Pirates 'n' Ghosts

[Jocko]

Have any of you heard about either Ocean Born Mary or The Country Tavern?

Ocean Born Mary has to do with a pirate taking over a ship bound for the colonies and making a deal with the captain's pregnant daughter that she name the child Mary if it turns out to be a girl... The haunting is in a house in Hennicker New Hampshire..

The Country Tavern is currently a restaurant in Nashua New Hampshire but back when the "events" happened it was a private home to a ship captain who went out to sea for 10 months and returned home to find his wife had given birth... he ended up murdering her and the baby and burying them in separate locations on the property...

If you all are interested I can post the complete stories with all the details... including the pirate captain's name, etc...

Jocko

[Charity Sweetlove]

Pirates, Ghosts. sounds like a great combination. That and you've given just enough of a teaser...

*wonders* Hmm... Having never really thought about pirate ghost stories I wonder what's out there. I mean, I know about the Queen Mary in Long Beach, and the Star of India in San Diego is supposed to be huanted. I think that there's supposed to be some pirate hauntings in New Orleans. *scampers off to see what I can dig up*

*huggles* Pirates and ghosts. *dances*

[redhand]

There's also a couple related to Massachusetts, I believe.

One has to do with the wife/intended bride of "Black" Sam Belamy

who walks a certain part of the beach during bad storms, where the bodies/flotsom from Belamy's ship tuned up on, in hopes of

reuniting with her lost love.

Another has to do with "wreckers", the "Land Pirates" who set

bon fires near the rocks in hopes of luring ships in to their doom,

then killing the crew & looting the ship. The story goes the

"wreckers" or whatever they were called (??) were drug into the ocean

by the murdered crew of the last ship they wrecked, they were

never heard of again!.........

I think the History channel had one on about Jamaica, that

a certain resort, I think the one that Ian Flemming wrote

some of the Bond books at is haunted by Flemming as well as

some Pirate (which they eluded was blackbeard).

Some guy was taking a nap in his room when he was awakened

by the smell of strong rum, he opens his eyes to see some

guy with a tricorn hat, beard and dresses as an 18th century seaman

standing right overhin breathing in his face! Then the "pirate" starts

choking him and laughing, then disapears right in front of the guy!

We also have a couple out here in Oregon,

Two haunted light houses, one haunted by an old lady,

who locals call the "grey" lady-that one was even in Life magazine,

because of it's consistant activity! Another at the Newport light house,

where in the 1880's the light house keeper's daughter was supposedly murdered by blackmarketeers. she's seen on the grounds late at night

on occasion, and even converses with the people who see her.

There's also the Legend of the Neakani treasure, where some spanish

pirates buried gold stolen from south america, way up on Neakani montain, which overlooks the pacific, but after they buried it they were killed by

the local indians who took offence to the spaniards abuse of their

woman. Over the years many people have been killed trying to

locate the elusive "treasure", much like that of Oak Island.

Scholars now believe that the Neakani "treasure" may have been

a huge cache of bee's wax, which during the early 1600s would

have been worth quite a lot on $$$$.

ell that's all I can remember off the top of my head

Redhand

[captweaver65]

There's also the Legend of the Neakani treasure, where some spanish

pirates buried gold stolen from south america, way up on Neakani montain, which overlooks the pacific, but after they buried it they were killed by the local indians who took offence to the spaniards abuse of their

woman. Over the years many people have been killed trying to

locate the elusive "treasure", much like that of Oak Island.

Scholars now believe that the Neakani "treasure" may have been

a huge cache of bee's wax, which during the early 1600s would

have been worth quite a lot on $$$$.

I've been up on Neahkani mountain and didn't see no ghosts,but the man who's spent his life up there lookin for the treasure will shoot yer ass off in a second if you cross onto his land-he's a mean old b******. beeswax still washes up on the coast thereabouts

there's also another story from the oregon coast that may be related,about the red headed indians who say their ancestor guards his treasure in the mountains.

[Jocko]

Ok... I found one of the many excerpts I have regarding the Country Tavern in Nashua NH... One point of interest is that My wife and I were married in the restaurant... We had been living in Nashua for quite some time and ate brunch at the Tavern every other Sunday... We had become quite friendly with the Manager at the time, Bonnie Gamache... So, when we decided to get married and we were looking for a place, the Country Tavern came to mind...

Anyhow, here's the excerpt...

----------------------------------------------------------------

The following account comes from two of Arthur Myers' books on

hauntings, a chapter in "The Ghostly Gazetteer" and the

Introduction of "A Ghosthunter's Guide."

Country Tavern

Nashua, NH

Over the past 250 years, Elizabeth Ford has shown herself to be an

exceptionally warm, loving person - both when she was alive, and

since she died at the age of 22.

She was murdered by her much older husband, a sea captain. After a

long sea voyage, well over nine months, he had returned to find his

wife with a baby. Obviously, it was not his.

They lived in a house that had been built shortly before, in 1741,

in what is now Nashua, New Hampshire.

Local legend has it that Captain Ford seized the baby, and locked

Elizabeth in a closet for three days. He killed the baby, and buried

it beside the house. When he let Elizabeth out and told her what he

had done, she went into a frenzy. He stabbed her to death, and

buried her elsewhere on the property.

For more than two centuries, the place remained a private house, and

common rumor was that it was haunted by the ghost of Elizabeth. But

these stories became much more prevalent a dozen years ago when the

house became a public place - a luxury restaurant. It is called The

Country Tavern, and is a couple of miles north of the Massachusetts

state line. An adjacent barn was combined into the house.

What had once been a private ghost story over many generations now

became a phenomenon that was constantly observed by workers in the

restaurant, as well as hundreds of customers. Elizabeth became

locally famous.

She was a beautiful young woman, tall and slim, with delicate

features and long hair down her back. Oddly enough, although she

looked very young, her hair was white.

Elizabeth was most often seen looking out a window of the restaurant

that had originally been the barn. But she ranged all over the

place, and had a sense of playfulness and comaraderie that endeared

her to many of the restaurant's staff.

