The Mysterious Ship: The Mary Celeste

 Author: Caroline G

Mary Celeste in Storm

The Mary Celeste was a merchant brigantine ship sailing out of the harbor in New York to Italy. The ship was run by Captain Benjamin Briggs. He brought aboard the ship with him his wife, his two-year old daughter, and his eight crew members. This ship was carrying 1,701 barrels of alcohol along with the six-month food supply that the crew had (Blumburg). 

The ship didn’t make it to a month because it was discovered sailing alone without its crew aboard. The ship that found the Mary Celeste was called the Dei Gratia. The Mary Celeste had sailed from the harbor eight days before the Dei Gratia did. The Dei Grata found the Mary Celeste off the coast of the Azores. According to the article “The legend of the Mary Celeste explained” the Mary Celeste was moving very erotically. The captain knew that there was something wrong because no ship moves like that. The captain ordered his crew to go aboard the ship to check out what was wrong. According to the article “Abandoned ship: The Mary Celeste” by Jess Blumburg, she says that below the ship deck they found “ship charts tossed around, and crewman’s belongings were still in their quarters.” They also found that the only lifeboat on board the ship was missing.

There are many theories that go along with this ship. Each are different because no ones for sure what happened to the crew and how the ship continued to sail. According to the article “The Mary Celeste” on the website paranormalcatalog.net says that the Mary Celeste could have been involved in foul play that happened by the crew of the Dei Gratia killing the crew of the Mary Celeste. Another is that the crew fled the ship because the alcohol that they were carrying exploded so that they had to flee the ship. One final one that something paranormal happened on the ship, but this one Is very unlikely because sea monsters don’t exist. Giant squids do exist, but they are not that big enough to pluck crew members right off their ship.

One thing cool about this ship is that there was a documentary created about it. The documentary is called The True Story of the Mary Celeste. There is also a book on the Mary Celeste and that book is called The Haunting of the Mary Celeste.

Works Cited:

Benjamin, Kathy. “The legend of the Mary Celeste explained.” Grunge.com, 2020,https://maryceleste.net/index.htm 

Blumburg, Jess. “Abandoned Ship: The Mary Celeste.” Smithsonianmag.com, 2007, https://maryceleste.net/index.htm 

“The Mystery of the Mary Celeste: Crew Vanishes from Seaworthy Ship.” ancient-origns.net,  https://www.ancient-origins.net/sites/default/files/field/image/Mary-Celeste-in-storm.jpg 

“The Mary Celeste.” Paranormalcatalog.nethttps://www.paranormalcatalog.net/unexplained-phenomena/the-mary-celeste

Links for Further Research: 

“Mysterious Disappearances: Crew of the Mary Celeste.” mysteriousdisappearances.com. This 

website talks about the crew onboard the Mary Celeste

“The Mary Celeste Fact or Fiction.” MaryCeleste.net. This website gives an insight on whether 

the Mary Celeste was a real thing or if it was fake.

“Mary Celeste: Whatever Happened to the Notorious Ghost Ship”. allthingsinterersting.com. 

This website talks about what happened to the Mary Celeste and the theories that go 

along with what happened, and what happened after the Mary Celeste was found

The Seven Gates of Hell

 by Brenda Florido-Lopez

The Seven Gates of Hell is located in Hellam Township, Pennsylvania. Once on Trout Run Road, but is now known as Toad Road. One myth about the Seven Gates of Hell is in the 1900s, an asylum burned to the ground and while firefighters were trying to go in and save the patients, they couldn’t make it in time because of the number of gates this asylum had. The patients who did manage to get out of the fire, were caught by police and beaten by police if they were too psychotic, some others managed to not get caught. The gates in this story resemble keeping the patient’s souls from coming out and anyone from coming in. 

Another myth about the Seven Gates of Hell is there was a doctor who lived in the area and he went insane which caused him to build seven gates going deep into the forest. It is said that only one gate was visible during the day but at night, the other six could only be seen at night. whoever has passed the gates never make it past the fifth gate, and once passing all seven, they will be entering Hell.

