19 replies to this topic

[Jerome]

I'm interested in knowing if anyone's ever seen one or knows stories of one or a few. Like pirate ships, maybe navy fleets, armadas, etc. Anything.

[DukeofBoogie]

I remeber back on my first trip to Salem MA, we took a ghost tour. The guide told a story of a ghost ship in Salem Harbor, but I can't remember the detials. I'll have to see if I can dig something up.

[axlfoley]

I just want to know, has there been any Titanic ghost sightings? I mean it was such a major disaster so there should be reports of sightings right?

[Ryder66]

I'm also interested in ghost ships and ghost stories relating to ships. I found this great web site, http://perdurabo10.t...hips/id102.html. This is just one of the stories, but if you check the rest of the site, there is some really interesting stuff.

[Jerome]

That was a great article Ryder. I thank you for that. I would think there'd be a ghost (ship) of the Titanic. With as many people who died on it or near it and the way it went down, I wouldn't be surprised if there was. Maybe it only sails aound the spot it went down. Or sits there for awhile. Don't know.

[Kingloser]

Hi, this is my first post here. I will relate a haunted ship story from my neck of the woods.

Were I grew in Southeast Texas there was a local story about the battle of Sabine Pass concerning a Union gunner who was decapitated during the battle on the gunboat Clifton. The battle was won by the Confederates and the Clifton was converted to blockade runner that was grounded on the mud flats outside of Sabine Pass and was scuttled and burned by the crew leaving the stack. The story was that particular gunner's ghost would occasionally be seen headless around the wreck of the Clifton. The ghost never screamed but emitted a gurgling or huffing noise, I would guess sans his head. Their were no more encounters after 1957 when Hurricane Audrey washed the stack of the Clifton out into the Gulf.

Now we know as a fact that the Clifton was captured and one of her crewmen was identified as decapitated. The grounding and burning of the Clifton is also an established fact. I will leave the rest up to speculation.

[Roxie Z]

I am always seeking out stories of Ghost Ships here in New England - and I have found many tales that I cover on our tours...

Here are two of my favorite...

The Frightful Blizzard of 1778 - and the Ghost Ship of Plymouth Harbor


Located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Duxbury was once called Mattakeesett, meaning "place of many fish" by the Wampanoag Native Americans. This coastal colony first served as farmlands for the Plymouth settlers, beginning in 1627 and was officially incorporated in 1637. The community's leader was Captain Myles Standish, who had arrived as one of the first Colonists aboard the Mayflower. Duxbury was known as a rebellious community during the days of the American Revolution with little to no tolerance for any of the British loyalists.

In 1778 a frightful blizzard blew into the area severely affecting the Duxbury and Plymouth harbors. The armed brigantine the General Arnold, under the command of Captain James Magee of Boston, was perilously in danger offshore.

The ship dropped anchor and was hung up in an area known as White Flats. Fierce waves pummeled the ship and the bitter winter temperatures dropped below zero. In a blinding snowstorm the crew desperately tried to survive the night, but by morning 72 of them had frozen to death. The dead bodies were strewn about the ship and many of them were described as having ghastly post-mortem expressions.

The residents of the area were stunned by the sight that revealed itself once the storm subsided. A mass grave for 60 of the dead was created in a hilltop Plymouth graveyard.

Many locals of both towns claim to see the image of this phantom ship to this day in the harbors, almost like a mirage. This tragedy was embedded in the history books back in the 18th century, and over two centuries later it is still a major topic of the maritime heritage discussions in these old townships.


At Old Burial Hill in Plymouth you can visit the memorial for the ship's crew and passengers.

The inscription on the northeasterly side is:



In memory of Seventy two Seamen who perished in Plymouth harbour
on the 26, and 27, days of December 1778,
on board the private armed Brig, Gen. Arnold, of twenty guns,
James Magee of Boston, Commander, sixty of whom were buried on this spot.

On the northwesterly side: --

Capt. James Magee died in Roxbury, February 4, 1801; aged 51 years.

On the southwesterly side: --

Oh! falsely flattering were yon billows smooth
When forth, elated, sailed in evil hour,
That vessel whose disastrous fate, when told,
Fill'd every breast with sorrow and each eye
With piteous tears.