When I heard of The Country Tavern's interesting reputation, I

called there and spoke with Meri Reid, a member of the family that

owns the place. After consultations, she called back and said sure I

could write about their ghost, and could I possibly bring along a

medium who might be able to get rid of Elizabeth? Apparently, the

owners would just as soon have Elizabeth vacate their property and

head off for the wild blue yonder where they felt she belonged. I

brought along an excellent, spiritual medium named Annika Hurwitt,

who lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

One of the first people I met at the restaurant was Bonnie Gamache,

a manager. She was one of Elizabeth's closest living pals. She told

me of waiting on a family named Fox, who had lived there a few years

before. They were having a family reunion at the restaurant.

"They told me stories about Elizabeth," Bonnie said. "I thought it

was a lot of baloney. The mother said that one of her sons used to

play ball with Elizabeth. He was there at the table, now 35, and a

lawyer. He said yes, the story was true. When he was a child he

could see Elizabeth and so could several others of the ten children

in the family. He told me that when he was small he would roll a

ball across the floor and Elizabeth would roll it back to him."

The family related an incident that happened when they were moving

out. They had piled into a station wagon, and a moving man told Mrs.

Fox that someone must have been left behind. She counted heads and

responded that everyone was in the car. He replied, "But I just

heard someone say, 'Please don't go.'"

Bonnie went on to tell me: "The woman would dust the mantel and then

turn around to dust the table, and something she'd just put on the

mantel would now be on the table. And there were other little tricks

that Elizabeth would play on them. I thought they were kooks at the

time, till I had my first experience with Elizabeth. That was when a

coffee cup came flying off a shelf and smashed against the wall

between the heads of another waitress and myself. It flew a good six

feet. Scared the hell out of us."

The ladies' room seems to be one of Elizabeth's favorite hangouts. A

high point of the folklore of the place is the lady who had her hair

lifted mysteriously. Bonnie Gamache was a prime witness.

"I was here when the lady was in the ladies' room," Bonnie told me.

"I heard an ungodly scream, and this woman came flying out the door,

white as a ghost. She said she was standing in the bathroom in front

of the mirror, brushing her hair. She had very long hair down her

back. She thought she saw something behind her and she turned around

and looked, but no one was there. All of a sudden the hair came up

off her back and went up into the air, as though someone were

holding it up there. That's when she screamed and came flying out.

She was very angry; she thought we were playing some kind of a

'Candid Camera' trick on her and was threatening to sue us. When I

told her about Elizabeth, she loved it. She went back into the

bathroom and waited about half an hour for Elizabeth to come back,

but she never did."

I had my own problems with Elizabeth. I don't see ghosts, but they

play games around me. I've had enough pulled on me over the years to

believe in poltergeist activities. One of the spirits' biggies is

fooling around when I'm taping someone - either in person or on the

phone. Elizabeth went wild during the couple of weeks I worked on

her story. I could be taping in the restaurant, or from my home to

the restaurant, or to someone else's home, and if I were talking

about Elizabeth I learned to be happy if the tape was left

unscathed. Sometimes it would be blank. Sometimes the words would be

sped up, or slowed down. Sometimes the tape would jam - in front of

my eyes - and then suddenly start up again.

Elizabeth had fun too with the restaurant's customers. Meri Reid

gave me an indication as to why the owners would just as soon see

the last of Elizabeth when she told me this story:

"When we first opened the restaurant we had an incident," she told

me. "There were four businessmen sitting at a table, and two of the

plates that were in the middle of the table suddenly slid across the

table and landed on the floor. Naturally, there was some

consternation. The waitress went over to ask if there was a problem.

They said yes, the plates had just slid across the table and onto

the floor. The waitress replied, 'Oh, that must be our ghost,

Elizabeth.' And the four men stood up and walked out."

(This reminds me of a similar case, in which a restaurant in

Cobleskill, New York, The Bull's Head Inn, had a resident

ghost, thought to be a lady - a Mrs. Stacy - who had lived in

the building when it was a home. Mrs. Stacy hated liquor. The

restaurant owners had been indiscreet - they had built the bar

in her bedroom. Not a good idea. Kathy Vedder, the manager,

told me:

("A customer and his wife were sitting at a table in the main

dining room. When he put some butter in a little dish, the dish

picked right up off the table and flew across the room. The

man turned white as a ghost. I picked up the dish and put it

back on the table and kept walking, remarking as I went: 'Oh

you know, these old buildings.' He just stared at me."

(That's what I call cool.)

The Contact

The day I brought Annika Hurwitt to The Country Inn a large group of

observers had gathered there. I guess you could call it a ghost

rally. Most of the staff had come in, even on their day off; I had

brought several friends; Annika had at least one friend present, a

psychotherapist; and there was quite a delegration of regular

customers. Annika's friend had a new coat, and Elizabeth stole the

belt - in the bathroom, where else? But she brought it back - after

everybody had searched the restaurant for half an hour. She

rematerialized it - in the bathroom.

Annika went into meditation, and told us she was in contact with

Elizabeth. "This woman," she said, "was very much in love with the

father of the child. What she's doing, she's like the mother animal

constantly looking for her young. What we need to do is let her know

that her child has passed on and that she can only unite with the

child in spirit." In fact, Annika felt that the baby had

reincarnated more than once. "What Elizabeth must hear," Annika

said, "is that even though we can see you and feel you at times, you

are not in your body." She said she would try to move Elizabeth to

higher spiritual planes, to help her give up her earthly attachment.

Through dowsing the surrounding land, Annika determined that the

baby was buried underneath a huge tree next to the house and that

Elizabeth was buried under a tree farther out in back. "She thought

the baby was there, in back," Annika said, "and that's why she kept

looking out toward that tree. She assumed her husband had buried

them together, but in fact, out of his maliciousness and jealousy,

he had buried them apart."

The Seance

Annika held the seance, and said that Elizabeth had gotten the

message, that she was in another world, and should no longer try to

hold on to this physical world.. A few days later, I called the

restaurant and talked with Bonnie Gamache. She said there had been

no further signs of the ghost.

"I love Elizabeth," she said. "I've spent a lot of time with her,

and I feel that she's my friend. She gives me comfort. I'm here by

myself a lot, and I've never felt that I was alone. The morning

after the seance, I went into the ladies' bathroom and told

Elizabeth how much I was going to miss her."

