As the old saying goes--what is an ocean but a multitude of drops--and yet, terrifyingly
for us, several of those drops in question seem to be spectral vessels that have since
haunted the Seven Seas, steering their way toward ghostly plunder and eternal servitude
to the murky depths.
Well, I mean--that was David Mitchell--but still, it sounds pretty cool, right?
The point is, over several parts of this list--we’ve scoured the ships manifest and detailed some
of the most haunting and horrifying historical entries of shanties and watery tales--and
luckily for us, there’s still plenty more where that came from.
Let’s take a look, shall we?
Hello horror fans, what’s going on--and once again, welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Ghost Ships That Haunt The Sea -- Part 3.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that scene was from 1979’s Dracula--starring Frank Langella
and Laurence Olivier--of course, based upon Bram Stoker’s classic gothic novel of the
same name.
And when we’re talking about ghost ships--yeah, you know what’s worse?
Vampire death ships.
I mean, I don’t think I need to clear up exactly why that’s the worse thing.
But hey--luckily for us, vampire death ships remain to be fictional.
Well, I mean--there was that one time, but that’s by the by.
Let’s take a look.
Kicking off at Number 5--The Caleuche
And for this first foray into these particular Ghost Ships that haunt the sea--we’re going
to be heading over to the mythologies of Chile, and the many legends that have been built
around it’s coastal landscape.
One of those, according to Chilean legend--is that of the Caleuche, a large ghost ship that
sails the seas of Chiloe--a small island just off the coast--where it only ever appears
at night.
The ship itself is said to appear as beautiful--cast in a bright white light, an enormous vessel
with 3 masts and 5 sails each.
It is said that when The Caleuche appears--it is always at night--and always full of lights
with the sounds of a great party and feast on board.
Quickly though, it disappears--plunging back beneath the murky depths.
Interestingly enough though, although this vessel is said to be similar to The Flying
Dutchman, there is a boatload of mythology relating to this particular legend.
One of these versions claims that the vessel is crewed by the drowned--souls lost at sea--who
are brought to the ship by three mythological figures in Chilean legend.
Two sisters, one of them the sirena chilota, a type of mermaid--and the other the Pincoya,
a type of water spirit said to protect the Chilean coast--and then their brother, the
Pincoy--their male counterpart who has the body of a sea lion.
Once aboard--the perished souls can resume their existence in an eternal revery of adventure.
However, there is a much more sinister version of this legend--which states that the crew
of The Caleuche instead sail the Chiloe Archipelago, luring fishermen and sailors toward it with
enchanting music to enslave them as part of their crew for eternity--where they are twisted
and contorted and put to work in their afterlife.
Yeah…
I’m pretty sure I prefer the first version.
Swinging in at Number 4 -- The Eliza Battle
And for this one--we’re pinching the parameters of the seven seas--and instead, we’re taking
a look at one of the most notorious maritime disasters--that instead of on an ocean, occurred
on a river--The Tombigbee River to be precise, a stretch of water that runs between Columbus,
Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama.
And here, we have the legend of the The Phantom Steamboat of the Tombigbee.
Back in 1852--one of the largest river steamboats constructed at the time, The Eliza Battle--was
put into service between the two Southern States.
During one particularly cold February in the winter of 1858, after the Eliza Battle had
departed the city of Columbus--the ship made its way downriver, stopping on the way at
Pickensville, Gainesville, Demopolis--and several other small river landings.
By the time that the steamboat had left off at Demopolis though, it was filled to the
rafters with passengers--and not only passengers, but also over 1200 bales of cotton to be ferried
to the final stop.
Now, although it roughly still remains a mystery--around 2 AM on March 1st 1858--about 30 miles downriver
from Demopolis, the crew of the Eliza Battle awoke startled to discover that the cotton
bales on the main deck were on fire.
Flames soared and quickly engulfed the ships hull--soon spreading out of control despite
the frigid temperatures, attributed to the oddly gusty evening.
The boat continued onward through--the entirety of its exterior completely engulfed in flames--and
cut off from their lifeboats, the passengers--many of them who had awoken dressed in their nightclothes--were
forced to plunge into the icy river below.
Now, some of them survived--mainly by floating atop the remaining cotton bales--but all in
all, over thirty-three people lost their lives--both crew and passengers included.
The Eliza Battle quickly sank beneath the water--the wreckage of which still lingers
at the bottom of the Tombigbee River.
It is said though, on a particularly cold and windy night--the Eliza Battle will emerge
from the icy fog--engulfed in flames once again--a warning sign of an oncoming ill omen.
Next up at Number 3--The Fireship of Baie des Chaleurs
Which, I mean--come on guys, that’s probably the most awesome sounding title to anything
on these historical lists, right?
The Fireship of Baie des Chaleurs, sounds like something that Geralt of Rivia himself
would sail down to Skellige after a summer in Toussaint--but whatever, that’s by the
by--because this vessel in question actually takes us over to the eternally autumnal Eastern
tones of New Brunswick, Canada.
Now, the Fireship of Baie des Chaleurs, is also more commonly referred to as the Chaleur
Phantom or the Phantom Ship--and it often takes the form of a series of ghost lights
just before a storm, appearing as a large, three mast galley.
Now, the actual mechanics of this phenomenon are dubiously debated--and many believe it’s
cause to be down to either the weather phenomenon of St. Elmo’s fire--or an undersea release
of natural gas after a patch of rotting vegetation just off the New Brunswick coast.
I mean--that’s a completely different story entirely, but what we’re concerned with--is
the actual origin of the Fireship.
The history of which, is equal parts tragic and gruesome.
