Haunted ships.

[Captain Kong]

After a suggestion by Kevin and Red Lead Ted [Terry]
about haunted ships . here is one I wrote a while ago.............
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In January 1975, I flew to San Francisco to join the ESSO YORKSHIRE, my brother was also on it, he having joined in Singapore on the way there.
As I got to the cabin of the lad who was leaving he said, "You wont get much sleep in here, Its ffing haunted." then he said good bye and went to go in the boat to go ashore. I thought nothing of it.
The ship was anchored under the Oakland Bay Bridge and then we went up the bay to Benicia for three days while we discharged.
We then sailed for Ras Tannurah in the Gulf, a 48 day voyage non stop.
First day at sea on watches it started. I was on the 4 to 8 watch so I was turned in by 2130 that night. Around midnight the light goes on and the door banged. I awoke thinking I had been called until I saw my clock it was midnight not 0330. I got up and went to the mess room and saw the 8 to 12 watch having a tea and a ciggy. "Who called me" I asked, None of us they said no one has left the mess.
I turned in again till 0330. The next night it happened again, lights on door banging.
Then the third night, at midnight the lights are turned on and there was a man in a boiler suit but I couldnt see his face, it was a sort of mist. I told him to` Go`away and then turned in again but not happy.
The next night same thing happens but this faceless man then gets hold of my right foot and twists it round and pulls me out of bed, I am shouting "Yer Ba5tard, who are you" he picked me up as if I was a feather and threw me against the formica bulkhead and I was almost weightless. I hit the bulkhead, it cracked and split, and I fell onto the deck I looked up and he had disapeared.
I told the Mate about it when I went on watch, he said he had heard of trouble in that cabin but there was nothing he could do. There were no spare cabins as we had a gang of Spaniards on board from Nicoverken, who maintain the ship.
Then one night my brother saw him in his cabin and this guy went through the adjoing bathroom between the two cabins. Then he heard me screaming and shouting, He legged it up to the mess room and stayed there for a while, coward.
This guy appeared in my cabin got my foot again twisted it round and pulled, I was hanging onto the mattress and the whole lot is pulled of the bed and we land on the deck with a loud crack a bone is broken in my ankle. My cabin was wrecked and I was lying in agony.Brother checks on me and goes and gets the Captain and he was visibly shocked to see the state of the cabin with me lying under the wreckage. I was taken to the sick bay and all he could do was strap it up with elastic bandages and give me pain killers. He said I cannot log this they would not believe it in the Office, I will say you fell down a ladder and busted your ankle. the following day he did an investigation and found that a year ago the man in that cabin had hung himself after getting a Dear John letter from his wife. He was also on the 8 to 12 watch so at midnight when he would have been turning in he would find me in his bunk and then get me out of it.
I was laid up until we got to Rastan. I did some canvas sewing on day work making winch covers etc. In the evenings I stayed in the messroom until around 0100 before turning in so I didnt see him again.
I went to hospital in Ras Tannurah and xrayed and it had healed nicely, We sailed back into the Pacific with me on the 4 to 8 watch again and he started performing again at midnight.
Throwing me around the cabin. we Arrived in Guam and I got a telegram to say my dear old Dad had died and the the haunting stopped as we sailed back to the Gulf and then down to South Australia.
I like to think that Dad had a word with him.
Have a peaceful night
Brian.

[John Pruden]

i think it was aeneas or jason one night the sound of hob nail boots walking alond the seamans alleyway right past our cabin door rumour has it a soldier went over the side suicide over a passenger years before the cabin door was open i looked up the aleyway still hearing the sound walking away but seen nonone? who wears hob nail boots on board and no drink involved true jp

[Kevin Mercer]

I was on a Brock's ship many many years ago where the Chief Steward used to leave his cabin door on the hook with the galley keys hung up just inside. I think he was Stan Heys known as " Parsley Stan" but I could be wrong here.
He used to let the 12 to 4 at night slip their hand quietly through the door and take the keys so we could make a few chips, he was a thoughtful lad.
At breakfast one morning he popped his head into the saloon and had a go at the second eng. on the lines of

" What were you doing last night sec. waking me up and bumping about, door wide open, you knew where the keys were !"
Second says "It wasn't me, how do you know it was me "
C.S "Because you had your uniform on and I saw three rings"
Sec. " If it was me I would have been in my boilersuit "

The C.S looked blank, and left.

We checked it wasn't anyone off the bridge and the Chief Eng said " I wouldn't let him know, but he is the third Chief Steward to tell that tale...............



Whhhooooooooo

[Tony Wilding]

one ship i sailed on, cannot remember which one , have an idea it was mv tuscany, only happened on the night watches, when checking and topping up the shaft bearings in the shaft tunnel, i used to get this eerie feeling, the hairs on the back of my neck up, could not get out of there fast enough, was not so bad going in, but coming out i kept looking behind, was not a nice feeling. Never heard others talk of it.

[Malcolm S]

I believe the Loch Avon was haunted, never saw anything but certainly heard footsteps in deserted alleyway - not mine either.

Malcolm S

[Malcolm S]

We had a Jamaican carpenter on the Essequibo, he passed away while being allowed to live on board during the seamans strike. He always whistled while doing his morning soundings.
We sailed on the following trip, I was on the bridge with the Captain when the 4th engineer - checking the telemotor - happened to complain about being woken up every morning by someone whistling outside his cabin. I mentioned about the habit of the previous carpenter. The 4th then asked what he looked like, so I said he was Jamaican, and black. To which the 4th replied "Oh! thats why I couldn't see him!" The captain, a rather nervous Scotsman, nearly passed out.

Malcolm S