She had avoided the seance, feeling she could not bear to say

goodbye to Elizabeth.

Six months later, when the manuscript for the book was completed and

I was preparing to send it in to the publisher, I called Bonnie

again to see what had happened.

"It's been real quiet," Bonnie told me. "I don't think she's here

anymore. I wish we had never held that seance."

I mentioned that Elizabeth was presumably better off now than in her

long earthbound situation.

Bonnie began crying. "I know," she said. "But I didn't even get to

say goodbye to her."

The Sequel - an Interdimensional Friendship

Have you ever read a novel and felt downhearted when it ended? Have

you wished you could stay with the characters to whom you had become

so attached, wanted to find out what happened to them after the

story ended? Well, there is a sequel to the above story.

The above account was a chapter in my book, "The Ghostly Gazetteer,"

which came out in 1990. About three years later, I got a call from

the TV show, "Hard Copy." They wanted to do a sequence on a case

from my books, and asked for suggestions. My first choice was The

Country Tavern, because the central figure, Elizabeth, was so loving

and attractive.

Annika and I showed up on the appointed day, to find the restaurant

crawling with cables and cameras and TV technicians. We hadn't been

there more than five minutes when Annika whispered to me,

"Elizabeth's back."

A few moments later I saw Bonnie Gamache and told her what Annika

had said. She smiled with delight and said, "Oh yes, she's back."

Annika meditated further, and said that Elizabeth is no longer an

earthbound spirit. She now knows she is dead, and has been on to

higher spiritual planes. She just likes to visit her old earthly

haunt. Annika said that Elizabeth comes back for two reasons: Her

friends at the restaurant miss her, and she likes to demonstrate to

them that death is not oblivion, that life goes on.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'll try to find the excerpt for Ocean Born Mary... I have several Hans Holzer books which have accounts of him and Sybil Leek visiting the house in Henniker NH. Just have to find them... I've been to the house myself, not in it - just outside...

Jocko

[Jocko]

Ok... I found *A* excerpt of Ocean Born Mary... Its almost exactly the same as the ones I have in the Holzer books... and most importantly it names the ship and the pirate.... I'd be curious to know if any of you have heard of either "The Wolf" or a pirate/privateer named Don Pedro who was supposedly an english nobleman???

Enjoy the tale!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ocean-Born Mary

Mary Wilson was born at sea on July 17th, 1720 (according to

the old calendar), soon after her parents set sail from Londonderry,

Ireland, aboard the ship, the Wolf. As the ship neared Boston

harbor, it was boarded by pirates, led by the ruthless--but very

young and handsome--Don Pedro.

Don Pedro learned that there was a newborn aboard, and offered to

let the Wolf and its passengers continue their voyage, unharmed,

if the Wilsons would name the baby "Mary," after his beloved

mother.

The Wilsons eagerly agreed, and Don Pedro honored his promise.

However, before his own ship of ruthless (and now unhappy) pirates

sailed away, Don Pedro returned to the Wolf with a length of

Chinese silk. He told the Wilsons that the fabric should one day be

used for Mary's wedding gown.

And so it was, when Mary and Scotsman Thomas Wallace married, in

Londonderry, New Hampshire, just before Christmas in 1742. They

quickly had four sons and a daughter, but Mary was widowed soon

after the birth of her last son.

Word of the tragedy reached Don Pedro, still young but now eager to

take his fortune and settle far from the call of the sea. He had his men

row up the Contoocook River to the 6,000 acres of land he'd been

granted by the King of England. "Don Pedro" was actually an English

nobleman, previously the "black sheep" of the family, but his

wandering days were over.

Don Pedro had his ship's carpenter build a fine mansion on a hilltop in

what is now known as Henniker, New Hampshire. The beams and

detailing in the house are uniquely like a ship.

When the house was completed, Don Pedro went to Londonderry

and begged Mary to live with him--as his housekeeper, since she still

mourned her late husband--and Don Pedro supported Mary and her

children in grand style for many happy years.

However, the fortune that Don Pedro had earned, was also a curse upon

him. One night, men came to the Henniker mansion under the pretense

of visiting with their old friend, Don Pedro. Mary and her children

went to bed, unaware that tragedy would soon strike. Mary heard a curse

from outside her window, and then a groan. Recognizing the voice of

Don Pedro, she rushed to the garden and found him alone, dying with

a pirate's cutlass in his chest.

Before he died, he told Mary where he'd hidden his gold, and he asked

her to bury him beneath the hearth in the home they'd shared so happily.

She honored his wishes, and lived a long and comfortable life, never

leaving the Henniker home. She barely touched the treasure buried in

her garden, because Don Pedro had left such a fortune.

One of Mary's hobbies was painting, and the American eagle and stars

she painted over the front door of the home, can still be seen there

today. Inside, her landscape murals also decorate many rooms in the

home.

After her death in 1814, her spirit remained in the house. In the early 20th

century, the home was opened to the public and visitors often saw her

rocking chair sway gently as she let them know she welcomed them.

Mary has been sensed near the hearth she tended carefully after it became

the final resting spot of Don Pedro. Two state policemen saw her one

night, crossing the road in front of her house.

Hans Holzer, the famous ghost expert, has conducted two different and

successful seances to contact Mary. As recently as 1963, she put out a

blazing fire in the house, while the owners watched in amazement.

On many Halloween nights, Mary rises from her grave in Henniker's

Centre Cemetery (twelve rows back from the front gate, and marked

with a special plaque), and rides a magnificent horse-drawn coach to

her home.

Everyone who has seen Mary's ghost, comments on her red hair, green

eyes, and magnificent stature, at about six feet tall. She is, by all

accounts, an astonishingly beautiful woman as a ghost, just as she was

in life.

Her home is now privately owned and definitely NOT open to visitors.

However, Ocean-Born Mary remains one of America's most famous

and beloved ghosts.