People who do go into the gates have heard screams and a rush of wind throughout the forest. Because of all the attention this area received, the gates are no longer there. Although the gates are no longer there, travelers enjoy camping near the area where the asylum supposedly was. Hellam Township has claimed there was never an asylum built in that part of town nor a fire. Although there is a doctor who lives there with one gate, he has no trespassing signs throughout his property. People have also argued that because of “Hell” in Hellam, it is named after hell, but Hellam Townhsip has also denied that, they claim it is named after Hallamshire, England. 

The town of Hellam has asked for tourists to stop coming for this reason, and that trespassers will be prosecuted.

Works cited:

Soto, E.L. “The Seven Gates of Hell in Hellam, Pennsylvania.” Fact-chology, June 5, 2021.
https://factschology.com/mmm-podcast-articles/gates-hell-hellam-pennsylvania

McClure, Jim. “Insane and wrathful: The horrific Seven Gates of Hell legend in York County.”
York Daily Record, October 22, 2017. https://www.ydr.com/story/news/history/blogs/york-
town-square/2017/10/22/seven-gates-of-hell-intriguing-tale-of-horror/787664001/
 

Brady, Olvia, Kyle “Beware Road Tippers, Seven Gates of Hell in Pennsylvania is a Terrifying
Destination.” Drivin’ & Vibin’, October 12, 2021.
https://drivinvibin.com/2021/10/12/seven-gates-of-hell/
 

“Seven Gates of Hell.” Hellam Township. https://www.hellamtownship.com/index.asp?
Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B815447CA-49FB-4346-84E6-75D01939B2DF%7D

For Further Research:

Hellam Township, https://www.hellamtownship.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=
%7B815447CA-49FB-4346-84E6-75D01939B2DF%7D, Hellam Township’s official
website with information about its history.

Drivin’ & Vibin’, https://drivinvibin.com/2021/10/12/seven-gates-of-hell/, Information about
camping near Hellam Township. 

The Human Exception, https://www.thehumanexception.com/l/the-seven-gates-of-hell/, Podcast.

Ghost Lights Phenomenon: Marfa Lights

Author: Naomi Owusu

In the growing world, of Marfa Texas comes the cultural phenomenon of Ghost Lights or people even call them Marfa Lights. Specific routes such as Route 90 and the Chinati Mountains are many of the famous places where you can find these mysterious orbs of lights. In this article Diana Brown shows the popularity of these ghost lights and how these are seen in many places such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and even in Michigan. The author states that tectonic plates underneath the Earth's surface that cause these ghostly apparitions. Others think that methane gas is the cause of these mysterious orbs of light.

Marfa

Many people have described these lights as just being cars headlights or even a mischievous spirit or ghost with s lantern since Halloween and jack-o-lanterns have been associated with the Marfa Lights. In the article called, “Scientists Can’t Fully Explain These Strange Floating Lights in Texas” by Kaleigh Rogers talks about how these mysterious orbs of light have invested over $720,000 for many tourists and even researchers of science to visit the Marfa Lights Viewing Center in Texas. To get a better view of these ghostly lights, it should be a clear, night sky to witness this phenomenon. These lights change many different many colors such as red, yellow, blue, white, and many more which makes this illusion even more mysterious than ever.

Marfa Lights Video Up Close

In the United States, there have been several more ghost lights that many people have encountered, and these are called the Brown Mountain Ghost Lights which are in North Carolina and have been observed for many centuries. Many Indians from the Cherokee tribe had been made aware of these orbs of light for a very long while which makes these lights still a baffling mystery. The Cherokee Indians have claimed that these Ghost Lights were the spirits of women searching for their husbands who have died fighting a great battle. Many other legends entail that these lights are echoes of a murdered woman in the 19^th century. There is even a song associated with the Brown Mountain Lights called, “The Brown Mountain Light” by Lulu Belle & Scotty. This very song tells about a man being accompanied by a slave was hiking on a mountain and how the man was never to be found and comes back and haunts him with a lantern in the dark, crispy shadows at night.

