Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Mythical ghost ship of Canadian folklore}} |
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[[File:Northumberland Strait map.png|thumb|right|Map of the Northumberland Strait.]] |
[[File:Northumberland Strait map.png|thumb|right|Map of the Northumberland Strait.]] |
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In [[Canadian folklore|Canadian ghostlore]], the '''Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait''' is a [[ghost ship]] said to sail ablaze within the [[Northumberland Strait]], the body of water that separates [[Prince Edward Island]] from [[Nova Scotia]] and [[New Brunswick]] in eastern [[Canada]]. |
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==History== |
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| ⚫ | The legend of a ghost ship in Northumberland Strait dates back at least 200 years, and it is typically described as a beautiful [[schooner]] that has three or four masts with pure white sails, all of which are said to become completely engulfed in flames as onlookers watch.<ref name="SherwoodRoland">{{cite book|last=Sherwood|first= Roland H.|title=The Phantom Ship of Northumberland Strait And Other Mysteries Of The Sea|url=https://archive.org/details/phantomshipofnor0000sher|url-access=registration|publisher=Lancelot Press|year=1975}}{{page needed|date=October 2012}}</ref> The Northumberland Strait separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,<ref name="HamiltonWilliam">{{cite journal|last=Hamilton|first= William B.|title=Folklore: Ghostly Encounters of the Northumberland Kind|journal=The Island Magazine|pages=33–35|url=http://vre2.upei.ca/islandmagazine/fedora/repository/vre%3Aislemag-batch2-58/OBJ}}</ref> and according to local folklore, the ghost ship appears before a northeast wind, and is a forewarning of a storm.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> |
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A number of legends and ghost stories exist that describe sightings of the ghost ship over the years and include descriptions of distinctive outlines of the ship's masts and phantom crew members climbing them before the vessel supposedly either completely burns, sinks or vanishes."<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /><ref name="Colombo">{{cite book|last=Colombo|first=John Robert|year=2000|title=Ghost Stories of Canada|publisher=Dundurn Press|pages=24–25}}</ref> According to legend, in 1900, a group of sailors boarded a small [[rowboat]] in [[Charlottetown]] Harbour and raced toward the phantom ship to rescue the crew only to have the ship vanish.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> In January 2008, 17-year-old Mathieu Giguere told a local newspaper he believed he saw the legendary phantom ship in the Tatamagouche Bay, describing it as a "bright white and gold ship". Tatamagouche Mountain resident Melvin Langille also claims he saw the ship one night in October, explaining, "I believe in all that stuff and I don't know what else it would be."<ref>{{cite news|last=Martell|first=Sherry|title=Phantom Ship Spotted By Visitor|newspaper=Truro Daily News|date=Feb 2008|url=https://www.trurodaily.com/living/phantom-ship-spotted-by-visitor-151203/}}</ref> |
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Sometimes upon seeing the burning ship, mariners have attempted to rescue the crew aboard. One of the more famous rescue attempts took place in [[Charlottetown]] Harbour about 1900. A group of sailors boarded a small [[rowboat]] and raced toward the flaming ship to rescue the troubled crew. During their struggle to reach the distressed vessel, the phantom ship completely vanished. A thorough search was immediately carried out by divers, but no [[shipwreck]] was found.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> |
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In 1905, [[New Brunswick]] scientist [[William Francis Ganong]] proposed that the legend may have arisen due to natural electrical phenomena such as [[St. Elmo's Fire]] that had been subject to "interpretation as the flaming rigging of a ship."<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> Other explanations suggest that the illusion may have been created by a bank of fog reflecting moonlight.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> |
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==Location== |
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The Northumberland Strait is the body of water that separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and [[Nova Scotia]]. It is said to have very turbulent waters, which tend to be difficult on the many ships that sail through it.<ref name="Colombo">{{cite book|last=Colombo|first=John Robert|year=2000|title=Ghost Stories of Canada|publisher=Dundurn Press|pages=24–25}}</ref> The length of the strait is approximately 130 miles, while the width is roughly 8 to 30 miles.<ref name="SherwoodRoland" /> |
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==Sightings== |
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The first sighting of the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait dates back to 1786; however, there are few details of these accounts.<ref name="SherwoodRoland" /> Eyewitness accounts of the ship come from either side of the strait, and are often very similar in description.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> Understandably, many are skeptical of the recollections of the burning ship. However, occasionally a large number of people have witnessed the ship's appearance at the same time.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> Here are a few examples of first-hand descriptions of the ghost ship: |
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* "I could make out the outline of the ship quite distinctly. I watched it for about twenty minutes and then it disappeared. I had heard so much about the phantom ship that I decided this must be it. My sister, who was visiting friends nearby, said she saw the same thing on the same night."<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> |
