Death by Fear: A Haunting Discovery Aboard the SS Ourang Medan
Did this frightening event truly happen or is it just a maritime myth?
There are those who believe the story of the SS Ourang Medan is only just an urban legend. For centuries, the ominous legends of ghost ships such as the Flying Dutchman and Mary Celeste have circulated, but this story could arguably be even more disturbing than the rest. Is there such a thing as a ghost ship?
The following may convince you of their existence.
On the Straits of Malacca in 1947 or 1948, a strange distress call came through to many of the ships sailing along the narrow stretch of water. The message stated: “All officers including captain are dead, lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead.”
Indecipherable morse code followed the message, then a final two words:
“I die.”
Two American ships and monitoring stations in the UK and the Netherlands were able to triangulate the source of these broadcasts and discovered they were probably from a Dutch freighter named the SS Ourang Medan.
The first ship to respond to the mysterious SOS call was an American ship by the name of Silver Star. The urgency of the radio message came across to the captain and…
