Top Ten Most Amazing True Ghost Ship Stories

Ghost ships have been the stuff of legends for hundreds of years, inspiring movies like Pirates of the Caribbean with the tale of The Flying Dutchman. Stories about ghost ships are great told around a campfire or on Halloween. But did you know there are some unbelievable but well-documented true stories of ghost ships that have been found with their entire crews - vanished? The following list is my top ten list of the most amazing true stories of ghost ships.

1. The Mary Celeste

The Mary Celeste, a brigantine merchant ship, was discovered abandoned off the coast of Portugal, still seaworthy and under sail heading towards the Straits of Gibraltar in December 1872. Although her cargo and all the belongings of the crew were discovered on board along with over six months worth of food and water, her experienced crew was never heard from again.

2. The Zebrina

The Zebrina, a 189 ton schooner-rigged, 3-masted sailing barge was discovered aground on the coast of France in October 1917. The ship had no damage except for some of her rigging being in disarray, but all hands were missing.

3. The Carroll A. Deering

The Carroll A. Deering, a five-masted commercial schooner, was sighted run aground on Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 1921 with its ten-man crew and their belongings mysteriously missing.

4. The Baychimo

The Baychimo, a steel 1,322 ton cargo steamer, became trapped in pack ice in October, 1931. After a blizzard struck, the men who had taken shelter in a wooden structure could see no sign of their ship and decided it had sunk. A few days later, an Inuit seal hunter reported he had seen the ship about 45 miles away from their position. For the next 38 years, the Baychimo continued to randomly appear floating alone and without a crew.

5. SS Valencia Lifeboat

A lifeboat from the passenger steamship SS Valencia which horrifically wrecked off the southwest coast of Vancouver Island in 1906, was found floating nearby in 1933 in remarkably good condition -- 27 years after the SS Valencia sank. There have also been unsubstantiated sightings of the ship itself in that area through the years.

6. The MV Joyita

The MV Joyita, a merchant vessel, mysteriously disappeared in the South Pacific in 1955, and was found more than 600 miles from her scheduled route, partially submerged with its 25 passengers and crew missing.

7. The High Aim 6

The High Aim 6, a Taiwanese vessel equipped for long-line fishing, left Taiwan on October 31, 2002, and was found still underway with its motor running in Australian waters, on January 8, 2003. Although the crew's personal effects were still on board, no sign of the crew was found.

8. The Jian Seng

The Jian Seng, an 80-meter tanker, was found drifting in uncharted waters south-west of Queensland, Australia in March 2006. No sign of recent human activity could be found and it was determined that the tanker had been adrift for an exceptionally long time. No record was ever found of the Jian Seng's registration or origin.

9. The Kaz II

The Kaz II, a 9.8-meter catamaran, was found drifting off the northern coast of Australia on April 18, 2007. The owner, a careful and experienced yachtsman, and his two-man crew had vanished, and the circumstances under which they disappeared remain mysterious.

10. The Tai Ching 21

The Tai Ching 21, an Asian fishing vessel with 29 crew members, was found empty and gutted by fire near the island nation of Kiribati on November 9, 2008. No sign of the crew was found.

If you know of any other amazing true stories of ghost ships, please share them in the comments below!

Related:

Ghost Town - Movie Review
The Haunting of Molly Hartley with Haley Bennett and Chace Crawford: DVD Review
Unbelievable Ghost Ship Tales: 4 Historic Accounts of Ghost Ships

More Amazing Stories:

Top Ten Most Amazing True Facts About Ireland & the Irish

Strange and Weird Facts About Ireland for St. Patrick's Day

Double Amputee from New Zealand Gets a Mermaid Tail

Lucknow Railway Station Hires a Monkey-Man to Control Local Monkeys