The Flying Dutchman: A Ghost Ship Story

There are dozens of legends about this mythical ship and her crew-of- the-dead who are doomed to sail the seas until Judgment Day. It’s said that the ship’s captain made a deal with the devil and became famous for his ability to make the passage between Holland and Java in impossibly good time. Sure they could outrun capture, the crew eventually committed a terrible crime (although some versions claim they became infected with the plague) and the vessel was prohibited from entering port. Undaunted by denial of entry and confident in his ability to sail through at record speed, the captain attempted to round the Cape of Good Hope during a terrible storm.

When the frightened crew begged the captain to seek safe harbor, the captain swore into the wind that he and his crew would round the Cape “if he had to beat about the waves until Judgment Day.” The ship foundered in the storm and all aboard perished. But true to the captain’s word, Flying Dutchman continues to sail the seas with her damned crew still trying to complete her ill-fated passage.

There have been hundreds who claim to have seen this ghost ship, which supposedly hovers above the waves with an eerie, glowing mist about its masts in lieu of sails. The ship is believed to be a harbinger of imminent doom. One of the most famous sightings was reported by Prince George of Wales in the late 1800s, while making a passage off the coast of Australia between Sydney and Melbourne. He claimed at least 13 crewmembers spotted a glowing phantom ship at four a.m. The omen manifested itself later that day when the crewman who originally spotted Flying Dutchman fell from the foretopmast and was “smashed to atoms.”

Excerpted from Dockwalk: 6 of the Spookiest Ghost Ship Stories