Mary Celeste – The Haunted Ship

On November 7, 1872, the beautifully crafted Mary Celeste set sail with the ship’s captain, Benjamin S. Briggs, his wife, Sarah, and their 2-year-old daughter, Sophia, along with eight crewmembers, from New York Harbor to its destination Genoa, Italy.

However, a month later the crew of another vessel: Dei Gratia spotted the Mary Celeste in the mid-Atlantic. Recognizing Mary Celeste, as she had sailed from the same port just eight days before his own departure, The Dei Gratia’s captain, David Morehouse, changed course and launched a boarding party to check on the Mary Celeste’s crew and passengers.

What Morehouse found was fairly normal: Mary Celeste was in fairly good shape with its cargo intact and well stocked with enough food and water to last six months. Apart from one missing lifeboat, even the crewmen’s gear was still in their quarters. However, one question still remains unanswered.

Where did the crew, the captain, and his family disappear to?

The Beginning of the Hunt

The first suspect in the case is David Morehouse and the crew of Dei Gratia. With a ship of such great value and no captain; Morehouse sailed the Mary Celeste to Gibraltar, hoping to collect a salvage payment from the ship’s insurers.

Nonetheless, their plans failed as the attorney general leading the salvage inquiry, Frederick Solly-Flood, suspected the odd nature of the ship and its crew.

But after over three months of stern British inquiry, the court found no evidence of dishonest conduct. The case might have been left there, with no real answers or close theories, if it had not been to one of the most famous writers in history Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – the author of the renowned novel series, Sherlock Holmes.

12 years after the incident Sir Arthur Conan Doyle releases a publication, narrating the events of the experience from a fictional survivor. Even though this seems nonsensical, it brought the drowning case of Mary Celeste back to the surface for individuals to get on board and investigate.

Mary Celeste Mystery Solved?

Due to its loose ends, many officers and citizens have tried to tie the knot and explain many theories according to their findings; some of these theories range from logical possibilities including treacheries and alcohol explosions to unexplained phenomenons; such as assaults by a giant octopus or a sea monster.

Unlike other mysterious cases around the world, the legend of Mary Celeste still prevails as the possible endings into the vast and unknown ocean fuel one’s imagination.

This chilling and incomprehensible case is still left open with many theories to answer the disappearance; whether you choose to simply believe one of the stated theories or create your own is entirely up to you.

Tharuli Thehasna Sithsandi Wanniarachchi