[Jamaica Rose]

There's also the Legend of the Neakani treasure, where some spanish

pirates buried gold stolen from south america, way up on Neakani montain, which overlooks the pacific, <snip>

In case anyone's interested, long time ago, one of me darlin' devoted readers sent me a monograph by the name of "Tales of the Neahkahnie Treasure" from the Nehalem Valley Historical Society Treasure Committee, 1991. Says it was a 2nd printing by the Tillamook County pioneer Museum, 2106 2nd St., Tillamook, OR 97141 (503) 842-4553 (I'd check on the area code -- might have changed since then). 'tis 25 pages crammed with information all about this mysterious treasure. I've been to Tillamook once, long ago, only to tour the cheese factory and get some samples. Since I've learned of this mystery, been meanin' to go back.

Blackheartedly yrs,

--Jamaica Rose

[capnwilliam]

Some interestin' tales here, mates! Sorry I don't have any to contribute, but please keep them coming, if you do.

Capt. William

[Jocko]

I'll have to consult me books, I will... I've got quite the bunch... are any of'ya interest'd in a particular pah-rrt of da c'ntry?

Jocko

[redhand]

Here's an article I found talking about the Blackbeards ghost

thing on that History Channel show.

Also here's a paperback available from Amazon.....

titled "Pirate Ghosts of the American Coast-Stories of Hauntings at Sea"

by Charles G. Waugh & Martin H. Greenberg

Enjoy!

Redhand

Buried Treasure, Ghosts and Legendary Castles

Exciting Caribbean Vacations

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), a tourism development agency promoting the world's most popular sun destinations, invites you to discover the legacy of pirates in the Caribbean region. Turn back the clock and explore an exciting era of adventure, when legendary pirates and ruthless privateers dominated over the high seas. Their legends live on through tourist attractions in the form of festivals, museums, forts, sunken shipwrecks, treasures and castles.

Piracy was once a real way of life in the Caribbean, where Dutch, English, French and Spanish ships frequently fell prey to the menacing antics of cunning captains, forfeiting their cargo of gold, tobacco, silk and spices. In a rich treasure chest of Caribbean folklore, pirate ghosts and tales of buried treasures are a part of the region's unique character.

"Pirate folklore is just another exciting aspect of a Caribbean vacation that offers endless adventure," says Andrew Parris, Manager for CTO Canada. "Canadians are invited to visit the coves, caves and fortresses that once harboured legendary figures of the popular Blackbeard 'the pirate'."

One of the most ruthless and cunning men of the era was Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. After a reign of several bloody years, Blackbeard was eventually conquered.

Today travellers visiting the Caribbean are invited to explore the many sites believed to be haunted by Blackbeard's ghost. Some of these locations include the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau, a Bahamian hotel that sits directly on the site of Old Fort Nassau, Blackbeard's Cove, a hotel bar that pays tribute to its popular former tenant.

Far beneath the ocean's surface, pirate folklore thrives in the myths of buried and sunken treasure that has stimulated snorkeling and scuba diving adventures throughout the Caribbean. In the Cayman Islands, it is rumoured that Blackbeard hid his treasure in the caves of Cayman Brac. A popular dive site today, divers and snorkelers are intrigued not only by the possibility of discovering sunken treasure but also be the breathtaking coral reefs and wildlife surrounding the area.

"Buried treasure is just one component to the pirate history and heritage of the Caribbean," says Hugh Riley, Director of Marketing, The Americas for the CTO. "Visitors are invited to experience colourful history and heritage of the Caribbean through music, food and festivals."

The shallow waters off the coast of the British Virgin Islands (B.V.I) are home to more than 300 documented shipwrecks, in fact some of the smaller islands surrounding B.V.I are better known as "Treasure Islands," where legend has it that local fishermen discovered some of Blackbeard "loot" in three large caves.

The United States Virgin Islands are home to Blackbeard's Castle, one of four National Historic sites located on the islands. Tourists are drawn to the mystical charm of the 17th century structure featuring the Skytsborg Tower, a Blackbeard lookout point that is a popular setting for wedding photos. Guests of the Inn at Blackbeard's Castle can live out their own pirate adventures as they explore the grounds where he once lived, and perhaps still roams - as believed by many.

Another notable pirate castle to be explored is Sam Lord's Castle, a spectacular lime coral mansion situated on the southern coast of Barbados. Legend has it that Sam Lord used lanterns to lure cargo ships onto the treacherous rocks below to steal treasure. Today, the castle is a 12-acre resort that revives the spirit of Sam Lord with scavenger hunts, pirate theme nights and an assortment of adventurous activities.

All things, good and bad, must come to an end, and that is exactly the fate that befell the pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries. One such unlucky man was John Rackham, better known by the nickname "Calico Jack," one of the most ruthless pirates of his time. Calico Jack was eventually hanged at Gallows Point, Port Royal, in Jamaica, a well-known sanctuary for pirates of the 17th century. In 1692, the old city of Port Royal is said to have been destroyed by an earthquake, sliding into the sea below. Today, the new city of Port Royal greets visitors in search of adventure, some who claim to hear the church bells of the sunken city ringing out. Visitors can also explore the pirate past of 16th century Fort Charles, as well as the Maritime Museum and the Port Royal Archeological and Historical Museum.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and marketing operations in Toronto, New York and London, is the Caribbean's tourism development agency and comprises membership of 32 governments and a myriad of private sector companies.

The CTO's mission is to provide to and through its members, the services and information needed for the development of sustainable tourism for the economic and social benefit of the Caribbean people.  The organization provides specialized support and technical assistance to member countries in the areas of marketing, human resource development, research and statistics and sustainable development.

Edited by Dave Shultz

[barnegat]

Hi, I'm new here. There are bunches & bunches of ghost stories on the Jersey Shore where many ships went down. Blackbeard's ship, Queen Anne's Revenge ( I think that's the one) is suppose to appear on certain moonless nights on the Shark River. Capt. Kidd is suppose to have buried treasure on Money Island on the Toms River and killed a sailor so that the ghost would guard it. Wreckers made a living salvaging stranded vessels though at the time, word was that many ships were lured on to the bars. Then there is The Ghostly Sphinx of Metedeconk as written about by Stephen Crane. I love this stuff.

[redhand]

Hey What's the Steven Crane story about?

I've never read that before. This stuff is pretty interesting to me also,

partly because of the "ghost story" stuff and the mix of history.