On the southeasterly side: --

This monument marks the resting place of sixty of the seventy two mariners,
"who perished in their strife with the storm,"
and is erected by Stephen Gale of Portland, Maine, a stranger to them,
as a just memorial of their sufferings and death.


As for the cemetery itself, it contains some of the earliest gravestones in New England. Many stones in the cemetery date to the late 1680s, although it is claimed that some of the Mayflower passengers were buried on the hill. Over the years people have claimed to photograph orbs and unusual ghostly anomolies. Others have claimed to feel spirits around them as they walk the peaceful lanes of this very old burial ground.

My second tale...

research I came across the tale of the sailing ship the Mary Celeste. The 100-foot brigatine of 282 tons was from Marion, Massachusetts, in the beautiful coastal community of Buzzards Bay . In 1872, on the way to Genoa, Italy, by way of the port of New York where the ship was cargoed with 1,700 barrels of raw alcohol, something went awry... and cannot be explained to this day.


Read the story here along with a little history on this fascinating small town: http://www.mass.gov/...003/pdf/c40.pdf


Hope this helps you in your quest...

[Axman]

There are several retired US Navy vessels that are haunted such as the USS Hornet and the USS N. Carolina.

Has anyone here in GV ever seen a Flying Dutchman?

[DeadTrish]

There is a couple haunted ships out this way. One is the Moshulu. It's actually a high scale restaurant so we haven't gotten a chance to actually investigate it. There is also a submarine and another ship in Penn's landing. The ship is the Olympia and I believe it is the ship that carried the casket with the unknown solider in it. (not real sure about that yet) There is also a ship that makes it way up here every once in a while that is supposed to have activity. Penn's landing seems to be a hot spot for haunted ship.

[Donna@DPI]

Hi there,

My very first investigation was on a ship in Dundee, Scotland. HMS Frigate Unicorn - 7th May 2006. This is the history behind the birth of this absolutely mesmerising boat.

Our YouTube Video Of Investigation

Selection of Images


It was designed as one of the last of the successful Leda class frigates. It was built for The Royal Navy in Chatham dockyard, and she was launched in 1824. She was one of the most successful, charismatic ship designs of its age. She is a unique survivor from the brief transitional period between the traditional wooden sailing ship and the revolutionary iron steamship.

The lines were based on a French frigate, the Hebe, captured in 1782, and the whole class was one of the best of the age. It included such fine ships as the famous Shannon, which captured the American Chesapeake, and the Trincomalee, now under reconstruction at Hartlepool, which is the only ship afloat in Britain older than The Unicorn.

The Unicorn's keel was laid in February 1822 on No. 4 slip in the Royal Dockyard at Chatham, and she was launched on 30th March 1824. As this was during a period of settled peace, she was roofed over immediately and laid up in reserve, or ordinary as it was then called, and so she remained.
From 1857 to 1862 she was lent to the War Department for use as a powder hulk at Woolwich, and on her return was laid up again at Sheerness. By then the sailing warship had been well and truly outclassed by steam power, but Unicorn’s protected existence meant that her hull was in excellent condition (it is now almost certainly the best preserved and least altered old wooden hull in the world) and she was selected for conversion to a Drill Ship for the Royal Naval Reserve at Dundee.

In November 1873 Unicorn sailed for Dundee in tow of HM Paddle Sloop Salamander, and on her arrival she replaced HMS Brilliant, which was taken to Inverness and later renamed HMS Briton. In 1906 Unicorn was taken over by the newly-formed Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and when the Reserves were combined after the Second World War she came under the new, unified Royal Naval Reserve.

During both World Wars she played an important part as the Area Headquarters of the Senior Naval Officer, Dundee. However this quiet existence did mean that when the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Earl Stanhope, was asked to select a name for a new aircraft carrier he is reputed to have picked the name Unicorn, not realising that the name was already in use.

To avoid embarrassment, the Frigate's name was changed to Unicorn II in 1939, and in 1941 she became HMS Cressy when it was found that having two ships named Unicorn created great confusion with mail and drafting.

In 1959, after the aircraft carrier had been scrapped, the Frigate was renamed HMS Unicorn by Mrs. Keay, widow of Captain W. F. Keay who had commanded Unicorn throughout the war. For almost a century, since her arrival in Dundee, Unicorn had been berthed in the Earl Grey Dock, but in 1961 the Admiralty were informed that this dock was to be filled in to make way for the new Tay Road Bridge, and it was decided that the ship should be scrapped.

