstances at the same time.
Eventually, many hypotheses emerged, the most common of which was that the ship was hijacked by pirates or rumrunners. Others speculated that mutiny was to blame, as the Deering’s first mate was considered to harbor grudges against the captain, but no conclusive evidence has been found. The enigma surrounding the ghost ship has sparked a flurry of excitement. Many people have speculated that ghost activity was to blame, citing the ship’s passage through the notorious Bermuda Triangle as evidence that something supernatural was at work.
The Bayham is number six. The Bayham, a freight steamer stranded and drifting the waters around Alaska for almost forty years, is one of the most remarkable examples of a real-life ghost ship. The Hudson Bay Company owned the ship, which was built in the early 1920s and used to exchange pelts and furs with Inuit in northern Canada. However, the Bayham got stuck in pack ice near Alaska in 1931, and its crew was airlifted out of the area to safety following several attempts to break it free. The ship managed to break out of the ice after a strong blizzard, but it was badly crippled and abandoned by the Hudson Bay Company, which believed it wouldn’t survive the winter.
The Bayham miraculously managed to remain alive, drifting in the waters off Alaska for the next 38 years. The ship became something of a local legend, as it was often seen floating aimlessly by the ice packs of Eskimos and other ships. It was boarded many times, but the conditions made salvaging it virtually difficult each time. The Bayham was last seen in 1969, frozen in the ice of Alaska, but it has since vanished. In the intervening years, the ship is presumed to have sunk, but several expeditions have recently been undertaken in search of a nearly 80-year-old ghost ship.