I've read and watched some really interesting shows & books

on the subject. Totally fascinating.

I've heard the stories about the wreckers before.

Redhand

[barnegat]

I found The Ghostly Sphinx of Metedeconk in a fantastic book ( which is stolen but we won't go into that) entitled Down Barnegat Bay; A Nor'easter Midnight Reader by Robert Jahn, published by Beachecomber Press, 1980. The story itself by Stephen Crane is exerpted from The New York Press, 1895. Sadly, the book is out of print.

The story, some of which I will quote, goes this a-way:

"About a mile south of here, on the brown bluff that overlooks the ocean, there is an old house to which the inhabitants of the place have attached a portentious gruesome legend. It is here that the white lady, a moaning, mourning thing of the mist, walks to and fro, haunting the beach at the edge of the surf in midnight searches for the body of her. The legend was born, it was said, in 1815, and since that time Metedeconk has devoted much breath to the discussion of it, orating in the village stores, haranguing in the post office, until the story has become a religion, a sacred tale, and he who scorns it receives the opprobrium of all Metedeconk.

It is claimed that when this phantom meets a human being face to face, she asks a question - a terrible, direct interrogation. She will ask concerning the body of her lover, who was drowned in 1815, and if the chattering mortal cannot at once give her an intelligent answer, containing terse information relating to the corpse, he is forthwith doomed, and his friends will find him the next day lying pallid upon the shore. So, for fear of being being nonplused by this sphinx, the man of Metedeconk, when he sees white at night, runs like a hare."

I wanted to share some of the language of the story.

-----Standard ghost story fare, the rest of the story: She didn't say good-bye to her lover because he was leaving for Buenos Aires and she was pissed. His ship went down some 60 miles south of Metedeconk on the return trip but soon as he left she felt tremendous forboding. She walked the beach continually until she happened to stumble upon his corpse.

The book is full of exerpts from like this from various places like Harpers Weekly & old photos and I was very surprised to how much was written about this area which was terribly remote back in the day. It was remote when I was growing up there. Not anymore, unfortunately.

Just as an aside, Robert Louis Stevenson spent 2 summers at the Union House in Brielle, NJ which is just on the otherside of the Manasquan River not far from Metedeconk. He was working on The Master of Ballentrae in 1888. He enjoyed sailing catboats with his friend Will Low. Twenty years later Low wrote this in his autobiography:

"One afternoon we landed on an island a little way up the river, whose shore upon one side was protected by a bulkhead. As the island was nameless, we proceeded to repair the oversight and christened it Treasure island, after which we fell to with pocketknives to carve the name upon the bulkhead, together with our initials and the date. This inscription was there some years after, and if the winter tempests have spared it, I am pleased to signal it for some one in quest of a Stevenson autograph, as it might figure as a unique specimen in almost any collection."

Last time I looked, traces of the bulkhead still showed. Locally, the island is called Treasure Island though on the map, it is written as Osborn Island. And, local stories say that pirates buried trasure there.

If anyone is interested, I have a web site for the Jersey Devil - not just a hockey team! - very interesting. I can't get it to come up right now or I would give it here.

Well, I hope I didn't bore anyone. I just love sharing this stuff with anyone who'd listen. Be happy that I'm not standing in front of you talking.

[Morgan La Scylla]

A Pirate Ghost on Grand Manan

Octogenarian Vernon Bagley of Seal Cove, Grand Manan is not a man who shirks from danger, yet he does have his limit and it occurred when he met the pirate ghost of Long Pond on Grand Manan.

......Before you meet the ghost, let's meet the man who met the ghost.

......Vernon Bagley is not known as a serious man. He makes light of every statement one makes, or every situation one describes. Except one. As a Grand Manan game warden, he never went looking for trouble, but when he met it, he never backed off. Some fellows down in Dark Harbour spread the word that he better not show up at their encampment.

......"That's the worst thing they could have done," Bagley said, "for the next day l drover right up to their camp and told them to round everyone up as I had no intention of repeating my message: break the law and you will suffer the consequences."

......In February of 1963, Bagley received a late night call that there was a boat a ground at Southern Head. One of the occupants had crawled up the 200-foot cliff, but his brother was still down by the boat, and would freeze to death if someone didn't go after him. Many others got the call too, but no one would scale the cliff.

......"Wait till morning," they insisted. Bagley went down, but not before his customary shot of humor. "Before I go down," he told the fellows, "if you run out of rope, don't let go of your end, as I intend to come back up and spent a lot of years on the island yet."

......They had 300-feet of rope to use, and they used most of it. Eventually, Bagley dragged the 200-pound Floyd Jones, a Maine fisherman, up the cliff face.

......For his brave act, Bagley was awarded the Carnegie Silver metal. He says he'd never do it again, and at his present age, that's probably true.

......But he's had one other Grand Manan experience and it's one he's not anxious to repeat... a meeting with a pirate ghost on the Long Pond in the Anchorage Park. The incident occurred long before the present park was established in the 60's, but after the area had became a game reserve in 1948. Bagley had a cabin on the edge of the lake in those days and enjoyed the isolation until the pirate showed up.

......"I was watching a sea bird flipping in the pond. His actions seemed strange and I had my glass on him, and out by the side of the glass I saw this critter coming along. He's walking right over the pond, and clear as anything, I can tell he's a pirate, with a round red nose and long flowing coat, with a big sword hanging down. It wasn't in a sheath or any thing and he just came walking along and got closer and closer to me, and I sort of froze and felt funny.

......"I don't think I could have run if I wanted to, so as he got right close, I decided to speak to him. I spoke gently, so as not to scare him or anything and he sure didn't like it, for he opened his mouth and roared at me just like a lion. He walked by me then and walked toward the woods where my cabin was. I got so I could move and turned to watch him. I knew from where he was walking that he would come out of a clearing just beyond my cabin, but he didn't show up. He just disappered. Later, I saw him on the pond again and he was on the edge walking across the weeds. Well, I didn't see him again and don't want to." Bagley says his sightings have been confirmed by others. The current park manager, Bill Daggett, says he's had some strange sightings, but doesn't wish to talk about them much.

