The Mystery of the Mary Celeste: Supernatural Event or Fatal Accident?
The case of this abandoned ship has stimulated a large debate to this day. But what really happened aboard the “Ghost Ship”?
The Mary Celeste was a 282-ton brigantine primarily employed for merchant activity and transportation. Commonly dubbed the “ship of ill omen”, the enigma of the Mary Celeste swelled in attention significantly after its abandonment, and continues to puzzle and excite mystery enthusiasts to this day. The Mystique surrounding this event is not easily forgotten for the sake of the preservation of its eerie atmosphere; however, recent studies have proposed a strong explanation behind the sudden disappearance of those aboard the ship, bringing the fate of the Mary Celeste to a closed circle.
Origins
The Mary Celeste was originally constructed at Spencer’s Island in Nova Scotia and was christened Amazon. On a voyage to London, she underwent severe damage to and from her destination. Passed around from captain to captain, the Amazon’s debts were unable to be fulfilled, and she was ultimately abandoned as a wreck off the coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in October of 1967. Many suspect the supposed “wreck” to have indeed been a ploy for obtaining insurance money as a last resort.
Reduced to pieces, the Amazon’s remains were salvaged by an individual hailing from New York named Richard Haines. Through Haines’ efforts, roughly $10,000 were poured into her recovery and she was re-registered to American ownership under the name Mary Celeste.
Her subsequent title is said to have been inspired by the illegitimate daughter of Galileo and Marina Gamba, Maria Celeste.
Mary Celeste and Benjamin Briggs
Eventually, the Mary Celeste was placed under the care of Captain Benjamin Briggs. In October of 1872, she was docked at New York’s East River where she was loaded with well over one thousand barrels of denatured alcohol that totaled at around $35,000. On November 7, 1872, she set sail towards Genoa, but to no avail.
Aboard the Mary Celeste at the time of her departure was her Captain, Benjamin Briggs, along with his wife, Sarah, and daughter, Sophia. Interestingly, his son Arthur did not accompany them on their voyage due to his young age. Also on the ship was a crew consisting of 7 members.
The Eerie Discovery
On December 4, 1872, the Canadian brigantine, Dei Gratia, which was registered under Britain sailed into the Atlantic under the command of Captain David Morehouse. Earlier that week, the Dei Gratia similarly departed New York and headed on course towards Genoa. As she entered into waters amidst the Azores and Gibraltar, the Dei Gratia stumbled upon the isolated Mary Celeste.
Morehouse, sensing the salvable condition of the ship, sent a boarding party along with his first mate, Oliver Deveau, to examine the damage. As the crew ascended onto the ship, they soon became aware of one thing: the Mary Celeste was absolutely deserted. As they made their way further throughout the ship, they made note of the abnormal, almost supernatural, state of the ship; not only was she abandoned, but it seemed as if no one was on the ship to begin with. But of course that would be near impossible, as she was found situated within the Atlantic. No, it seemed as if the crew has vanished completely. Despite the water seeping into the bottom quarters, the missing hatches and rails connecting to the hold and longboat storage, and the missing longboat and disassembled sail-ropes and pumps, the ship seemed to be in too good of a condition to be abandoned; the crew’s belongings were situated properly, the cargos of alcohol were in pristine condition, and the supply of food and water seemed enough to last half a year. So what had become of Briggs and his crew?
Morehouse- who some sources state was a close friend of Briggs- sent some of his men onto the Mary Celeste and together the Dei Gratia and Mary Celeste sailed into Gibraltar.
Examination of the Events
Almost as soon as they arrived in Gibraltar, a court of inquiry was assembled and a hearing was set into motion. From the hearing, various conspiracies were concluded, however, without tangible evidence, it became difficult to narrow down to a singular theory.
Even so, the most critical conclusion was proposed by the Attorney General of Gibraltar, Frederick Solly-Flood. Solly-Flood was fully set on foul play, despite the lack of evidence. He conjectured that Briggs’ crew had turned to mutiny and murdered the captain after consuming large amounts of alcohol from their cargo, after which they escaped in the missing longboat. However, because the cargo was secure, Solly-Flood altered his conclusion to Briggs murdering his crew and conspiring with Morehouse for financial gain. Nevertheless, not a single one of these theories were able to be proven without accurate, tangible evidence.
In regard to more extraordinary and even supernatural theories, some individuals speculated that it was indeed a giant squid who had wreaked havoc among the ship. Others spoke of marine earthquakes or waterspouts that had enveloped the crew, all of which perished. Moreover, the tale of the Flying Dutchman reappeared as a possible explanation for the crew’s baffling and sudden-looking disappearance.
Around this time, the public in both America and Europe began speculating that the Mary Celeste was a cursed ship. During her time as the Amazon, many of her earliest Captains fell ill and passed, and she was incredibly prone to accidents on course. Even after the Mary Celeste’s incident, her reputation as an ill omen prevailed as 3–4 of her consecutive captains perished on untimely occasions. The Briggs family is also said to be cursed not only because of Benjamin, Sarah, and Sophia’s deaths aboard the Mary Celeste, but also because of the Briggs’ son, Arthur, who had been killed by a tree during a nasty storm later on in his life. Benjamin’s grandfather was also killed similarly, but by lightning, and Benjamin’s brother, Oliver, died at sea as well.
Twenty-First Century Explanations
Recent technology and various scientific methods have been able to provide a closer estimate to what could have happened aboard the Mary Celeste. The most common explanation is that although the barrels aboard were physically in perfect condition, it is possible that a small number had leaked. The reasoning behind this is that the barrels were made out of red oak, a material that is unsuitable for carrying fluid goods due to their porous composition. As a result, the alcohol that had leaked was quite possibly absorbed into the walls of the ship, which would gradually result in a highly flammable environment. This theory generated a reasonable amount of skeptics as the remains of the ship displayed no signs of an explosion or any form of burns.
In 2006, however, Dr. Andrea Sella-Scientist and Professor of Chemistry at UCL- proved the plausibility of this theory by creating a replica and carrying out the theory in real time. To do so, he utilized paper cubes to symbolize the barrels of alcohol and leaked butane into the replica to symbolize an alcohol leakage. Once he ignited the replica, the explosion shot upwards almost instantaneously.
“What we created was a pressure-wave type of explosion. There was a spectacular wave of flame but, behind it, was relatively cool air. No soot was left behind and there was no burning or scorching.
According to Sella, this form of explosion would have caused a panic aboard the ship, and desperate to avoid another near-death experience, it is likely that Briggs and the crew used the longboat to escape the Mary Celeste. This theory is furthered by the fact that by the time Morehouse and his crew examined the ship, all traces of alcohol would have evaporated.
Regardless, the tale of the Mary Celeste remains as a story of paranormal underlines. With the countless accounts of bad omens that have occurred within her walls, she is still widely regarded as a “ghost ship”. We as a society are highly intrigued by supernatural occurrences or incidents that are ambiguous and cannot easily be explained. Perhaps for this reason, the theories behind the Mary Celeste have yet to be put to rest by the newfound logical reasoning. Whatever the cause may be, and whichever theory you may believe, there is one thing for certain: the story of the Mary Celeste will continue to circle throughout pop culture as a timeless chronicle.
References
The Mysteries of History: Unravelling the Truth from the Myths of Our Past
Solved: The Mystery of the Mary Celeste