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* "As it came nearer it seemed to lose speed, and as it came opposite our house it stopped still. I said to Fred, "Perhaps they are coming ashore." We got up on the banks to watch. There was no sign of anyone on board and no dory on tow. I can’t remember just how long it was, but I think about ten minutes after she stopped I seen smoke rising very slow all over the deck. Then it was only a few minutes I seen men that seemed to come up from below and they were running around the deck every way. Then as they were running around I seen a low flame all over the deck. When the flames started the men climbed up the masts of the vessel. When they was about halfway up the masts the sails caught. All the sails seemed to catch at the same time. I could not see the men any more as the flames hid my view. We watched it until the flames died and everything crumbled to the deck. There was nothing left but the hull on the water, and gradually it seemed to sink lower and finally disappeared as if it gradually filled with water and sunk."<ref name="Colombo" /> |
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The most recent sighting of this ghost ship was by 17-year-old Mathieu Giguere, who noticed the "bright white and gold ship" in mid-January 2008.<ref>{{cite news|last=Martell|first=Sherry|title=Phantom Ship Spotted By Visitor|newspaper=Truro Daily News|date=Feb 2008|url=http://www.trurodaily.com/Cultural-activities/2008-02-23/article-351475/PHANTOM-SHIP-SPOTTED-BY-VISITOR/1}}</ref> Sightings vary in description, but there are sometimes reports of other bizarre occurrences during the sightings of the ghost ship.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> In other accounts, gun fire can be heard and sometimes an apparent ball of fire can be seen in the sky.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> |
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A number of scientific possibilities have been proposed to explain the Northumberland ghost ship sightings. A [[New Brunswick]] scientist [[William Francis Ganong]] proposed in 1905 that the nature of the light described in sightings suggested a natural electrical phenomena: "It has its flat side to the water and at times it simply glows without much change of form, but at other times it rises into slender moving columns, giving rise to an appearance capable of interpretation as the flaming rigging of a ship, its vibrating and dancing movements increasing the illusion ... its origin is probably electrical."<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> A separate explanation suggests that this ship is merely a bank of fog reflecting moonlight.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> Another justification for the apparent fire ship is seen in a video of a [[Lunar phase|crescent moon]] setting below the horizon which can be found on [[YouTube]].<ref>{{cite web|author= |
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ReevesAstronomy|title=Jupiter Through a Telescope and the "Burning Ship of the Northumberland Strait"|date=Mar 2010|publisher=You Tube|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryHfcf_mbrA}}</ref> |
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==Music and popular culture== |
==Music and popular culture== |
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The ghost ship has become more widely known in recent years in part due to a popular song by [[Lennie Gallant]], a Canadian singer-songwriter from Rustico, Prince Edward Island, along with a reference in the podcast Alice Isn't Dead.<ref>[https://www.journalpioneer.com/news/local/pei-phantom-ship-gets-a-stamp-53856/ "P.E.I. Phantom Ship gets a stamp", ''PEI Journal Pioneer'', June 13, 2014]</ref><ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-ghost-stories-1.3825822 Nancy Russell, "P.E.I.: The phantom ship, mysterious bell ringers and a haunted train track"], ''CBC News'', October 30, 2016</ref> This song alludes to the folklore of this legendary ship: |
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"There's a burst of flame and a flash of light/And there on the tide is a frightening sight/As a tall ship all aflame lights up the sky/Tales of the phantom ship, from truck to keel in flames/She sails the wide Northumberland Strait/No one knows her name."<ref name="GallantLennie">{{cite web|last=Gallant|first= Lennie|title=Tales of the Phantom Ship|year=1988|url= http://www.lenniegallant.com/music/breakwater.html}}</ref> It debuted in his 1988 album, ''[[Breakwater (album)|Breakwater]]'', and is called "Tales of the Phantom Ship".<ref name="GallantLennie" /> |
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In June 2014, [[Canada Post]] issued a special stamp depicting the Northumberland Strait ghost ship. The stamp was issued on Friday the 13th as part of a series of Canadian ghost story stamps.<ref>Stewart, Dave (June 12, 2014). [http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-06-12/article-3760731/PEI-ghost-story-gets-stamp-of-approval/1 "PEI phantom ship gets stamp of approval"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> |
In June 2014, [[Canada Post]] issued a special stamp depicting the Northumberland Strait ghost ship. The stamp was issued on Friday the 13th as part of a series of Canadian ghost story stamps.<ref>Stewart, Dave (June 12, 2014). [http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2014-06-12/article-3760731/PEI-ghost-story-gets-stamp-of-approval/1 "PEI phantom ship gets stamp of approval"]. ''The Guardian''.</ref> |
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Latest revision as of 23:25, 4 December 2024
In Canadian ghostlore, the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait is a ghost ship said to sail ablaze within the Northumberland Strait, the body of water that separates Prince Edward Island from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in eastern Canada.