Works Cited:

Brown. Diana. “Are Ghost Lights, Apparitions of the Dead or Even Aliens” How Stuff Works. 30. Jan. 2018. https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/are-ghost-lights-apparitions-dead-or-even-aliens.htm Accessed 18 Oct. 2020

Brown Mountain Ghost Lights. NC Ghosts. https://northcarolinaghosts.com/mountains/brown-mountain-lights/ Accessed 22 Oct. 2020

Homeschool Honey. “Marfa Ghost Lights Video Up Close.” YouTube, 8 June 2019. MARFA LIGHTS | June 5, 2019 | Marfa Ghost Lights Video Up Close

Rogers, Kaleigh “Scientists Can’t Fully Explain These Strange Floating Lights in Texas” Vice. May. 2017. https://www.vice.com/en/article/9aeapv/scientists-cant-fully-explain-these-strange-floating-lights-in-texas Accessed 18 Oct. 2020

Texas Monthly. “The Truth Is Out There” https://img.texasmonthly.com/2006/05/TruthIsOutThere-0017.jpg?auto=compress&crop=faces&fit=scale&fm=pjpg&h=662&ixlib=php-1.2.1&q=45&w=1024&wpsize=large Accessed 21 Oct. 2020

For Further Reference:

Brown. Diana. “Are Ghost Lights, Apparitions of the Dead or Even Aliens” How Stuff Works. 30. Jan. 2018. https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/are-ghost-lights-apparitions-dead-or-even-aliens.htm Accessed 18 Oct. 2020

In this article Diana Brown shows the popularity of these ghost lights and how these are seen in many places such as Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and even in Michigan. The author states that tectonic plates underneath the Earth's surface that cause these ghostly apparitions. Others think that methane gas is the cause of these mysterious orbs of light.

Michael, D’esteries. “The Mystery of the Marfa Lights.” Treehugger. Jan. 2019.

https://www.treehugger.com/the-mystery-of-the-marfa-lights-4867866 Accessed 17 Oct. 2020.

The author of this article even emphasized specific routes such as U.S. Route 90 and towards the Chinati Mountains in Texas. The purpose of this article is that the author reveals these haunting, mysterious orbs of light which is still an unknowing tale till this day. Many groups who have come to witness this cultural phenomenon just think the Marfa Lights are just car headlights.

Rogers, Kaleigh “Scientists Can’t Fully Explain These Strange Floating Lights in Texas” Vice. May. 2017. https://www.vice.com/en/article/9aeapv/scientists-cant-fully-explain-these-strange-floating-lights-in-texas Accessed 18 Oct. 2020.

The author of this article thoroughly explains on why scientists can’t explain these mysterious lights. These lights have been documented as far as the 1800s. The Marfa Lights has invested $720,000 into expanding this exclusive visiting center.

The First Saint Louis Cemetery, (New Orleans)

Brandon Hill

This is an overview picture of the first Saint Louis Cemetery

“Save Our Cemeteries” explains the first Saint Louis Cemetery. The cemetery was established in 1789. New Orleans is the city where the spooky cemetery can be found. It is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, and is said to be the spookiest. The Cemetery was divided into three different sections at first. There was a section for the Catholics, Non-Catholics, and Negros. The cemetery is not divided today, it has had reconstruction to make it bigger. The Cemetery contains some important people to the State of Louisiana. Maria Laveau, the famous voodoo queen is buried in the cemetery. The first black mayor of New Orleans Ernest Nathan Morial, is also buried here. The cemetery is very important because it has a lot of value to it. The tombs of the people buried there are fascinating. Most tombs are decorated with something, or has drawings on it to remember the person. 

In “Maria Laveau: A Nineteenth Century Voudou Priestess” Carolyn Long, explained the importance of Maria Laveau. She has one of the more famous tombs people enjoy looking at. A lot of people say they do not know whether she was actually in there or not, but they continue to visit it and decorate it. She usually has Mardi gras beads hanging from her tomb, along with other items on the ground. Maria Laveau was the queen of voodoo in the city of New Orleans. She was said to be a great voodoo practitioner, and anybody who practiced voodoo looked up to her. Many people go to Maria Laveau’s tomb to practice voodoo, the marking of the X, on her tomb is a sign of voodoo. People mark X’s on the tomb as a sign of respect to her. People have said they have heard the ghost of Maria Laveau, which would absolutely creep me out, but that makes Maria Laveau’s tomb interesting along with the X’s and items left on her tomb. 

