GHOSTS IN THE HIGH SEAS

GHOSTS IN THE HIGH SEAS

by mimi illenberger-mapa

       It is a common notion that seamen are a superstitious group of people. Perhaps it is the nature of their profession – the loneliness for families and loved ones; the deeper awareness of their surroundings; the ever-present danger from unpredictable forces of nature; and having more time on their hands to ponder on things unseen. All these contribute to making them what they are reputed to be - lusty, superstitious and garrulous men.

    There are many superstitious beliefs involving the sea and lakes around us. One universal belief among mariners is that when their bodies are given a sea burial, their souls rise as sea birds - albatross or sea gulls. Sea birds, then, according to sailors, must be treated with great kindness; otherwise they bring bad luck to the ship.

       Stories involving ghostly sightings on board sea vessels are also commonplace. Who hasn’t heard about the Flying Dutchman or St. Elmo’s fire? Superstition has it that sighting a phantom ship like the Flying Dutchman means death or at least blindness to the one who saw it. St. Elmo’s fire, a bright discharge of electricity often seen at the mast of ships was considered a benevolent warning of storms.

      Two merchant marine graduates from one of the country’s finest institution have these stories to tell:

The Sea Gull – The Engineer’s Tale

       Tito P., a successful marine engineer now working with a large shipping company based in Amsterdam shares with us this story involving a sea gull.

       One fine morning while SS Green Lady was cruising along the African coast, a lone sea gull was seen flying along the same direction. The playful guard atop his ledge on the main mast caught the bird with a fisherman’s scoop net. He passed the struggling bird to his bored companions below, who immediately tied one of its feet and fed it with bread crumbs. The bird quieted down after being fed. Intending to make a pet of it, one of the captors – a Greek assigned to the mess hall – carried the sea gull to their sleeping quarters and perched it on a bed rail where it was tied near an open porthole.

       Early the next morning, a crew member hysterically confided to a companion that when he got up the night before, he saw a thick fog enter the porthole near the sea gull’s perch and surround the bunk where the bird was tied.  

       “That thing swirled around for a while as though trying to make up its mind about what to do and then off it went, straight out of the porthole. I tell you mate, that was no ordinary fog! I swear that thing was alive.”

       Both sailors nervously made the sign of the cross as they agreed how unusually chilly the sleeping quarters  had been that night despite the heating system.

       “Do you know that the Greek was transferred to sick bay early this morning? He was burning with fever but his limbs were cold as ice.”

       A little later that day, strong winds and giant waves appeared from nowhere and began buffeting the large ship. The whole crew was worried and mystified. The ship creaked and groaned each time a powerful wave smashed against it; the sailors tossed around like puny toys.

       An officer responding to a hysterical call from the lower deck turned pale when he saw the squawking bird perched on a teetering table. The creature was apparently hurt. The man remembering the legends of the sea, rushed to untie the bird lest it died in captivity. He dared not ponder on what terrible fate could befall them as he whispered his apologies, “ I am so sorry they did this to you, Mate. Forgive them their ignorance.”

       The seagull responding to the gentle stroking of his injured head, softly pecked  on his hands as it flew out of the porthole. The officer saw the bird disappear in the distance as it blended with the turbulence of the elements.

       The storm began to quiet down as suddenly as it started. The skies cleared and the sun shone brightly upon them, as if by magic!

     Tito P. observing all these, knew there was something to the lecture the angry Norwegian captain gave the crew that day: It is good practice to respect the traditional beliefs in their occupation for whatever it might be worth in safety to life and property – old legends  and beliefs may not all be plain and baseless superstition. When something repeatedly happens beyond coincidence, it is wise to be cautious.

The Lonely Ghost - The Captain’s Story

       A young ship captain, a quiet person who would rather spend his leisure hours reading or cooking, shares with us his unusual encounter on board SS Nuget. It was not easy convincing him to share his tale with us. He was a reluctant story teller and he assures me this is not a sailor’s yarn: 

       There was this newly built ship manned by an able crew that was as seaworthy as they came, but already had a reputation of being haunted. Its owner had difficulty replacing crew members who would resign after a short stay in the service, the turnover being frequent.

