The seas and oceans have always kept many secrets. Many legends and legends are associated with cruel sea gods, with creatures that live in the dark depths of the waters. And even in modern times, there are live stories about frightening and mysterious ghost ships, which sailors can meet in the open sea, the ocean.
Mystical and mysterious, scary and gloomy stories, tales, legends at all times aroused great interest among people. If you go to the popular youtube video resource, you can find many channels whose themes are all inexplicable, otherworldly. One of the popular topics that can be found not only on YouTube, but simply online, in books and in cinema, is the theme of ghost ships.
Most of the legends associated with ships appeared in the years 1600-1900. However, now and then new stories are being formed, when some ship crashes unexpectedly, and then it is noticed in sea / ocean waters, or in situations where the ship suddenly suddenly disappears in one place, and after it is seen in completely different areas.
The fear of such ships is well-founded: meeting a drifting, uncontrolled vessel poses a very real danger to sailors and travelers, especially in bad weather. However, many legends of ghost ships have additional eerie features and nuances. They say about some ships that meeting with them promises the death of the whole crew on board the ship. They say about others that they are cursed, and only a sailor has to look at a ship that is not clear where he came from, how he - a sailor - will immediately turn to ashes or his soul will be cursed forever, after death "hovering" between the worlds.
In the myths and folklore of different nations, the image of a dangerous ship emerging from fog or stormy dark waters is very popular. So, for example, in Germanic-Scandinavian mythology there is a vessel called Naglfar. This ship is all created from the nails of the dead, the ship is controlled by the god Loki himself, and it should appear at the time of judgment, when Ragnarok (the death of gods and worlds) begins. In addition, the image of a terrible ghost ship appears in northern tales. For example, in the story of "Yu from the Sea Islands" there is a moment in which it is told about a once-sunken sailing ship, on board of which the dead - moons, sailors and drowned men moan and cry.
Among the many - old and new - stories about ghost ships, there are several particularly curious and noteworthy, which to this day are actively discussed and cause genuine interest.
"Caleuche" - a fun ghost ship
The legend of the ship "Kaleuce" is common on the islands of Chileo. 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 tales of other ghost ships.
Literally anyone can see Kaleuche. This ship appears off the coast of the islands every night. That's only according to legend, it poses a serious danger to every living person. Rumor has it that, even if you look at this ship with one eye, you can turn to stone, dry bush or tree. Moreover, the human soul will remain alive, forever imprisoned inside a frozen body.
"Kaleuche" comes out of the sea waves even in bad weather, 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, 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 who have emerged from the Pacific waters on board the ship.
The locals of the Chileo Islands are convinced that this ship is controlled by mermaids and three local water spirits: Pikoy, Chilota and Pinkoya.
"Copenhagen" ("København") - Danish ghost sailboat
Unlike the Kaleuche, which has no sensible background and it’s not clear in principle where this ghost ship came from, the Copenhagen sailboat has its own story; it did not immediately become a mysterious ship.
This ship was built in 1921 in Denmark. By those standards, the sailboat turned out to be very reliable and well equipped. He had steel casing, several strong match with strong sails, electric drives, a radio station. A sailboat 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 there was a tragedy. The ship suddenly disappeared from the radar. Any contact with him was cut off. At that time, more than sixty people were on board the sailboat. The last time Copenhagen contacted 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 sailing vessel to give a signal, including SOS, it was decided to put the vessel on the wanted list. After some time, the captains of two ships from England and Norway reported that, being in the southern waters of the Atlantic Ocean, they were able to catch the signal coming from the side of the Copenhagen. According to both sailors, everything was in order with the crew, cargo and the sailboat itself at that time. Searching units were sent to the indicated coordinates right away, which, however, returned with nothing. They could not find the missing sailboat and did not even manage to get in touch with the Danes.
At the end of 1929, it was claimed that the Copenhagen 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 came to this area is still a mystery.
In 1959, Copenhagen first showed itself to the world. A ghost ship emerged from the ocean waters near Africa and rushed on all sails to the Dutch ship, the captain of which only miraculously managed to avoid a collision and it was he who later told this story. According to him, the ship looked brand new, without damage. A ghost ship, flying past a Dutch steamboat, in an instant simply melted over the ocean water. Both the captain and the sailors managed to read the name embossed on the side of the ship - "København".
A tragic love story aboard Lady Lovibond
On February 13, 1748, a wedding was celebrated on board the Lady Lovibond vessel. The young groom was the captain of the ship. Numerous guests present at the celebration, as well as the entire crew of the ship, had fun, had fun and celebrated the holiday. However, there was one person among them, on whose face there was neither happiness nor joy. This man was the chief assistant to the captain and part-time his close friend. The reason for the man’s gloom was simple: he had tender feelings for his young wife and dreamed that she would belong to him.
Toward night, drunk and distraught with grief, the young man decided on a terrible act. While all the guests and the newlyweds were sleeping, he made his way to the deck, killed the helmsman, and himself stood at the helm. Overwhelmed by bitter feelings, the man in love led the Lady Lovibond toward the Goodwin Miles, where sailboats and steamboats often crashed. As a result, with the arrival of a new morning, no trace was left of the ship. No one knows if it crashed or simply evaporated: the connection was lost, but the wreckage was not found.
In 1798, Lady Lovibond was spotted near Kent. The ship sailed across the sea in full sail and eventually disappeared. From this moment on, a 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 him, to prevent aground, but all attempts were in vain.
Rumor has it that next time the ship "Lady Lovibond" should appear on February day of 2048.
The legendary "Flying Dutchman" ("De Vliegende Hollander")
A terrible story happened with the ship "Flying Dutchman", which was led by Captain Philip van der Decken, in the mid-1600s. The vessel, except for the cargo, transported the newlyweds. The captain fell madly in love with a young girl, so he went on a crime. At night, he killed a young husband, and then invited the inconsolable widow to become his wife. But the girl, terrified, rejected such an offer, and then committed suicide by throwing herself in the cold waters from the side of the ship.
After some time, the “Flying Dutchman” fell into 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 take the ship to the bay to wait out the storm, and only then go around the Cape of Good Hope, near which the ship was at that moment. However, Philip did not appreciate such a proposal. Enraged, he shot several sailors and then cursed both the whole team, himself, and his ship. He said that no one would ever board 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 has been forced to wander around 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 will voluntarily marry him right there. Only then will the curse be lifted.
Rumor has it that meeting with this terrible ship does not bode well. Ships that saw a ghost on the waves were doomed to perish. But some sailors 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 sea waters.
