The seas and oceans have always kept many secrets. Many legends, tales are associated with the cruel sea gods, with creatures that live in the dark depths of the waters. And even in modern times, there are stories about frightening and mysterious ghost ships, which sailors can meet in the open sea, in the ocean.
Mystical and mysterious, scary and dark stories, fairy tales, legends at all times aroused a keen interest in people. If you go to the popular youtube video resource, you can find many channels, the subject of which is all inexplicable, otherworldly. One of the popular topics that can be found not only on YouTube, but also simply on the net, in books and in movies, is the theme of ghost ships.
Most of the legends associated with ships date back to 1600-1900. However, now every now and then new stories are being formed, when some liner suffers an unexpected wreck, and then it is noticed in the sea / ocean waters, or in those situations when the ship suddenly suddenly disappears in one place, and then it is seen completely in others. areas.
The fear of such ships is quite justified: meeting with a drifting, uncontrollable ship is a very real danger for sailors and travelers, especially in bad weather. However, many ghost ship legends have additional creepy features and nuances. It is said about some ships that meeting with them promises the death of the entire crew on board. Others say that they are cursed, and as soon as the sailor looks at the ship that came from nowhere, he - the sailor - will immediately turn to ashes or his soul will be forever cursed, after death "hovering" between the worlds.
In myths and folklore of different peoples, the image of a dangerous ship emerging from fog or raging dark waters is very popular. So, for example, in German-Scandinavian mythology there is a ship called Naglfar. This ship is all created from the nails of the dead, the god Loki himself controls the ship, and it should appear at the hour of judgment, when Ragnarok begins (the death of the gods and worlds). In addition, the image of a terrible ghost ship appears in northern fairy tales. For example, in the story of "Yu from the Sea Islands" there is a moment in which it is told about the once sunken sailing ship, on board of which the dead moan and cry - fishermen, sailors and drowned men.
Among the numerous - old and new - stories about ghost ships, there are several especially curious and remarkable ones, which are actively discussed to this day and arouse genuine interest.
"Caleuche" - cheerful ghost ship
The legend of the ship "Kaleuche" is widespread in the Chileo Islands. This archipelago is located in the Pacific Ocean. And it is noteworthy that the story of this dead ship is in many ways different from the legends about other ghost ships.
Anyone can see Kaleuche. This ship appears off the coast of the islands every night. But according to legend, it poses a serious danger to any living person. Rumor has it that even if you look at this ship with one eye, you can turn into a stone, dry bush or tree. Moreover, the human soul will remain alive, forever imprisoned inside a frozen body.
"Kaleuche" emerges from the sea waves even in bad weather, it comes close to the archipelago. However, it is visible only for a couple of minutes, after which, as they say, it rapidly plunges back into the depths of ocean waters.
Another distinctive feature of this ghost ship is that outwardly it looks extremely alluring and attractive. "Kaleuche" is a bright ship. Laughter and music are heard from his bot, not moans and curses, although according to legend, there are dead people aboard the ship who have emerged from the Pacific waters.
The local residents of the Chileo Islands believe that this ship is operated by mermaids and three local water spirits: Pico, Chilota and Pinkoya.
"Copenhagen" ("København") - Danish ghost sailing ship
Unlike "Kaleuche", which has no sensible background and, in principle, it is not clear where this ghost ship came from, the sailing ship "Copenhagen" has its own history, it did not immediately become a mysterious ship.
This vessel was built in 1921 in Denmark. By those standards, the sailboat turned out to be very reliable and well equipped. It had a steel planking, several sturdy match with strong sails, electric drives, a radio station. The sailing ship was created as a training one, and after that it was involved in the transportation of sea cargo.
In the early years there were no problems with Copenhagen, but in 1928 a tragedy struck. The ship suddenly disappeared from the radar. All communication with him was cut off. At that moment, there were more than sixty people on board the sailing ship. The last time "Copenhagen" got in touch at the end of December of the specified year.
When it became clear that there was no point in waiting for someone from the crew of the lost sailboat to give a signal, including SOS, it was decided to put the ship on the wanted list. After some time, the captains of two steamers from England and Norway reported that, while in the southern waters of the Atlantic Ocean, they were able to catch a signal emanating from the Copenhagen. According to both sailors, at that time everything was in order with the crew, cargo and the sailboat itself. Search teams were immediately sent to the indicated coordinates, which, however, returned with nothing. They could not find the missing sailboat and did not even manage to get in touch with the Danes.
In late 1929, it was announced that Copenhagen had mysteriously disappeared. For the official record, it was recorded that the ship was wrecked due to an unexpected storm, all crew members were killed.