        When this story happened, our ship captain, Gabriel  V. had just graduated from a local maritime academy with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Maritime Transportation when he found himself working for this ship as third mate. He knew nothing of its reputation and it took all of three weeks and several hundred nautical miles into the Atlantic when an old deck hand told him of the haunting and how this came about.

       The ship’s middle aged chief engineer  was a hearty Swede who was liked by the whole crew for his gentle and fatherly ways. He was a family man, totally devoted to his wife and two daughters , so unlike the rest of the crew who looked forward to momentary pleasures whenever they made land. Engineer Bjorn considered his cabin the extension of his house – his home away from home and here he spent his leisure hours writing letters to his family and reading his vast collection of books.    His cabin was a mute testimony to how much he missed his wife and two daughters. There were pictures of them everywhere. He called them his “little women”  and each time the ship docked on a port of call, all he did was shop for his girls.

     The ship was on its way to the Persian Gulf  when they found him dead in his room ,  a victim of coronary thrombosis. His body  was then brought to the nearest port and shipped home to Sweden.   Meanwhile, one of his men,  Miguel, a newly hired Filipino marine engineering  graduate  was  tasked  to pack and itemize all the Swede’s  belongings so it could be shipped  out with the body.

      It took almost two hours and three large boxes  to finish the chore. Miguel was just about to leave the cabin when he noticed a large black book that looked like a leather bound bible lying on the bed. Wondering aloud how he could have missed that one item, he went back to get the book .  Just as he was resealing the big box  marked “personal effects”,  he heard  something creek from behind him.  Someone had come inside the spacious cabin and  was now seated on the bed facing him; it was Engineer Bjorn !  Shocked, Miguel bolted out of the room . 

     That was the first incident.  Weeks later, a deck hand also swore he saw the dead officer  standing by the passage rail, sadly looking out to the sea. The vision so frightened the man, that he rushed to the opposite direction in a state of hysteria.

     On various occasions, the ghostly  figure was also sighted in other sections of the ship. And this  really frightened the crew because there was no telling where you would run into him;  a few sailors adamantly refused to be assigned in the night shift.  The dim corridor leading to the unoccupied cabin was also avoided by almost every one and nobody wanted to go to the engine room alone. The whole episode  was affecting the morale  and efficiency of the men on board.

     Several months later,  a Filipino priest the sailors had befriended in Korea  learned about their problem  and  suggested  a  special exorcism ritual for earth bound spirits. And this suggestion was taken to heart by  Miguel  who was now almost at the end of his wits;  he implored  Father Bernardo to instruct him how to proceed with the  exorcism.

     Summoning his courage, he brought with him three of his closest  friends. And with full trust on the power of the Holy One, and on the blessed icons they carried -  a lighted candle,  a crucifix and  holy water -  they went about the room, opening closets and cabinets and sprinkling  holy water everywhere as they chanted the prayer for the dead from the Gregorian Mass. Miguel also addressed  the Chief Engineer  in a loud voice – “Sir Bjorn, please leave us in peace. We have not forgotten your kindness and generosity. We promise to remember you in our prayers.”

     A cold gust of wind blew out his candle, but the three men stood their ground. Miguel’s faith was strong and his fear of the supernatural  left him as he willed himself  to see through the empty space. There was nothing there.  When they finally  stepped out of the room, closing the door softly behind them, a faint echo resounded through the dimly lit corridor.  The three friends clearly heard someone say..”Thanks mate.”

     No apparition was seen again after that day for a long, long time. All these happened  before Gabi’s time, but somehowthe reputation of the ship being haunted stuck; the stories about the lonely ghost refused to die down completely.  Months later, the young officer  found out why.

     On particular stormy evening, he found himself alone in the mess hall reading an interesting spy novel and sipping coffee laced with brandy. Before him was a huge bowl of mashed potatoes and a plateful of tenderloin tips topped with onion rings. He was enjoying a Sunday respite from his usual duties and had requested a hearty meal from the cook.

     Gabi was about to reach out for the food when he saw, sitting at the other end of the officer’s table, this stranger holding a coffee mug and looking at him with a bemused smile. There was nothing scary or ghostly about the man and, for a while, Gabi assumed he was the new man who boarded their ship from Rotterdam, their last port of call.

     The stranger raised his cup in friendly greeting . Gabi did the same.  And so can you imagine his consternation when, before his very eyes, the stranger disappeared.