At the last moment, Captain Anderson, a former Captain of Unicorn, succeeded in having this decision changed and in 1962 Unicorn was moved down river to a new berth. 1967 saw work started on the Tay Division R.N.R. new shore headquarters, now HMS Camperdown, and again Unicorn's future hung in the balance.

Captain Stewart started a move to ensure her permanent preservation, and the outcome was the formation, in 1968, of the Unicorn Preservation Society, chaired by Lord Dalhousie, with the exciting aim of preserving Unicorn for posterity.

Finally, on the 26th September, 1968, Prince Philip accepted HMS Unicorn from the Navy on behalf of the newly formed Society. When the Queen Mother carried out the naming ceremony for HMS Camperdown on Trafalgar Day in 1970, she afterwards visited Unicorn and later graciously consented to become the society's Patron.


Here is the investigation report from that visit.

On first arriving at The Unicorn, we walked around the decks, setting up a night vision CCTV video camera and trigger objects in the hope of capturing any movement.

Whilst on the walkabout, Karen felt as if she was being watched by a man standing by the stairs on the upper deck. She attempted to capture a photo although, after several attempts, it became evident that he was affecting her camera. Keli immediately took a picture of her and we were later to discover that she had her image was quite considerably distorted on the photograph whilst the appearance of Donna, who was standing next to her, was unaltered.

Karen, of course could have moved at the time the image was being captured and this could explain the distorted appearance.

During this time, Kelly and Tommy toured the mess deck area, both reported hearing a low grumbling sound and Kelly felt something or someone touch her leg directly following the noise.

Quite a few light anomalies were captured on video camera on the upper deck as we carried out a pre-investigation tour; it is generally thought that these anomalies are in fact dust particles and not paranormal phenomena.

Trigger objects were placed on all levels of the ship and left for the duration.

We left the mess and ventured further down to the Orlop deck. Both Kelly and Donna heard a harsh breath. Karen came across a wooden grid in the floor of the deck. She removed it and decided to do a lone vigil lying down in there. She felt the presence of a man, this was not threatening but someone she felt at ease to have around. Upon reviewing the video footage from this vigil, just prior to Karen acknowledging this presence, you can hear a thick, fast Scottish dialect saying what we think to be either "it's all right" or "jus go right".

We proceeded back up to the Mess Deck. As Karen wandered around, Kelly captured quite a number of solid light anomalies on video camera. As they seemed to be responding, we decided to sit around one of the tables to perform pendulum divination. After asking a series of questions, it was noticed that one of the lanterns that hung from the ceiling was swinging in a controlled circular motion. We then explored the officer’s mess and set up another séance. We picked up knocks on request and again caught light anomalies on camera. Jane had reported feeling the presence of a female figure, reporting also stomach pain which had similar characteristics to that of childbirth.

We returned to the Officers Mess and continued divination. During this time a male spirit came through with a message for Donna, after confirming this person’s identity, this figure stepped back and the atmosphere felt almost flat. With a few minutes the glass was again moving, this time gentlemen with a more “negative” feel. He remained with us for a few minutes, in that time a knock was heard by all from the surgeon’s cabin, Karen and Tommy reported feeling someone behind them. One particular photograph that was taken at the time of the séance showed the appearance of Tommy’s face to look different and Karen’s ears resembled what only can be compared to a pixie, whilst we are unsure as to how this image would or could have been created (lighting, motion etc), we know it makes for much amusement within the team!

Following this event, a solid, fast moving light anomaly was captured behind both Tommy and Karen; this can be seen in the video footage.

Negativity appeared to be increasing and our medium advised it better to call the night to an end.

On returning to the trigger objects, the cross that had been placed down had moved slightly but nothing was captured on the static camera. Overall, the team felt this was a really interesting evening and would be keen to study this magnificent historical frigate at a future date.

[Karen@DPI]

Really liked this invest as well all be it I ended up looking like a mad pixie.

[drwho]

I just want to know, has there been any Titanic ghost sightings? I mean it was such a major disaster so there should be reports of sightings right?

Hi this is my first post. I'm very interested in ghosts. This quote is slightly related to the topic;

"...she was hoping to get to see an episode of Ghostly Encounter on the Biography channel, as it was supposed to feature a woman who believes that her chunk of coal from Titanic has a spirit attached."

