Burning Ghost Ship

The story of the burning ghost ship was told to me a few years ago while walking along the shores of the Northumberland Strait, Prince Edward Island, Canada, in an area called Stewart’s Point.

My friend pointed out to sea and said,

“This is one place where so many local people have seen the phantom ship.”

“What! You never heard of our haunted waters?” she exclaimed. “I thought all of PEI 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. She had heard of a woman from Murray River who, around 1965, had seen a three mask schooner in the Strait with a black hull and white sails. Suddenly it was on fire from bow to stern. Crew members could be seen engulfed in flames. It only lasted a few minutes when...poof..to her astonishment it disappeared.

This is the untouched natural beach and one location where my friend said the burning ghost ship has been seen 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 then disappear.

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 a photo of the picture.

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.

Sunset on the Northumberland Strait near the sightings. The Strait, where the burning ghost ship is seen, runs between PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Most sightings of the ghost ship are 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. Many speculate it was a pirate ship while other 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.

Many sightings over 200 years with similar details must carry some validation.

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

Courtesy Canada Post

Montague is the nearest town to the sightings of the ghost ship. From there it is about a 22 minute drive to the Northumberland Strait.

A photo of the 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.

Have a great Sunday everyone and thanks for reading my post.