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186os – 1870s: What happened aboard The Mary Celeste?
The Ghost of the Mary Celeste
What you need to know before your trail
A ghost ship appears in the mist. To the struggling author Arthur Conan Doyle, it is an inspiration. To Violet Petra, the gifted American psychic, it is a cruel reminder. To the death-obsessed Victorian public, it is a fascinating distraction. And to one family, tied to the sea for generations, it is a tragedy.
In salons and on rough seas, at séances and in the imagination of a genius, these stories converge in unexpected ways as the mystery of the ghost ship deepens. But will the sea yield its secrets, and to whom?
Travel Guide
Travel across the Atlantic Ocean BookTrail style with The Mary Celeste
One of the most enduring mysteries of the sea – what happened to the Mary Celeste?
The ship sailed from New York and was supposed to end up in Genoa. It was found floating aimlessly close to the Azores Islands in Portugal. There was no one aboard yet everything else remained untouched. The food and drinks supply were intact, belongings still in the quarters, beds made…
The ship only had one lifeboat which was missing and one of its two pumps had apparently been disassembled. The ten person crew however were no where to be seen.
There have been many conspiracy theories over the years; sea monsters, ghosts and much more besides.
The story of the Mary Celeste even caught the attention of the famous author Conan Doyle who published “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement” in 1884; his sensationalistic account, printed in Cornhill Magazine, set off waves of theorizing about the ship’s fate.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Ghost of the Mary Celeste
Destination/location: Atlantic Ocean Author/Guide: Valerie Martin Departure Time: 186os – 1870s
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