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.
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