Phantom Ships Trivia Quiz

Answer: Queen Mary

"The Queen Mary" is now a tourist attraction, having been purchased by the city of Long Beach California in 1971 after it was retired from the Cunard line in 1968. She made her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, on May 27th 1936. During WWII, she was was painted grey as camouflage for ocean crossings and nicknamed "Grey Ghost".

Answer: The Flying Dutchman

"The Flying Dutchman" is a name that has come to be feared by mariners. To see it is an omen of death, or so the legend says. The story of the Dutchman is so well known that even Richard Wagner wrote an opera on the subject. Mariners would nail horseshoes to the masts of their ships for good luck hoping this would protect them if they were to see "The Flying Dutchman" sailing though the mist towards them.

Answer: The Star of India

Built in 1863 in the Isle of Man, the ship is now berthed at the San Diego Maritime Museum USA. It had the distinction of being the world's oldest active ship and like most ships of its time had its far share of bad luck. One unlucky lad, a stowaway called John Campbell, was caught by the crew and put to work.

But he fell from the rigging and crashed to the deck of the ship breaking both legs, dying in agony a few days later. Visitors standing near the mast where he fell have reported feeling a cold sensation and even on the hottest day this spot remains cold.

Answer: U.S.S. Hornet

Commissioned in 1943, it was the 8th ship to be called "U.S.S Hornet". For most ships during WWII, the sea could be a very dangerous place. Over three hundred people have lost their lives in the 27 years the Hornet has been in service.

Answer: The Great Eastern

Built in 1857, the "Great Eastern" was set to be launched on January 30, 1858. But the builders did not calculate the weight of the ship correctly when they tried to launch it and the launch mechanism jammed.

It wasn't until it was purchased by the Great Ship Company that the "Great Eastern" finally made it out to sea, along with a few unseen passengers. It boasted a double hull which was hard to build, which meant boys and men had to squeeze into the narrow space between the two hulls, resulting in quite a few deaths. Hammering noises have been reported below decks when no-one is there, and shadowy figures walking down the corridors.

Answer: Baychinco

This is one of the lesser known ghost ships. The "Baychinco" became stuck in the ice in the Artic Ocean, and when a storm came the captain thought the ice pressing against the ship might crush the ship's hull. He ordered his crew to leave the ship and wait the storm out on a surrounding ice pack.

Unfortunately, when the storm cleared the Freighter was gone and eventually the crew died of hypothermia. The "Baychinco" has been reported to have been seen sailing the Artic sea, crewless. The last sighting was in 1964.

Answer: USS Lexington

Nicknamed the blue ghost, "U.S.S. Lexington" was built during World War II. Originally the ship was to be named Cabot but was changed to commemorate "USS Lexington" (CV-2), which was sunk in the battle of the Coral Sea.

Sightings of the Lexington ghost has been reported on many occasions, always in the engine room. People who have claimed to see him say he is "smartly dressed in a white Navy uniform, and very polite". One couple even claim they were given a tour of the engine room by the Lexington ghost. They did not know he was a ghost at the time; only when the woman told their tour guide about the young man, did the guide reveal who he was.

Answer: USS North Carolina

"USS North Carolina," was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine south east of the Solomon Islands. The ship was decommissioned on the 27th June 1947, and now resides at Wilmington, North Carolina.

Reports of of ghost sightings prompted TAPS investigators to visit the ship. They claim to have heard ghostly voices, loud banging and footsteps. The investigators also state they followed a moving shadow down the corridors of the ship and into a room which had only one exit and no hiding place. Other reports are hatches and doors opening or closing themselves, and lights turning themselves off or on.

Answer: Mary Celeste

Sometimes wrongly referred to as the "Marie Celeste", the story of the "Mary Celeste" is one of the most enduring and mysterious legends of the ocean. Her original name was "Amazon" but after being involved in a few accidents she was sold at a New York salvage auction and her new owners renamed her "Mary Celeste". On her fatal voyage, the ship's cargo was 1700 barrels of raw American alcohol, bound for Genoa, Italy.

When the ship was found it was in a good seaworthy condition but it seemed the crew had left in a hurry, taking nothing from the ship. To this day no-one really knows what happend to Captain Benjamin Briggs, Sarah his wife, their two-year-old daughter Sophia Matilda or the crew.

Answer: The Lady Lovibond

In the UK, the story of the "Lady Lovibond" is one of the most famous of ghost ships. Weddings are usually happy events but when Captain Simon Peel took his new bride aboard the schooner the crew were not happy, although the schooner set sail on February 13th 1748. Unfortunately for Captain Peel, the first mate was in love with his wife, but as she did not return his affections he intentionally steered the boat into the deadly Goodwind Sands, a sand bar notorious for causing ship wrecks.

The story goes that every fifty years on the anniversary of the tragedy, the Lady Lovibund reappears, often causing other ships to run aground.