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29 June 2023 — While NMHS Senior Staff Writer Shelley Reid is away for a few weeks this summer, we're sharing encore installments of Sea History Today. This week, we hope you enjoy this installment from October 2021.

As Halloween approaches, our popular imagination is drawn towards mysteries and ghost stories. Maritime lore certainly has its share of hauntings and things that go bump in the night!

The granddaddy of haunted ship stories, of course, is the Flying Dutchman—the ghost ship doomed to sail the seas forever, a harbinger of bad luck to those who behold her. The first written mention of the legend appeared in 1790 in John MacDonald’s Travels, in Various Parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, During a Series of Thirty Years and Upwards:

The weather was so stormy, that the sailors said they saw the flying Dutchman. The common story is, that this Dutchman came to the Cape in distress of weather, and wanted to get into the harbour, but could not get a pilot to conduct her, and was lost; and that ever since, in very bad weather, her vision appears.

The Flying Dutchman, by Albert Pinkham Ryder c. 1887 depicting the legendary ghost ship doomed to sail the oceans forever. Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The story appeared subsequently in numerous literary accounts, and the details were varied: the ship carried the plague, the captain let his pride get the better of him, or the ghosts of its crew attempted to post letters to their long-dead loved ones. One thing remained constant: a ghost ship added a special element of mystery to a sea-tale.

Many historic ships today have been associated with stories of supernatural activity. Like Mystic Seaport Museum’s Charles W. Morgan: the whaler—built in 1841—was used in the filming of the 1997 movie Amistad. A handful of crew members reported feeling a “presence” on board the historic ship. Later, some museum visitors touring the Morgan reported observing a man in 19th-century period clothing, smoking a pipe. An organization called the Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group obtained Mystic’s permission to conduct an investigation. Afterward, the group concluded that the vessel was indeed haunted—although the local television news affiliate reported not witnessing anything out of the ordinary. Mystic’s leadership, like that of many other museum ships with alleged supernatural manifestations, maintains a practical stance: while Mystic doesn’t promote the image of Morgan as a haunted ship, it isn’t a bad thing if ghost stories pique people’s interests and motivate them to visit the museum and learn more about the ship and its history.

You can join a paranormal investigation aboard USS Salem in Quincy, MA—complete with electro-magnetic field detectors, laser thermometers, infrared video cameras and grid emitting lasers. Image: Wikimedia/ Creative Commons.

Some historic ship organizations press the supernatural theme a little further, actively cultivating the allure of spooks and spirits. Until recently, for example, “ghost tours” were offered aboard the ocean liner Queen Mary, promising to take visitors to the locations around the ship where apparitions reportedly had been seen. The United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum in Quincy, MA, calls its museum ship, the heavy cruiser USS Salem, “one of the most haunted locations in the United States,” offering guided paranormal investigations—including providing the same type of detection equipment often seen used on television. Visitors who would prefer to search for the supernatural without a guide are also welcome to book a visit aboard the ship. The USS Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum in Alameda, CA, also embraces its ship’s reputation as a haunted vessel, offering History Mystery Tours and lectures on the paranormal aboard the Hornet.

Those brave enough to join the “Haunting on the Blue Ghost” aboard USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, TX are warned to “think twice before enlisting” for this terrifying tour through 80 compartments on two decks of the WWII era aircraft carrier. Image: Amit Rawat on Flickr.

Of course, the Halloween season is a time for make-believe, and turning a museum ship into a haunted attraction just for the holiday can be a welcome revenue source, as well as an opportunity to have a little fun. Judicious lighting and set-dressing can make a large ship from a bygone era a very scary place indeed. Ships such as the car ferry City of Milwaukee (Manistee, MI), the aircraft carrier USS Lexington (Corpus Christi, TX), the Victory ship American Victory (Tampa, FL), and the Great Lakes ore-and-coal cargo ship William A. Irvin (Duluth, MN) are some of the museum ships joining in on the fun.

Whether it’s reading a ghostly sea-tale, learning about a ship’s spooky past, or visiting a haunted ship, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the Halloween season in a maritime fashion.

Sea History Today is written by Shelley Reid, NMHS senior staff writer. Past issues can be read online by clicking here.