Ghost Ships: Haunted Ships at Sea

Ghost Ships: Videos, Stories & PhotosStories and Tales of Ghost Ships
Read accounts of ships with haunting or peculiar tales of boats that have set sail, alone, without a crew.

Are legends of ghost ships real? You might have seen the film, Ghost Ship, but not might be aware that accounts of haunted ships have existed for centuries. Like the movie, some ghost ships are fictional, while others are supposedly real. So, we've been collecting pictures, videos and stories about these rogue ships that seem to have a life beyond the norm. Learn more about them from their tales.


Some ghost ships are usually believed to be crewed by the dead, while some ghost ships are real ships that have disappeared or sunk tragically. Yet, other ghost ships are still afloat, today, but believed haunted by ghosts, such as the Queen Mary and the USS Lexington. Also of interesting note, real ghost ships such as the Mary Celeste, Baychimo, MV Joyita and the Jian Seng were found sailing the seas with no crew!

Ghost ShipsStories About Ghost Ships
Fictional ghost ships began appearing in literature in the 1700s, especially in the book, The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner - where a ghost ship is encountered with two eerie characters, "Death" and "Nightmare Life in Death," onboard, rolling dice to decide the fate of the Mariner and his crew. It is believed by some scholars that this piece of literature was likely inspired by the 18th century legend of the most famous ghost ship, "The Flying Dutchman."

The Dutchman is, of course, a doomed ghost ship that is cursed to never make port, sailing the seven seas for eternity. It has purportedly been sighted in the 1800 and 1900s, attempting to deliver messages to both the ghosts of the dead and the living. If it is seen by another ship, it is believed to be a bad omen.

Ghost Ships & CultureGhost Ships and Recent Culture
The last decade has truly brought ghost ships to the forefront of people's minds as film makers have made The Black Pearl and The Flying Dutchman in the Disney movie trilogy, "The Pirates of the Caribbean," famous. Fans of the movies can watch the ghost ships wage war in the third installment, which has spawned all sorts of children's playsets and games. Of note, the Black Pearl had one of the scariest ghost ship crews in Hollywood history - they were truly a "skeleton crew." Also of note, the second film had The Flying Dutchman filled with all sorts of sea creature crewmen as a truly unique and seemingly unbeatable ghost ship. The third movie pitted both ghost ships against one another, but then brought both ghost ship crews together in unison to battle against a British armada!