......"Let me tell you," he said, "there's something to the stories. I feel I'm being watched when I'm working down there by that pond." After his initial sighting, Bagley asked around and discovered two young boys down by the pond who had see the pirate.

......"They had been toasting wieners, looked up and saw the pirate coming toward them," he said. "They got shaking so bad, the wieners fell off the sticks into the fire, and the pirate just reached in, and slowly lifted them out and asked what they were. The boys ran off and told their father the story. He took them back to the pond and they saw the pirate, way off; going into the woods at Henderson's Point." Bagley is sure his was the same figure as the boys since their descriptions included the long sword, and more importantly the round, red nose. He has no explanation for the sighting.

......"I've been told I'm the oldest Bagley that ever lived and I'm going to be around at least another twenty years and I don't ever want to see that fellow again. When he opened his mouth and roared at me, well, it just made me tingle, and feel funny, not something I want to repeat." Grand Manan Island is reached by ferry off Route One at Blacks Harbour: Anchorage Park, the site of Long Pond, is 16 kilometres from North Head, where the ferry docks.Vernon Bagley is often sitting outside hisKing Street home in Seal Cove and delights in telling stories to those passing by who stop to chat.

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Ghostly Lovers of Fripp Island Beach

According to the legend, the famous pirate Blackbeard kidnapped a girl from Charleston and brought her to his lair on Fripp Island. When she resisted him, Blackbeard killed the man to whom the girl had been betrothed.

The pirate brought the girl her sweetheart’s severed hand, which still wore the engagement ring. The horrified girl rushed into surf to drown in the ocean currents.

Their love prevailed over Blackbeard’s wickedness, none the less. In the light of each full moon, the ghosts of the lovers stroll arm in arm along the beach to this very day.

[Morgan La Scylla]

Captain Houston At Horse Creek

Emily Lagow Bell, wrote, "My Pioneer Days In Florida," a book about her life here from 1876-1898.

She writes of a visit with a Captain Houston at Horse Creek. He told her of the sounds that would awakened his family in the night. The sounds were of horses running, and their hoofs sounded like they would have heavy shoes on. There was also the sound of the clanking of heavy chains. Next it would sound as if boats would come to the shore and it would sound like a regiment of soldiers disembarking.

He said the family would rush out from their house, and then there would be no sounds. When everything was quiet, they would hear it all over again. This only happened at certain times of the year, she was told.

During this same trip, there was a visit with a Mr. Stone, who had lived on the end of Merritt's Island since 1868. Mr. Stone knew Captain Drake, who was a pirate on the high seas. Stone said that about a mile from him was a place where no one could live in any peace. This was on account of the sounds like someone was pelting the house with rocks. In addition there was a tree there, that was always shaking like an aspen. He said there had been an old black women who had live there in 1858, but she was the only one that ever could.

[Captain Rob Carroll]

I'll post a watery ghost story in a bit, I'm thinking which one to post, it will be good though.

[Captain Rob Carroll]

The Drowned Bells of Kilstaveen:

The country folk say that between the Cliffs of Moher and the Ballard Cliffs, there used to be a hugh stretch of land that hads lots of towns and farms. The biggest of the towns was Kilstaveen. It was located on the west coast of Clare county. In the town was a big a very important monastery. Even though this was a holy place, there was great evil in the town itself. For instance theives and rogues ran the local market, these ruffians stole from the villagers with overpriced goods. There was great drunkiness and lewd behaviour going on in the streets daily. The monks were full aware of the happening of the town but, with shame, they did not stop this at all, nor did they speak up against the crimes.

Then one day, there was a hugh earthquake in the area, lots of land slid into the sea because of this. The shockwave split the ground between Moher and Ballard, the land between these to places collapsed in the murky depths of the sea, together with Kilstaveen and their monastery. The quake hit when all were sleeping and many died drowned in their very own beds. Some say God passed His judgemnet on unholy Kilstaveen and it's denizens that night. I heard the old people of the area say that the damned town is still beneath the water, in the bay south of Lahinch and on a clear day, you can sometimes get a glimpse of the walls of the houses or the spire of the monastery directly below the waves, but to see this, means an evil omen will befall soon on the seer. For Kilstaveen is a haunted place filled with the agonized ghosts of those who died that night many years ago. many a fishermen of the area still are afraid of the Clare coast and live in dread to see the ruined walls or the weed cover bell tower of that evil abode. sometimes at night the bell in the monastery can sometimes be heard ringing across the waves. To hear such a sound means certain death.

Once there was a fishing vessel that sailed out of Doonberg up towards Galway Bay. It was a clear day and the seas were very calm. The boat sailed to some rocky outcrops where supposedly there was a big score of fish to be had, and the lay out the nets, when suddenly the crewmen Joseph heard a faint sound, like a bell toll, very far away, then it stopped. Suddenly Joseph on the sternside of the boat cried out, "Kilstaveen! Kilstaveen! Oh dear God protect us!" There was big commotion on the deck now and many other crewman came over to see what has happened, the older crewmen, who knew the story, stayed well away from the edge of the boat, and tucked their heads down, fearing that the might see. Joseph kept pointing out into the deep "Can you see it?" he shouted wildly "Look, there are the walls of the houses and their is the spire of a church. Oh God it has to be Kilstaveen!"

In an instant a freak wave came up out of the ocean and swept over the stern of the boat, carrying trembling and panic stricken Joseph over the side but, leaving the rest of the crew still on the boat. He vanished beneath the waves never to come up again. Some of the crew thought to see poor Joseph being pulled into the deep my spectral hands The wave passed as fast as it came about, leaving the sea calm once more. Joseph was gone alright! Although the crew serached foe him for hours. He had been taken to dwell with the undersea ghosts of Kilstaveen!

The crew sailed back to port in sorrow for the loss of their buddy. When the crew went home and told the story at the tavern several fishermen told that sometimes whole boat crews had been lost and that they were lucky the spirits didn't take them all. Some of the fishermen told that their boats were surrounded by this weird fog. When this fog lifted some of the men were gone, perhaps fallen into the depths of the sea or carried off by the malevolent ghosts. Ghostly hands tolled the monastery bell to announce the arrival of a new sould to their befouled dead and watery world. Clare fishermen to this day, if they think that they heard that bell-note, they will not even sail that day. not even if the ocean is calm and the weather fine, for they know if they did go out, they may never return again to port. That is the curse of Kilstaveen, the drowned town.