History
[edit]The legend of a ghost ship in Northumberland Strait dates back at least 200 years, and it is typically described as a beautiful schooner that has three or four masts with pure white sails, all of which are said to become completely engulfed in flames as onlookers watch.[1] The Northumberland Strait separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,[2] and according to local folklore, the ghost ship appears before a northeast wind, and is a forewarning of a storm.[2]
A number of legends and ghost stories exist that describe sightings of the ghost ship over the years and include descriptions of distinctive outlines of the ship's masts and phantom crew members climbing them before the vessel supposedly either completely burns, sinks or vanishes."[2][3] According to legend, in 1900, a group of sailors boarded a small rowboat in Charlottetown Harbour and raced toward the phantom ship to rescue the crew only to have the ship vanish.[2] In January 2008, 17-year-old Mathieu Giguere told a local newspaper he believed he saw the legendary phantom ship in the Tatamagouche Bay, describing it as a "bright white and gold ship". Tatamagouche Mountain resident Melvin Langille also claims he saw the ship one night in October, explaining, "I believe in all that stuff and I don't know what else it would be."[4]
Natural explanations
[edit]In 1905, New Brunswick scientist William Francis Ganong proposed that the legend may have arisen due to natural electrical phenomena such as St. Elmo's Fire that had been subject to "interpretation as the flaming rigging of a ship."[2] Other explanations suggest that the illusion may have been created by a bank of fog reflecting moonlight.[2]
Music and popular culture
[edit]The ghost ship has become more widely known in recent years in part due to a popular song by Lennie Gallant, a Canadian singer-songwriter from Rustico, Prince Edward Island, along with a reference in the podcast Alice Isn't Dead.[5][6] This song alludes to the folklore of this legendary ship: − "There's a burst of flame and a flash of light/And there on the tide is a frightening sight/As a tall ship all aflame lights up the sky/Tales of the phantom ship, from truck to keel in flames/She sails the wide Northumberland Strait/No one knows her name."[7] It debuted in his 1988 album, Breakwater, and is called "Tales of the Phantom Ship".[7]
In June 2014, Canada Post issued a special stamp depicting the Northumberland Strait ghost ship. The stamp was issued on Friday the 13th as part of a series of Canadian ghost story stamps.[8]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Sherwood, Roland H. (1975). The Phantom Ship of Northumberland Strait And Other Mysteries Of The Sea. Lancelot Press.[page needed]
- ^ a b c d e f Hamilton, William B. "Folklore: Ghostly Encounters of the Northumberland Kind". The Island Magazine: 33–35.
- ^ Colombo, John Robert (2000). Ghost Stories of Canada. Dundurn Press. pp. 24–25.
- ^ Martell, Sherry (Feb 2008). "Phantom Ship Spotted By Visitor". Truro Daily News.
- ^ "P.E.I. Phantom Ship gets a stamp", PEI Journal Pioneer, June 13, 2014
- ^ Nancy Russell, "P.E.I.: The phantom ship, mysterious bell ringers and a haunted train track", CBC News, October 30, 2016
- ^ a b Gallant, Lennie (1988). "Tales of the Phantom Ship".
- ^ Stewart, Dave (June 12, 2014). "PEI phantom ship gets stamp of approval". The Guardian.
Categories:
- Atmospheric ghost lights
- Weather lore
- Canadian folklore
- Canadian legends
- Culture of New Brunswick
- Culture of Nova Scotia
- Culture of Prince Edward Island
- Reportedly haunted locations in Nova Scotia
- Reportedly haunted locations in New Brunswick
- Reportedly haunted locations in Prince Edward Island
- Legendary ghost ships