Lesser Known Ghost Ships

Lesser-Known Ghost Ships to Haunt Your Imagination

As Halloween approaches, the team at Lovesail has been thinking about the eerie tales that drift through maritime history. Few things capture a sailor’s imagination like the mystery of a ghost ship.

Also known as phantom ships, these vessels are said to appear out of the mist, crewless yet eerily intact, adrift on open seas. From the legendary Flying Dutchman to the enduring enigma of the Mary Celeste, ghost ships have haunted the minds of mariners for centuries. This year, we’re steering away from the well-known legends and into lesser-charted waters, exploring a few ghostly tales you may not have heard before.

The Caleuche – The Dancing Ghost Ship of Chiloe

In the misty waters surrounding the Chilean island of Chiloé, sailors whisper of The Caleuche, a spectral ship that glows with golden light and music. According to local mythology, the ship appears each night, collecting the souls of those who drowned at sea. Once aboard, these lost sailors are said to live again – happy, beautiful, and eternally young – dancing and feasting to the sound of laughter and fiddles.

Legend also tells of the Chilota, mermaid-like spirits who serve the ship and summon the dead from the ocean depths. Sightings of the Caleuche are always fleeting, a shimmer of light, the echo of a melody, and then nothing but dark waves once more.

Some versions of the tale even suggest that the Caleuche’s ghostly crew deal in earthly fortunes. In Chiloé, a sudden windfall or mysterious stroke of luck might just mean someone has made a bargain with those aboard the ship of souls.

The Lady Lovibond – The Phantom Schooner of Goodwin Sands

Closer to home, off the treacherous Goodwin Sands near Kent, another ghost ship is said to appear every fifty years. The Lady Lovibond, a schooner lost to jealousy and tragedy, haunts the English Channel with a tale as stormy as the seas she sailed.

In 1748, Captain Simon Reed set sail for Portugal, celebrating his marriage to his new bride, Anetta. Despite sailors’ superstition that it was bad luck to bring a woman aboard, the voyage began in good spirits, until the first mate, John Rivers, overcome with jealousy and despair, took his revenge. In a fit of rage, he struck the helmsman, seized the wheel, and steered the Lady Lovibond straight onto the sands. The ship was destroyed, and all on board perished.

Since that night, witnesses have reported seeing a glowing schooner sailing the same waters every fifty years, in 1798, 1848, 1948, and even 1998. Some describe her as shining with an eerie white light; others say they hear voices and laughter on the wind. Each time, when rescue ships approach, the Lady Lovibond vanishes without a trace.

Whether you believe in ghost ships or not, these tales remind us of the sea’s power to inspire wonder, and a touch of fear. After all, for those of us who love the ocean, a good ghost story is as much a part of sailing lore as the tide itself.

Happy Halloween, and fair winds, wherever your next voyage takes you.

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