There you go, next time your out on the waves and you hear the ghostly bell toll, say you prayers and hide, for you might be the next permanent residence of the evil town!

[Capt. William T. Popples]

Wow! There's some good ones in there, sorry I have none to offer but if it makes ya feel better I did get a little creeped out...

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Ghostly Pirate

About four years ago, Sam was in a very serious accident and his leg was broken in four places. After eight surgeries, he ended up with a plate and 28 screws in his leg for several months.

After the plate and screws were removed, the doctors found that Sam had developed a bad bone infection. To stop the infection and save his leg, the doctor decided to put a catheter in Sam's chest so that large amounts of medication could be put directly into his bloodstream over a long period of time. This is fairly routine and is usually done under local anesthetic. Up to this point Sam had been very positive about the situation; however, the idea of having a catheter inserted in his chest bothered him quite a bit. (Because he can't visualize things, unfamiliar situations really unnerve him.) He tried to put on a brave front, but as the day for the procedure approached I could tell he was pretty nervous and no one was able to reassure him.

The morning before he was scheduled to go into the hospital, Sam came to me, looking slightly bewildered. He asked me if it was possible to have a dream without being asleep. Apparently he had had some kind of unusual experience and was at a loss as to how to describe it. So I told him to just tell me what had happened and I would try to explain it to him. I might add that when Sam describes something he tells you exactly what he experienced, in great detail, but, of course, without any imagination. He has almost a photographic memory for physical detail.

Sam told me that he had gone to bed the night before and could not get the upcoming medical procedure off his mind. Usually he falls asleep almost instantly and sleeps like a log, but this time he couldn't get to sleep because he was so worried. After lying awake staring at the ceiling and watching the hands on the clock, he suddenly realized there was someone standing in the middle of the room. At this point I asked Sam if he was sure he had not gone to sleep. He was completely positive that he was awake, because when he sat up in bed to get a better look at the "intruder" he knocked a heavy book off his nightstand and bruised the back of his hand.

The figure was quite solid, and although it was night and the room was dark, it appeared to be standing in sunlight.

The person in his room, Sam said, was a pirate. At this point I asked why he thought it was a pirate, and Sam described a strongly built middle-aged man, with a tricorner hat, a bandana beneath this, a slightly greying beard, the typical "pirate" coat "with lots of gold buttons", slightly dirty ruffled shirt, earring, a sword, and one leg. I had to agree this sounded like a pirate.

The pirate did not have a pegleg as one might expect; rather, Sam said, he leaned on a crutch which looked like it was made from a tree branch whittled into smoothness. Sam said the pirate wore a large gold ring on his right hand, but he could not make out what the ring looked like other than that it was gold. He also had a scar down one side of his face.

At first the figure just stood "looking friendly" while Sam stared, but after a minute or two the "pirate" spoke to Sam. Sam said his voice was

"nice, friendly and very deep and he talked like he came from England."

According to Sam, the pirate smiled at him and said, "Arrrr, matey, don't be afraid." (When I laughed at the "Arrrr," Sam was obviously offended and insisted that was exactly what the pirate said.)

The pirate then nodded (Sam gave an emphatic nod to show me) and said: "I come to tell ye not to worry about the doctoring tomorrow. Everything'll go right, ye'll see. Ye won't even be awake fer it. Ye'll be all right, mate."

He smiled and winked at Sam and slowly faded out. After this, Sam said, he suddenly felt much better about everything; he lay back down, felt his pet cat jump on the bed and lie down beside him, and then fell asleep.

Not knowing what else to say, I told Sam that it might have been a friendly spirit or guardian angel who wanted to make him feel better. Sam was satisfied by this answer, and seemed much less worried about the medical procedure, which did indeed go well.

Interestingly, at the last minute the doctor and anesthesiologist opted to put Sam completely "under" rather than using local anesthetic. Sam announced to me afterwards that "The pirate was right." The infection was eventually stopped, and Sam recovered without further incident.

I have no idea what or who visited Sam. As far as I know there are no pirates in our family tree, but we do have a grave robber and a horse thief among our ancestors, so a pirate wouldn't surprise me at all.

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Tale of Headless Hattie

Legend has it that Blackbeard was one of the most feared pirates to ever sail the seas. He also had an eye for beauty. Thus, he married Hattie – a vibrant redheaded woman who lived in Salter Path, NC.

After being away for nearly two years, word came that Blackbeard’s ship was within sight. Hattie traveled by boat to greet her husband and found him with another woman. Known for her temper, Hattie flew into a rage and attacked Blackbeard. He pulled her away and held her at arms length with his left hand. With his right, he took his saber and with one stroke, threw her overboard.

Since then, there have been many reports of Hattie, covered in seaweed wandering the coast.

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Tragedy of Goody Hallett

The discovery of the pirate ship Whidah has shed light into the activities of pirate Captain "Black Sam" Bellamy and his ill-fated band of buccaneers. The loss of the ship and most of her crew in the winter of 1717 produced a number of legends about buried gold, the sounds of death, and ghostly apparitions on foggy nights at the Cape's outer shore.

Josef Berger, who wrote the 1930's classic Cape Cod Pilot, told the story of the simple Eastham farm girl whose fate was linked with the wreck of the Whidah. Her name was "Goody" Hallett.

How good "Goody" Hallett was is a matter of some speculation. It seems that she made the acquaintance of Captain Bellamy when he visited Eastham some years before he and his ship were done in by a northeaster. While he stayed the warm months at the Crosby Tavern, Bellamy met and sweet-talked sixteen year old Maria Hallett. The handsome pirate's tales of wealth and adventure impressed the wide-eyed Cape lass and there was talk of love. He convinced her that he would return and marry her once he cleared up some business in the Caribbean. As September brought its chilly evenings, he sailed away without her.