A few years later - in 1932 - the story of the disappeared Copenhagen surfaced again. This happened because skeletons were discovered on the territory of the African Namib Desert, which were later identified as several sailors from a Danish sailing ship. How people ended up in this area is still a mystery.
In 1959, Copenhagen showed itself to the world for the first time. The ghost ship emerged from the ocean waters near Africa and in full sail rushed to the Dutch steamer, the captain of which only miraculously managed to avoid collision and it was he who later told this story. According to him, the ship looked brand new, without damage. The ghost ship, having flown past the Dutch steamer, in a moment simply melted over the ocean water. Both the captain and the sailors managed to read the name stamped on the side of the vessel - "København".
Tragic love story aboard "Lady Lovibond"
On February 13, 1748, a wedding was celebrated aboard the Lady Lovibond. The young groom was the captain of the ship himself. The numerous guests present at the celebration, as well as the entire crew of the ship, had fun, had fun and celebrated the holiday. However, among them there was one person, on whose face there was neither happiness nor joy. This man was the captain's chief mate and concurrently his close friend. The reason for the man's despondency was simple: he had tender feelings for his young wife and dreamed that she would belong to him.
Towards night, drunk and distraught with grief, the young man decided on a terrible act. While all the guests and newlyweds were asleep, he made his way to the deck, killed the helmsman, and took the helm himself. Overcome with bitter feelings, the man in love led the Lady Lovibond towards the Goodwin Miles, where sailing ships and steamers often crashed. As a result, with the arrival of a new morning, not a trace remained of the ship. No one knows whether it crashed or simply evaporated: the connection was lost, but the wreckage of the ship could not be found.
In 1798, Lady Lovibond was spotted near Kent. The ship swept across the sea in full sail and eventually disappeared. From that moment on, the ghost ship catches the eye of sailors and travelers every fifty years and only on February 13th. Eyewitnesses said that the ship looked so real, real, tangible that they tried to help it, to prevent it going aground, but all attempts were in vain.
Rumor has it that the next ship "Lady Lovibond" should appear on February 2048.
The legendary "Flying Dutchman" ("De Vliegende Hollander")
A terrible story happened to the ship "Flying Dutchman", which was led by Captain Philip Van der Decken, in the mid-1600s. The vessel, in addition to cargo, carried the newlyweds. The captain fell madly in love with a young girl, so he committed a crime. At night, he killed his young husband, and then offered the inconsolable widow to become his wife. But the girl, terrified, rejected such an offer, and then committed suicide by throwing herself into the cold waters from the side of the ship.
After a while, the Flying Dutchman was caught in a terrible storm. The sailors said that the storm was sent by the gods for the murder of a young man and the martyrdom of a girl. The captain was offered to lead the ship into the bay in order to wait out the storm, and only then round the Cape of Good Hope, near which the ship was at that moment. However, Philip did not appreciate such a proposal. Angered, he shot several sailors and then cursed both the entire crew and himself and his ship. He stated that no one would ever leave the Flying Dutchman and stop the ship in a quiet backwater until they crossed the Cape of Good Hope.
Since then, the "Flying Dutchman" with the whole team and his cruel captain is forced to wander the waves until the end of time. Once every ten years, the captain gets the opportunity to go ashore and try to find a woman who voluntarily marries him. Only then will the curse be lifted.
Rumor has it that meeting this creepy ship does not bode well. The ships that saw the ghost on the waves were doomed to perish. But some seafarers also say that during a meeting with the Flying Dutchman, they received messages from the dead - people who, for one reason or another, perished in the sea waters.
The steamer "SS Valencia" ("SS Valencia") - the haven of the dead
The SS Valencia was a passenger steamer. In the early 1900s, the ship was caught in a terrible storm. On board at that moment there were more than one hundred and fifty people.
Panic broke out on the ship. The sailors managed to launch some of the boats when it became clear that the ship was about to sink. However, this did not help all passengers to escape. SS Valencia crashed near Vancouver. Those waters had previously been dubbed a cemetery in the Pacific Ocean. According to the data, only about forty people were able to get out of the storm.
A couple of months later, a boat was discovered in one of the bays, which had previously been lowered from the SS Valencia. There were several skeletons inside it. And after a while, travelers and fishermen began to talk about what they saw on the waves of a ghostly steamer. On board were skeletons, the dead and spirits who tried to escape, not realizing that they were no longer alive. As a rule, the ghost steamer appears exclusively in bad weather and is a truly eerie sight.
