Ghost ships. No not the movie you subject of commercials. Ever heard of the flying dutchman? it is an old pirate tale that the ship of the dead sails eternally. But there have been sightings and reports. if anyone could find any texts or articles on ghost ships, id be very grateful. Otherwise, the subject remains a mystery...

wow interesting read, never heard that story before
well found Blackjackal

Most spine chilling is an incident that occurred during the trip into California. A marine engineer aboard was in the bow below deck when he heard the voices of panicked men screaming in horror. Then he heard the sound of crunching metal being ripped apart and the sound of rushing water. The same noises have been heard occasionally since the ship has been permanently berthed. Is this the accident of the Curacoa being relived again?

[Edited on 10-11-2003 by asala]

Now the question is, are they true? or just pirate tales?

Kobenhavn. Steel five-masted barque, auxiliary diesel, 3965 tons. Sail training vessel. Built Leith, Scotland, 1921. Lbd 354 x 49 x 28-7 ft. Her overall length was 430 ft. School ship of the Danish East Asiatic Company. Captain Hans Ferdinand Andersen. Lost in 1928, or early 1929. Sailed from Buenos Aires for Australiain 14 December 1928, and simply disappeared ‘without leaving as much as a an identifiable splinter behind her, or the bones of of one of her forty-five boys’. Her total crew was sisty. She had long-range radio equipment on board, but there was no SOS. This was a magnificent vessel, beautifully finished, with all modern equipment available at the time. She did many trips to Australia on several circumnavigations of the world. Her disappearance resulted in a massive search with a dozen or so ships retracing her route across the Atlantic, round Cape of Good Hope, and far south into Antarctic waters. Some vessels visited the isolated islands of the southern Indian Ocean, searching for wreckage or castaways. Nothing was ever found. An inquiry found that whatever happened, did so quickly, with no time for an SOS. An iceberg was mentioned.

While cruising near the coastline off Punta Arenas, Chile, the British sailing ship Johnson sighted what appeared to be a boat with sails floating in the wind. When British signals elicited no response, the craft was approached. The crew noticed that the ship's masts and sails were covered with some kind of green moss, and that the vessel seemed abandoned by its crew.
Upon boarding it, the skeleton of a man was discovered beneath the helm. The deck was decayed to such an extent, that it gave under the footsteps. Three more skeletons were found near a panel, ten were found in the crew's quarters, and six on the bridge.
Upon the ravanged prow of the vessel, the words, Marlborough Glasgow, could still be discerned.
The Marlborugh left Littleton, N.Z. in January 1890 with a cargo of wool and frozen mutton, and a crew of 23 men under Captain Hird. In April 1890 an unsuccessful search for the vessel was made. Nothing was ever found of them until 1913.

Taken from the Wellington, New Zealand Evening Post
November 13, 1913 and Agence Havas

Two oriental junks were tied together by a long rope. At sea the junk in front vanished and yet the rope was still taught. The sailors feared for their lives and were just about to cut the rope when it went slack. The junk that disappeared did not return from the unknown.

There are accounts of flying ships. They can be found in Jaque Vallee's book 'Dimensions. The ships fly through the air and sometimes have anchors dragging behind them. One time an anchor got caught on a railway track, and a sailor was seen diving off the flying ship and swimming down through the air towards the anchor. Then the sailor saw that humans were watching him so he cut the rope and the ship sailed away. The village folk kept the anchor and placed it in their church.

So, what's the general opinion on these ghosts? Are they intelligent? Playbacks? I don't think they're polters, but hey, not ym call to make.