Ghost Ship Mystery

I mentioned the Burning Ghost Ship in my last post about the Wood Islands Lighthouse. It has been months since I first wrote about it and have rewritten the story for those who are interested.

In the series on Haunted Canada Canada Post made a stamp to commemorate the Phanton Ship along with another stamp About The Bell Ringers. I placed a link at the end of this post to that ghost story.

The story of the Ghost Ship was told to me a few years ago while walking with my good friend, Connie, along the natural untouched shore of the Northumberland Strait, Prince Edward Island, Canada.

We were on the seaweed strewn beach in an picturesque rugged area called Stewart’s Point.

My friend pointed towards the sea and said,

“This is one part of the shore where many local people have looked out and seen the phantom ghost ship.”

“What! You never heard of our haunted waters?” she exclaimed. “I thought everyone on the Island knew about the fiery ghost ship.”

After her initial shock and convinced I had not heard about the ship, she continued on with what she knew of the story.

Although Connie had forgotten the name, she heard of a woman from the nearby community of Murray River who, around 1965, was looking out on the Strait from the same red sand shore we were walking on.

She could see a three mask schooner in the water. It was close enough to view the black hull and white sails.

Suddenly she saw the ship was on fire from bow to stern. There were people on board.

Crew members could be seen engulfed in flames.

The blazing inferno only lasted a few minutes when...poof..to her astonishment it all disappeared! There was no sign of the ship or the fire to be seen on the water.


This is the untouched natural beach where we were walking when I first heard about the Ghost Ship. It is one location where my friend said the burning ghost ship has been spotted out in the water.

Many old timers had told stories of seeing the burning schooner, with the three masts appear... and then disappear. These stories carried down through the generations and made interesting fodder for stories around the campfires on the beach.

The earliest sighting was said to be by a lighthouse keeper in late 1700’s. He reported a three mast ship sailing towards a cliff . He was thinking there was going to be a collision when suddenly, before reaching the cliff, the ship vanished into thin air,

I didn’t think much more about the story until I saw this picture of the fiery ghost ship in the Wood Islands Lighthouse.

I took this photo of the Burning Ghost Ship picture hanging in the gift shop of the Lighthouse.

Seeing this picture sparked my interest and I questioned my friend again on what she had heard. She told me that not only one or two people have witnessed the phenomenon but groups of people.

Rescuers have even gone out to help and much to their disbelief, the burning ship would vanish right before their eyes.

Some sightings lasted only minutes while others have seen the ship in flames for a hour.

The following photo is golden hour on the Northumberland Strait, near the Ghost Ship sightings. The Strait, where the burning ghost ship is seen, runs between PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.





Images of the Ghost Ship appear in the fall; September, October and November. There has never been any record of a ship burning or lost around the time of the first sighting.

All the sightings, over 200 years with similar details, must carry some validation.

There are speculations the Ghost Ship was a pirate ship. Others think it could have been an immigrant ship with Irish or Highland Scots searching for new land. Many ships followed this route on the Northumberland Strait.

A PEI songwriter, Lennie Gallant, has a great song on YouTube about the ghost ship called ‘The Phantom Ship.’ In the song he says there is a ball of fire, burst of flames and flash of light before the ship appears.

Canada postal service had a postage stamp made in 2014 to commentate the phantom ship in a series about Haunted Canada.

Source


Montague is the nearest town to the sighting of the ghostly apparition. It is about a 22 minute drive to the shore on Northumberland Strait where the burning Ghost Ship may be seen ...if you are lucky to be there when she appears. Fall is said to be the best time.


Two photos from Montague:

Windows On The Water Resaurant

Montague Waterfront

I’m watching for a glimpse of the burning ghost ship. Maybe one of these days I will see this vessel and crew caught in a time warp where the action keeps repeating and causing this phenomenon.

Location: Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Text & Photos by @redheadpei unless otherwise sourced. All Rights Reserved.

Link to my ghost story on The Bell Ringers.

#thealliance