The Eerie Stories Of Mysterious Ghost Ships

When you hear about ghost ships, what comes to mind? The chances are they’re the creepy ships that sail the seas, manned by a crew of people who have all lost their lives. It might even be something more specific, like tales of the Flying Dutchman, a ship destined to sail the seas until its captain finds his true love.

Whatever the case, those supernatural sailings might have more to them than meets the eye. At least, that’s what the eerie stories of mysterious ghost ships would have us believe. What if there is more to the tales than anyone ever thought? That’s what some certainly believe.

The SS Baychimo might have been sailing for decades without a crew

The SS Baychimo might be one of the eeriest ghost ships of all time, with the ship sailing around the world several times - until October 1931. The SS Baychimo was trapped in the ice around the Arctic with the crew stuck on board. Thankfully, a storm broke the ship free around a month later, but a week of floating around saw the crew rule the SS Baychimo as a lost cause and abandon ship. The strange part comes when the ship continued to make its journey without a crew, with people spotting it several times in the 1930s. Then, in 1962 and 1969, it was spotted twice more in the Arctic. No wreckage has ever been found, with some thinking the SS Baychimo has been sailing the seas without its crew for decades.

The Mary Celeste was found hundreds of miles away with no crew in sight

The Mary Celeste was already plagued with bad luck, such as an accident on the water and the passing of its captain, but it was in November 1872, when it set off from New York to Italy, that things changed. The ship never arrived but was instead found hundreds of miles away on December 5. There are no signs of life, a hold filled with food, and a missing lifeboat. Plus, the Mary Celeste was largely undamaged. What happened? No one really knows. While some have put down the crew’s disappearance as a deep sea monster, others believe that a mutiny took place or the drink on board exploded. Then there’s the idea that the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship amid fears they were sinking, only for them to get lost at sea. Whatever the case, there has never been an official answer.

The Teignmouth Electron was supposed to make it around the world

Some ghost ships are relatively recent, with the Teignmouth Electron getting people talking in 1968. Donald Crowhurst was behind the wheel and hoped to make it around the world as a part of the Sunday Times Golden Globes Race. A one-person boat was tasked with making it back to the start point, but Donald was far from prepared. In fact, he never got out of the Atlantic. Instead, the captain figured he would lie about where he had been, state he passed his competition, and make it over the finish line just before everyone else. Sadly, the Teignmouth Electron was found drifting with no one on board. Donald’s family has long been convinced he didn’t end his own life, but the log he left behind is erratic and becomes increasingly more rambled as the days go on. The last entry of them all is particularly dark, ending “It is finished IT IS MERCY.”

The Octavius completed its journey with a crew frozen in time

We need to travel all the way back to 1762 to learn about the Octavius, a ship that was meant to return to England after travels to Asia. The weather was on their side, with the captain deciding it was worth the risk of traveling through the Northwest Passage, something that had never been completed successfully before. That was the last anyone knew for 13 years. That was until 1775 when the ship Herald was sailing near Greenland and spotted the Octavius frozen in the ice. The crew stepped onto the ship with no idea they would find all of the crew had lost their lives below the deck. The most terrifying part was how they had all been frozen in the ice - and time - with the captain still writing his note alongside his wife and child. The last log placed the Octavius near Alaska, meaning they had somehow made it through the Northwest Passage, but the crew had lost their lives long before the end. Still, things get stranger when it comes to how they passed. Hypothermia could be to blame, but how was everyone going about their usual tasks? Then there’s the fact there’s no log of the Octavius, but there is one of the Gloriana, which was found in similar bizarre circumstances the exact same year.

The eerie stories of mysterious ghost ships go to show there might be more to the creepy tales than just whispers of the supernatural. What if there really are ghost ships out there on the water after all?