Ghost ships...

Fyrefox

Token fox furry
In 1761, the Octavius, a British schooner, set sail to China on what was supposed to have been a one year round trip. She successfully made the run to China, conveying her cargo, and then turning back. Encountering excessive heat, the ship's captain then decided to go home by a different route that involved traversing the Northwest Passage. The Octavius was found by another ship 14 years later drifting aimlessly, the vessel battered and her sails tattered. The men who boarded the Octavius found all 28 people still on board frozen dead, her captain seated at his desk with a pen in his hand and his wife and child also frozen dead on board. Horrified, the crew which boarded Octavius fled the ship, taking little but the captain's journal. The Octavius was never seen again...

Ghost ships, like the Flying Dutchman, the Octavius, and the Mary Celeste, haunt us through time...
 

Not exactly ghost ships, but the Erebus and the Terror are fascinating, too.

They left England on a mission to force the Northwest Passage. Instead, because the captain wouldn't listen to the advice of his ice expert, they were caught in the ice for more than two years. With the ships being slowly crushed and starvation and insanity occurring (there is indication that cannibalism was practiced), the captain and some of the stronger survivors took off across the ice, hoping to find help. They pulled a lifeboat behind them, loaded with items, including the captain's writing desk.

Some did make it to a remote village, where they soon died. Years ago, there was a project to dig up the bodies (very well preserved by the permafrost) and autopsy them. It was discovered that they were all suffering from lead poisoning. You see, the ship's provisioner contracted with the lowest bidder for canned goods and the canning was done in Moldovia, where the cans were sealed with lead, which leached into the food. One of the results of lead poisoning is unpredictable behavior/insanity.
 
This thread reminded me of Mollie Wilmot and the Venezuelan ship Mercedes that washed up on the shore at her Palm Beach home in 1984. The ship remained there for approximately four months before it could be removed.

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The Terror by Dan Simmons is an excellent horror story inspired by the ill-fated Franklin Expedition. It also inspired a twelve episode or so limited run TV series a few years back which may still be available for viewing on some outlets. I’ve read/seen both, and recommend them...if you have the stomach for it!



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