As the legend goes--back in 1501--a Portuguese captain had spent a year pillaging the coast
of Baie des Chaleurs, capturing Mi’kmaw natives for the slave trade.
However, his cutthroat agenda was miscalculated--as a year later, when he returned to the region
on his second trip, he was captured--tortured and killed by the Mi'kmaq people in revenge
for their kidnapped people.
The legend didn’t end there though--because a year later, the brother of the Portuguese
Captain sailed to the Bay in search of his missing sibling--and upon seeing the same
flags, the Mi'kmaq people attacked the ship--setting it ablaze whilst it was moored in the bay.
Cut off, burning--and with certain death facing them--the sailors swore to haunt the bay for
a thousand years--as their blazing fireship sank into the Baie des Chaleurs.
Now, whilst later both Mi’kmaw and Portuguese casualties washed up on the shores of the
island, the Bay itself is said to be haunted by those that perished--often appearing as
distraught sailors and warriors, their flesh burnt by the Fireship.
Swinging in at Number 2 -- The Princess Augusta
And on the topic of ghostly phenomenon, this particular apparition is perhaps one of the
most well documented ghost ships of the 18th century--although the actual history behind
it is shrouded in intrigue.
Although the folklore account of this particular vessel is based upon the historical wreck
of the Princess Augusta, a ship that sailed out of Rotterdam in August 1738 under the
command of Captain George Long--in more modern records, it is commonly referred to as the
Palatine, where the Palatine Light--the apparition in question, famously gets its name.
And the reason for that, is down to the nature of the ship.
Alongside 14 of his crew, Captain Long’s directive was to transport 240 German Immigrants,
from the Palatinate Region of the Rhineland--to build a new life for themselves in Philadelphia.
However, we know that this is the tale of a ghost ship--and from the offset, their vessel
was afflicted with some terribly tragic luck.
Not long after passing through the Atlantic, the Princess Augusta’s water supply was
contaminated--causing a fever and flux to spread through the ship, killing 200 of its
passengers, half the crew--and the Captain himself.
The ship’s first mate, Andrew Brook, quickly took command--as the survivors leapt out of
the frying pan and into the fire, getting hit by severe storms that pushed the ship
far off course to the north.
They endured three months of extreme weather and dwindling supplies--when eventually they
emerged, shipwrecked in Block Island, not far from Rhode Island.
Here, the tale splits--but one thing is certain.
Andrew Brook, the First Mate and Commanding Captain, took what remained of his crew and
rowed ashore--without once looking back at the cursed ship.
It is said that some of the passengers survived, aided by the Block Islanders--but little to
nothing is known about those that survived the voyage.
As the legend goes, The Princess Augusta was set alight from the coast in the dead of night--pushed
out to sea to burn and disappear.
At night, they say that if you listen closely--you can hear the screams of those that didn’t
make it back to shore.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--The Duc de Dantzig
And for our most terrifying ghost ship on this list--of course, it has to be a brutal
and bloodthirsty Pirate Ship--a privateer that plundered her way across the Caribbean--notoriously
in the name of it’s royal namesake, The Duke of Danzig.
Now, after she was launched under the French banner on 12th February 1808--the Duke of
Dantzig--this ships seafaring career was relatively quiet for the first few years of service--mainly
acting as a letter of marque, a deterrent--more so than a private man-of-war.
However, her fate quickly changed--after changing command, and sailing under the French Captain,
Francois Aregnaudea.
Now, his intentions were to sail and plunder his way across the seven seas--and plunder
he did, from Liverpool to Barbados--capturing and scuttling more ships than he could count
on his way.
However, despite being a vessel of the French Empire--strangely enough, sometime after late
June 1812--The Duke of Danzig just… disappeared.
Although there are several records catching a glimpse of her around Canada--she was never
seen again.
After the last mention of her, it was thought she had been destroyed by a tropical cyclone--or
sunk in the night after an encounter with a British Frigate, however--as the legend
goes, that was not the last of the Duke of Danzig.
After the Golden Age of Piracy had been sated--a captain by the name of Napoleon Gallois relayed
his records of a French Frigate encountering the wreck of the Duke of Danzig, drifting
listlessly at sea.
As his crew witnessed--the ship itself was covered from helm to hull in dried blood--and
in staggered rows, were the putrefying corpses of her crew, many of which were brutally crucified
to the masts or the deck.
Strangely enough, there were no signs that she had been in recent battle--in fact, despite
the blood--she was pristine.
No shot holes--and her sails and rigging intact.
After searching the ship, Gallois’ crew found a stack of blood stained papers, identifying
the captain as the same Francois Aregnaudeau.
As they left--the crew of the frigate set the brig ablaze--forever to be buried at sea,
along with its mystery.
Well, there we have it horror fans--our list for the Top 5 Scariest Ghost Ships That Haunt
The Sea--what do you guys think?
Do you have any more to add?
Or just any intriguing insights of your own?
Let us know your thoughts, as well as any choice picks--down in the comment section
below.
Before we depart from today's video, let’s first take a quick look at some of your more
creative comments from over the past few days.
Vicky Wiley says---
What does LLC in Hell House LLC mean?
-- Well Vicky, it stands for limited liability company--and in Hell House’s case, I’m
fairly confident that they didn’t have the public liability to cover that kind of haunting.
Yeah.
There’s a business venture for you--paranormal insurance.
Well, before I give away any more of my trade secrets--unfortunately that’s all we’ve
got time for in today's video, cheers for sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video, or just Top 5 Scary Videos in general, then please--be
a dear and hit that thumbs up button, as well as that subscribe bell, and I’ll be seeing
you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch, you’ve been watching Top 5 Scary
Videos--and until next time, you take it easy.