10 Terrifyingly Haunted Ghost Ships
From rough weather to onboard accidents, the legends of these creepy sunken wrecks echo on under the sea in the form of real-life ghost ships.
Ghost Ship wasn’t just a movie – sure, Hollywood took some liberties when it came to seductive ghosts that had a morbidly ghoulish side. But in real life, ships do have their own stories to tell, and many of them lie deep under the surface of the ocean. While a ship might not be haunted, it doesn’t mean that diving below the depths isn’t creepy or unsettling.
Many of these stories involve tragedy and the loss of life, their fates sealed at the bottom of the ocean. As divers have unearthed their locations, the bones of each ship left behind are reminders of the grim nature of how these ships met their demise. So, what are their stories, exactly? From rough weather to onboard accidents, these are the legends that echo under the sea; that echo through the remnants of 10 terrifyingly haunted ghost ships.
10 The USS Saratoga
Built in the 1920s, the USS Saratoga met its demise roughly 20 years later during nuclear weapon testing. The ship was able to hold up to the first round of firing, but was unfortunately sunk after the second, and remains at the bottom of the ocean to this day – now home to sea life that has turned it into a somewhat monstrous metal skeleton.
9 Mar Sem Fim
Luckily, four lives were spared in the rescue associated with the Mar Sem Fim. However, its name means “endless sea” and is adequately fitting, as the ship was sunk in Antarctic waters. Floating amidst ice caps and in frigid temps, as the crew was rescued, the yacht continued to sink down, down, down into the frozen depths, leaving nothing but the faint glow of lights.
8 The Hilma Hooker
The Hilma Hooker has quite a scandalous history, as it was found to be a smuggling ship. When a false bulkhead was found hiding its true contents, a search for the owners began – but they were never found. The boat, after some time of sitting in the harbor, eventually grew weak, tilted to one side, and simply disappeared beneath the water.
7 The Giannis D
Though it sits just below the surface, the Giannis D met its fateful demise along a shallow reef while navigating the Red Sea. The ship itself was ripped into three pieces; divers need only descend a total of 20 feet in order to find it, and 98 feet to find its lowest-sunken section. Now, one with the reef, it remains an eerie reminder of the dangers of this location.
6 The Titanic
Everyone knows the tragic story of the Titanic. What many don’t realize is that due to the lack of oxygen, things can decay over a longer amount of time than what typically happens at the surface. Discoveries have recently been made that indicate there may even be human remains still trapped on the ocean floor.
5 The Oldest Shipwreck Ever Discovered
Dating back to 400 BCE, this wooden vessel is the world’s oldest-known ship. It has been discovered sitting at the bottom of the Black Sea. It’s estimated that this ship has been in the same location for approximately 2,400 years. Although its story is still unknown. Obviously, there would have been a crew, but all that remains in the skeleton of this wooden marvel.
4 The Dimitrios
As the rumor goes, Dimitrios was once used to smuggle cigarettes between Turkey and Italy. The ship made an emergency docking in Gythio, Greece because the captain was ill. Due to alleged financial obstacles, Dimitrios was left adrift and declared unsafe in 1981. The sea carried the now-famous freighter to its permanent home ashore on picturesque Valtaki Beach.
3 The USS Kittiwake
The USS Kittiwake has an incredible history. Built in 1945, the ship wasn’t out of commission until the early ’90s, when it was intentionally sunk along the reefs of the Cayman Islands. Prior to that, the Kittiwake was used during wartime missions and even faced a near sinking (unintentional) and its empty metal halls are still free to be roamed by divers today.
2 The Nippo Maru
The Nippo Maru serves as a grim reminder of what wartime was really like. This Japanese cargo ship was built in 1936 and sunk during Operation Hailstone when it fell to its demise by US dive bombers. Loaded with war supplies – gas masks, tanks, and machinery – everything remains untouched in the ocean’s still calmness.
1 The SS Rio Grande
The SS Rio Grande currently sits at the bottom of the ocean near Brazil as one of the deepest diveable wrecks. It was sunk in 1944 when the seas were unsafe for anyone, including German boats attempting to conceal their location from the US. This ship, with its defenses taken over by sea life, sits in near-perfect condition of a time when the entire world was at war.