Some months after his departure, Maria Hallett gave birth to a child that died the same night. The event caused such a scandal in the small town that the selectmen threw the poor girl in jail. While in prison she became so distraught that she lost her mind. Escaping frequently, she wandered the dunes of the Atlantic shore looking seaward for her lost lover. Eastham ceased its attempts to confine the girl and she was eventually cast out of town with the stipulation that she never return. She was reduced to scratching out a living doing menial jobs and lived in a lonely shack near the shore at South Wellfleet.

As years passed, Maria became a shell of her once beautiful self and residents began to refer to her as a witch who sold her soul to the Devil. They called her "Goody" and told stories of seeing her in the dunes on cold windy nights screaming curses into the storm on the head of Captain Sam Bellamy, the man who betrayed her.

As for Captain Bellamy, he had long forgotten Maria and his pleasant summer in Eastham. He developed quite a reputation for himself and, with his band of brigands, he terrorized ships in the Caribbean. But it may have been the memory of warm Eastham nights that caused him to bring his ship back to New England. Or perhaps it was because the price on his head was high enough for him to decide to seek plunder in different waters. At any rate, he arrived off the coast of Cape Cod in the winter of 1717 only to fall victim to a massive storm. Despite all the efforts of the crew, the Whidah struck the bar off South Wellfleet and went to pieces. As men screamed their last in the raging surf, people along the beach saw "Goody" Hallett standing on the high bluffs shrieking her thanks to the Devil for vengeance.

In the aftermath of the wreck, the story grew that "Goody" Hallett somehow managed to retrieve and conceal a chest of pirate gold from the ship. Because Sam Bellamy's body was never recovered it was also rumored that he escaped the sinking ship and was ashore in search of his lost treasure.

The legend developed that the buried gold is still somewhere in Wellfleet because "Goody" Hallett forgot where she buried it, taking the secret to her grave. For many years after the Whidah wreck, local residents reported picking up gold coins along the Atlantic beach after great storms.

Was there a buried treasure? No one really knows. Perhaps the secret did die with "Goody" Hallett and the remainder of the treasure lies waiting for someone to stumble on it.

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Flying Dutchman Legend

The legend of The Flying Dutchman is said to have started in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank off the coast of the Cape of Good Hope:

Captain van der Decken was pleased. The trip to the Far East had been highly successful and at last, they were on their way home to Holland. As the ship approached the tip of Africa, the captain thought that he should make a suggestion to the Dutch East India Company (his employers) to start a settlement at the Cape on the tip of Africa, thereby providing a welcome respite to ships at sea.

He was so deep in thought that he failed to notice the dark clouds looming and only when he heard the lookout scream out in terror, did he realise that they had sailed straight into a fierce storm. The captain and his crew battled for hours to get out of the storm and at one stage it looked like they would make it. Then they heard a sickening crunch - the ship had hit treacherous rocks and began to sink. As the ship plunged downwards, Captain van der Decken knew that death was approaching. He was not ready to die and screamed out a curse: "I WILL round this Cape even if I have to keep sailing until doomsday!"

So, even today whenever a storm brews off the Cape of Good Hope, if you look into the eye of the storm, you will be able to see the ship and it's captain - The Flying Dutchman. Don't look too carefully, for the old folk claim that whoever sights the ship will die a terrible death.

Many people have claimed to have seen The Flying Dutchman, including the crew of a German submarine boat during World War II and holidaymakers.

On 11 July 1881, the Royal Navy ship, the Bacchante was rounding the tip of Africa, when they were confronted with the sight of The Flying Dutchman. The midshipman, a prince who later became King George V, recorded that the lookout man and the officer of the watch had seen the Flying Dutchman and he used these words to describe the ship:

"A strange red light as of a phantom ship all aglow, in the midst of which light the mast, spars and sails of a brig 200 yards distant stood out in strong relief."

It's pity that the lookout saw the Flying Dutchman, for soon after on the same trip, he accidentally fell from a mast and died. Fortunately for the English royal family, the young midshipman survived the curse.

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals

As the first light of dawn broke over the North Carolina coast one midwinter morning in 1921, coastguardsmen along the shore near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse were astounded to see a five-masted schooner, The Carroll M. Deering, under full sail, her prow caught deep in the sand, heaving mightily against the restraining land.

The men were stunned - the previous night had brought no storm, no distress signals or lights had been seen. Where then did this ship come from? Where was her crew? No sign of life, save a lean gray cat was to be found when the ship was boarded and searched. What tale could this feline tell, if only she could talk? Bunks were all made up, food left on plates and icy-cold on the stove. Everything appeared shipshape.

Eventually six government departments undertook an exhaustive investigation, to no avail. For though her identity would be learned, how she became the ghost ship of Diamond Shoals and the circumstance of her vanished crew was never known. Gone were the days of pirates such as Blackbeard who, two hundred years earlier, might have accounted for her fate, so even that possibility was ruled out. Only her memory lives on --majestic snow-white canvases in full sail without captain or crew.

[Morgan La Scylla]

The Night The Crissie Wright Came Ashore

One of the most chilling sea tales you will ever hear had its origins at Cape Lookout. Unlike many other coastal legends, this story is quite true. There are still Beaufort natives who will tell you that their grandparents saw what happened that terrible night in January of 1886.

It seems that a fine three-masted schooner, the Crissie Wright, was making her way north along the North Carolina coast when bad weather threatened. The captain decided not to brave the Diamond Shoals in the deteriorating conditions, so he set course for Cape Lookout Bight. As the ship approached the harbor, the main mast brace parted. The stricken vessel drifted helplessly onto the shoals, where it lay broadside and was broached by every incoming wave.

The breakers were much too high to launch any lifeboats, so the captain and crew took to the rigging. Meanwhile, most of the residents of nearby Diamond City gathered on the banks to watch the ship's plight. The whalers tried repeatedly to launch their small boats, but to no avail. The would-be rescuers built a huge bonfire on the beach, hoping some of the crew could swim to shore. It was not to be. As the horrified residents watched, the captain and several crew members were swept overboard.

The night became bitterly cold. To this day, Beaufort natives still use the expression "cold as the night the Crissie Wright came ashore." The next morning, the waves subsided, and the whalers were able to reach the stranded craft. They found four men wrapped in the jib sail. Three were frozen solid, but one, the ship's cook, was alive. He died a scant year later, never having recovered from his ordeal.