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Reworded lead (Ghostlore). Definitely need to check the sources for synthesis, as these accounts tend to be far less uniform than Wikipedia articles often imply. Article text does not seem to support claim about "220 years" placed in lead.
c/e for encyclopedic tone, WP:SENSATIONAL, WP:FRINGE
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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.]]
In [[Canadian folklore|Canadian ghostlore]], the '''Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait''' is a [[ghost ship]] said to sale ablaze within the [[Northumberland Strait]], the body of water that separates [[Prince Edward Island]] from [[Nova Scotia]] and [[New Brunswick]] in eastern [[Canada]],
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]],


==Origins==
==History==
⚫
The legend of the ghost ship dates back to 1786, 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|publisher=Lancelot Press|year=1975}}{{page needed|date=October 2012}}</ref> It is said to appear in the Northumberland Strait, a body of water that 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> According to folklore, the ship is seen before a northeast wind, and is a forewarning of a storm.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" />


A number of legends and ghost stories exist that describe sightings of the ghost ship by onlookers over the years, such as claims of sighting 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 saw a "bright white and gold ship" on the water, 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=http://www.trurodaily.com/Cultural-activities/2008-02-23/article-351475/PHANTOM-SHIP-SPOTTED-BY-VISITOR/1}}</ref>
⚫
The Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait is described as a beautiful [[schooner]] that has three masts (sometimes four masts, as reports vary) with pure white sails, all of which 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|publisher=Lancelot Press|year=1975}}{{page needed|date=October 2012}}</ref> Sightings have occurred throughout the seasons, but seem to be more prevalent from September to November.<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> These visions are also apparent before a northeast wind, and folklore has it that this brilliant ghost ship is a forewarning of a storm.<ref name="HamiltonWilliam" /> There never seems to be a predetermined place for where the ship will appear; sightings tend to happen when least expected.<ref name="SherwoodRoland" />


⚫
==Natural explanations==
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" />
In 1905, [[New Brunswick]] scientist [[William Francis Ganong]] proposed that the legend may have arisen due to a 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" />

==Location==

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" />

==Sightings==

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:

* "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" />
* "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" />

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" />

⚫
==Scientific explanations==
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=
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>


==Music and popular culture==
==Music and popular culture==

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>


Revision as of 17:46, 23 September 2018

Map of the Northumberland Strait.

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

The legend of the ghost ship dates back to 1786, 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] It is said to appear in the Northumberland Strait, a body of water that separates Prince Edward Island from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.[2] According to folklore, the ship is seen 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 by onlookers over the years, such as claims of sighting 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 saw a "bright white and gold ship" on the water, explaining, "I believe in all that stuff and I don't know what else it would be."[4]

Natural explanations

In 1905, New Brunswick scientist William Francis Ganong proposed that the legend may have arisen due to a 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]

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.[5]

Notes

  1. ^ Sherwood, Roland H. (1975). The Phantom Ship of Northumberland Strait And Other Mysteries Of The Sea. Lancelot Press.[page needed]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hamilton, William B. "Folklore: Ghostly Encounters of the Northumberland Kind". The Island Magazine: 33–35.
  3. ^ Colombo, John Robert (2000). Ghost Stories of Canada. Dundurn Press. pp. 24–25.
  4. ^ Martell, Sherry (Feb 2008). "Phantom Ship Spotted By Visitor". Truro Daily News.
  5. ^ Stewart, Dave (June 12, 2014). "PEI phantom ship gets stamp of approval". The Guardian.
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