History

Famous Haunted Ships & Ghost Vessels

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Source:Community curated
Updated:3/7/2026
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Ship
Year
Location
Type
Known For
Mary Celeste
1872Atlantic Ocean (near Azores)Brigantine merchant vesselFound adrift with no crew, cargo intact, personal belongings untouched, half-eaten meal, lifeboat missing — crew never found, greatest maritime mystery
Flying Dutchman
Legend (1600s+)Cape of Good Hope, South AfricaLegendary ghost shipDoomed to sail forever, sighting means doom for the observer, glowing spectral ship, Pirates of the Caribbean, Wagner's opera
SS Ourang Medan
1947-48 (disputed)Strait of MalaccaDutch freighterDistress signal: 'All officers dead... I die', rescue ship found entire crew dead with terrified expressions, then it exploded and sank
HMS Erebus & Terror
1845-1848Arctic (Northwest Passage)Royal Navy exploration shipsFranklin Expedition — 129 crew vanished seeking Northwest Passage, lead poisoning from canned food, evidence of cannibalism, found in 2014/2016
Carroll A. Deering
1921Diamond Shoals, North CarolinaFive-masted commercial schoonerFound aground with sails set, lifeboats missing, food being prepared, crew gone, 'Ghost Ship of the Outer Banks', FBI investigated
Baychimo
1931-1969Arctic Ocean (Alaska/Canada)Steel cargo steamerAbandoned in Arctic ice, drifted unmanned for 38 YEARS, spotted multiple times, never successfully boarded, eventually disappeared forever
Queen Mary (haunted)
1936-presentLong Beach, California (now hotel)Ocean liner / hotel shipMost haunted ship in America, 49 reported deaths during service, ghost sightings in engine room and pool, overnight ghost tours, now a hotel
SS Valencia
1906Vancouver Island, British ColumbiaPassenger steamshipWrecked with 136 deaths, survivors reported ghost ship appearing near wreck site for decades, lifeboat found intact 27 years later
MV Joyita
1955South Pacific (Tokelau to Samoa route)Merchant vesselFound drifting with 25 passengers and crew missing, 4 tons of cargo gone, one engine covered with mattresses, blood-stained bandages found
Caleuche
Legend (Chiloé Island)Southern ChileMythological ghost shipChilean/Chiloé mythology, appears as glowing ship with music and laughter, crewed by the drowned dead, sinks beneath waves when approached
SS Iron Mountain
1872Mississippi River, USASteamboatVanished on the Mississippi River with 55 passengers, no wreckage ever found on a RIVER, barges it was towing found floating, impossible disappearance
Andrea Doria
1956Atlantic (off Nantucket)Italian ocean linerCollided with MS Stockholm in fog, sank over 11 hours, 46 died, 'Mount Everest of wreck diving', divers have died exploring it
Octavius
1775 (legend)North Atlantic (near Greenland)Three-masted schooner (possibly legendary)Found with frozen crew, captain at desk with pen in hand frozen mid-sentence, logbook dated 13 years prior, crew froze in Northwest Passage attempt
Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay
WWI-era (1917+)Potomac River, Maryland, USA200+ abandoned vesselsLargest ship graveyard in Western Hemisphere, WWI wooden steamships scuttled, now a marine sanctuary, visible from shore, nature reclaimed them
Kaz II
2007Great Barrier Reef, AustraliaCatamaran yachtModern-day Mary Celeste — found drifting with engine running, laptop open, table set for meal, 3 crew never found, 'ghost yacht'

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