| Shipwreck Hunters -True hunters of the deep cold lakes. In 2004 a group of deep lake divers stumbeled up on a significant find as if the Great Lake Superior finally relented, they hit pay dirt on three separate old ship wrecks. In June they found the Thomas Friant a passenger steamer, converted to fish tug, converted to coastal steamer then back to fishing before it sank in 1924. In August they discovered a broken schooner they believe to be the Moonlight schooner, off Michigan Island in deep water. And finally to top off an unbelievable season, on November first they found a steel freighter in very deep water off Two Harbors. This one is almost certainly the Benjamin Noble the shipwreck legend of the North Shore. The Benjamin Noble sank with all hands in 1914 and was one of the "Ghost Ships" of the Great Lakes. To date they have only dived and filmed the Friant, but have hours of drop camera footage and side scan images . These discoveries may be the most significant finds in recent Lake Superior history. . |
Chicago, Belmont Harbor, Lake Michigan, 1978 I was aboard one of three classic wooden sailboats, part of an active racing fleet that competed every Sunday, and practiced several times a week. Around dusk on this sultry July evening, we set sail for what should have been an idyllic cruise; as fate would have it, the gods had something different in mind. Not an hour out of port, and quite unexpectedly, a dense fog rapidly descended upon us. Visibility dropped to zero. We became disoriented, and feared we'd crash into one another. The winds were erratic, filling the mainsail from two opposing directions, a phenomenon no one had ever experienced before this evening. Suddenly, I was extremely cold. In fact, I was freezing. I turned to ask my crewmates if they were cold, and to my utter astonishment, they were no longer standing next to me! One moment we had been packed into the tiny cockpit like sardines, and the very next instant, I was alone at the helm. Dumfounded, I called out and located them on the back deck, where it was several degrees warmer. They seemed perplexed, and urged me to join them. That's when I noticed that no one was steering the boat. The Captain raised his arms high over his head, gleefully wiggling his hands and fingers in the air, and stated he hadn't been steering for the past ten minutes. Yet not a minute before, I was certain he had been standing behind me at the helm. Draped in dense fog, the vessel began a curious, aquatic dance. Slowly, but deliberately, she turned on her axis, completing three perfect, 360-degree pirouettes, never crossing the wind. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the fog dissipated. To our utter astonishment, we saw the other two boats pirouetting in exactly the same manner. A moment later, we regained control of the vessel, and pulled out of the vortex. In unison, all three boats turned and headed for port. We noticed the lead boat enter the anchorage; it had once belonged to our Captain, and we knew it well. As we approached the tiny inlet, we found our old mooring empty, the sistership nowhere in sight. All was quiet. We scanned the horizon for mast movement. We were the only vessel underway. We couldn't imagine where the other boat could have gone. In fact, there was no place they could go. We set out in search of them, but to no avail. A few minutes later, we circled back and were astonished to see that they were not only tied up with sails stowed, but rowing ashore. Nothing added up. Time either stood still, or sped up. After the third boat arrived, we met onshore. This usually boisterous group seemed dazed, and wanted nothing more than to go home, and go to sleep. It seemed we'd been out for no more then two, or perhaps three hours, instead of six. It was now well past midnight. As the weeks passed, I realized we couldn't account for a good portion of that evening. The following Sunday, as we readied ourselves for the big race, I brought up the unusual events from our extraordinary sail. To my utter astonishment, no one would talk about it. Worse yet, they behaved as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened! The vortical winds alone would have given them fodder for years. It became evident that I was the only one in remembrance. Our Captain has since passed away, and I've lost contact with the old sailing gang. However, I've told the story many times, calling it my “Lake Michigan Triangle” story. Years later, I would learn of a book written about the mysterious appearances, and disappearances, of boats and airplanes in the Great Lakes. Today, as I awaken to my own path of remembrance, I've come to realize that the events of that night may very well have been for my benefit alone; another chapter in a series of extraordinary occurrances, earmarking this remarkable journey of life. |
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The Haunting tail of the Griffon More like inland seas than lakes, the Great Lakes of North are among the most treacherous bodies of water in the world. Furious seasonal storms batter ships that sail the lakes at the wrong time of year. These great gales, called the Witch of November, have claimed many lives and ships over the years, the most famous of which was the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. Strange things happen on the lakes that are unique to them, and sailors have long told stories of ghost ships on the great lakes in the same maritime tradition of the salt water ocean. The oldest of these ghost ships is the Griffon, launched in 1678 by the early French explorer and trader La Salle. The ship vanished on the return leg of its maiden voyage loaded with furs for trade. No trace of the ship was ever found until recently, when a possible candidate for the wreck was found by divers in the form of a very old hand-carved mast sticking out of the muck. In any case, sailors have seen a ghostly apparition of the Griffon under full sail on several occasions crossing lake Michigan. Several more modern ghost ships are sighted plying the lakes, and.even the giant 729 foot Edmund Fitzgerald was sighted a decade after its infamous sinking. But the stories do not end with ships. By far the strangest and most macabre story is the tale of Grandpa. The great lakes are very cold in the depths, so cold that the frigid water will preserve almost anything through natural refrigeration. This includes human remains, and the story goes that there is a preserved body in the engine room of the wreck of the SS Kamloops, which went down in 1927. Locals and divers call him Grandpa, and he is known to float quietly behind divers, following them as they swim around the compartment. Perhaps this is just due to currents created by the divers, or maybe its something else, but the effect has scared the daylights out of more than a few divers. All the better, as they probably shouldn’t be disturbing a wreck that clearly is also the final resting place of preserved human remains. The cold seas of the north may be the most gaurded secret in the world for paranormal stories of ghost ships and their crew. Sightings are common. What’s most interesting is that, unlike the oceans, the majority of the ghost ships seen on the lakes are modern, with many having been lost within living memory. What makes these inland seas so haunted? Maybe its the cold of the water, or the inconcievable amount of tragedies that the lakes have endured. We’ll never know, but if you ever visit one of the lakes, watch carefully as the strange ship you see in the distance may just be a ghost ship. |
| All writings and stories of Poltergeist,Entities and Ghosts are exclusive properties of PROPHET of MN. The stories contained in these pages are for the individuals who enjoy the paranormal world that exists around the mighty Great Lakes. Copyright © 2008 COPYRIGHT P.R.O.P.H.E.T of MN. All rights reserved. |
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Shipwrecks and haunting tales of ghost ships;