[starrskydreamer]

I am always seeking out stories of Ghost Ships here in New England - and I have found many tales that I cover on our tours...

Here are two of my favorite...

The Frightful Blizzard of 1778 - and the Ghost Ship of Plymouth Harbor


Located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts Duxbury was once called Mattakeesett, meaning "place of many fish" by the Wampanoag Native Americans. This coastal colony first served as farmlands for the Plymouth settlers, beginning in 1627 and was officially incorporated in 1637. The community's leader was Captain Myles Standish, who had arrived as one of the first Colonists aboard the Mayflower. Duxbury was known as a rebellious community during the days of the American Revolution with little to no tolerance for any of the British loyalists.

In 1778 a frightful blizzard blew into the area severely affecting the Duxbury and Plymouth harbors. The armed brigantine the General Arnold, under the command of Captain James Magee of Boston, was perilously in danger offshore.

The ship dropped anchor and was hung up in an area known as White Flats. Fierce waves pummeled the ship and the bitter winter temperatures dropped below zero. In a blinding snowstorm the crew desperately tried to survive the night, but by morning 72 of them had frozen to death. The dead bodies were strewn about the ship and many of them were described as having ghastly post-mortem expressions.

The residents of the area were stunned by the sight that revealed itself once the storm subsided. A mass grave for 60 of the dead was created in a hilltop Plymouth graveyard.

Many locals of both towns claim to see the image of this phantom ship to this day in the harbors, almost like a mirage. This tragedy was embedded in the history books back in the 18th century, and over two centuries later it is still a major topic of the maritime heritage discussions in these old townships.


At Old Burial Hill in Plymouth you can visit the memorial for the ship's crew and passengers.

The inscription on the northeasterly side is:



In memory of Seventy two Seamen who perished in Plymouth harbour
on the 26, and 27, days of December 1778,
on board the private armed Brig, Gen. Arnold, of twenty guns,
James Magee of Boston, Commander, sixty of whom were buried on this spot.

On the northwesterly side: --

Capt. James Magee died in Roxbury, February 4, 1801; aged 51 years.

On the southwesterly side: --

Oh! falsely flattering were yon billows smooth
When forth, elated, sailed in evil hour,
That vessel whose disastrous fate, when told,
Fill'd every breast with sorrow and each eye
With piteous tears.

On the southeasterly side: --

This monument marks the resting place of sixty of the seventy two mariners,
"who perished in their strife with the storm,"
and is erected by Stephen Gale of Portland, Maine, a stranger to them,
as a just memorial of their sufferings and death.


As for the cemetery itself, it contains some of the earliest gravestones in New England. Many stones in the cemetery date to the late 1680s, although it is claimed that some of the Mayflower passengers were buried on the hill. Over the years people have claimed to photograph orbs and unusual ghostly anomolies. Others have claimed to feel spirits around them as they walk the peaceful lanes of this very old burial ground.

My second tale...

research I came across the tale of the sailing ship the Mary Celeste. The 100-foot brigatine of 282 tons was from Marion, Massachusetts, in the beautiful coastal community of Buzzards Bay . In 1872, on the way to Genoa, Italy, by way of the port of New York where the ship was cargoed with 1,700 barrels of raw alcohol, something went awry... and cannot be explained to this day.


Read the story here along with a little history on this fascinating small town: http://www.mass.gov/...003/pdf/c40.pdf


Hope this helps you in your quest...

This is really an interesting one, as I just got a book I purchased on haunted lighthouses and one of the stories is on the Plymouth Bay Lighthouse in Mass. Just a coincidence or strange reason see two stories of ghosts in same place in one day !

[Roxie Z]

Maybe it's not just a coincidence...

[Meteorhunter]

I know a few stories, but the one I want to know more about, is the Pennsylvania project ship. It is said, the ship made appearances in two and other places at the same time. The ship is said to be seen sometimes floating over Nevada and Utah City and in the one surrounding Area 51 areas, It is also seen sometimes in other places. If you read the National UFO report web site, you will find reports every so often on floating Military ships seen by people around the world. I would like to see more reports or even a movie done about these sightings.
If you do some investigations on the Pennsylvania project, you will find some interesting information and this is what people are seeing still from that experiment.
I have seen so many ghost ship stories.... They are old!! ....But This story will always be interesting, no matter how far into history it goes.