On the website French Quarter Phantoms, it gives great information about touring the first Saint Louis Cemetery. The tour of the cemetery looks very interesting. Personally, I would not take a tour to the cemetery because it would be scary and weird. I would encourage people who are interested in this type of information to take the tour. I think a lot of important information is given throughout the tours, and it would be an exciting adventurous trip. The tour is centered to take people throughout the entire cemetery. It is about one mile and it lasts for two hours. There are a lot of different tombs to look at. There are plaques located on some of the tombs to tell their accomplishments, and how they were significant to Louisiana. A tour would be helpful if you wanted to know about the first Saint Louis Cemetery because you could have your own personal experience.

On the website, Find A Grave there is an article explaining Ernest Morial. Ernest Morial was the first African American mayor of New Orleans. He was also a leading civil rights advocate. Ernest Morial created black history by becoming the first African American mayor of New Orleans. Becoming the mayor may have encouraged other African American males to become successful. Once he became mayor, African Americans probably looked at him as a role model. Ernest Morial, also spoke up as a leader, by becoming a leading civil rights advocate. Which means he wanted equal opportunity for minority groups. He was fighting for everybody to have equal rights, and I would say he was successful along with others. Today, we all have equal opportunity to do what we want, and speak our opinion. Ernest Morial was initially buried in the first Saint Louis Cemetery, but for spacing issues his tomb was moved. The first Saint Louis Cemetery is not only popular because of voodoo queens, but for individuals who created a way for equal rights.

In the article, “The Spirit Of New Orleans Will Haunt You” by Tanya Wragg. She explains why New Orleans is portrayed as spooky. The streets of New Orleans is said to have had its legends of vampires, witches, and voodoo priestesses wandering them. The city of New Orleans has a various selection of spooky tours. There is a ghost expedition bus ride, which is a tour given to investigate paranormal activity. I think the tour would be pretty cool, but scary. The tour is said to be intense, because a person must be mentally, emotionally, and physically ready to experience a physiologically experience. They say this because spirits can mess with peoples mind. People may start to see ghost, or think they are hearing ghost after they have been on the tour. In my opinion, that could drive a person insane. New Orleans still has an original plantation, which can still be visited on a tour. The tour takes people over the Mississippi River, directly to the Laura Plantation. Visiting a plantation would be scary to me, because I think spirits sit at plantations. I think spirits sit at plantations because the plantation was their home. New Orleans has an abundance of spooky things, along with the Saint Louis Cemetery tour. The tours defiantly portray New Orleans as spooky. 

In this video, the LaLaurie mansion is explained. This portrays more about why New Orleans is considered spooky and haunted. 

Works Cited:

“America’s Most Haunted: French Quarter, New Orleans (Halloween 2012)”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zg3lbHge-Q. 16 Oct. 2016.

“Ernest Nathan Dutch Morial.” Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=morial&GSfn=ernest+&GSiman=1&GScid=643477&GRid=147114913&. 16 Oct. 2016.

Long, Carolyn. “Maria Laveau: A Nineteenth-Century Voudou Priestess.”  Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association. Web. 92-262, 2005.

“Maria Laveau’s Tomb in St. Louis Cemetery # 1, New Orleans, LA.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nob2DDQELVI. 16 Oct. 2016

“St. Louis Cemetery # 1- St-Louis-Cemetery-Number-One.” City Profile. http://www.cityprofile.com/louisiana/photos/36126-new-orleans-st-louis-cemetery-number-1.html. 16 Oct. 2016

“St. Louis # 1 Cemetery Walking Tour.” French Quarter Phantom Ghost Tours. https://www.frenchquarterphantoms.com/cemetery-tour. 7 Oct. 2016.

“ST. Louis Cemetery No. 1.” Save Our Cemeteries. http://www.saveourcemeteries.org/st-louis-cemetery-no-1/. 16 Oct. 2016.

Wragg, Tanya. “The Spirit Of New Orleans Will Haunt You.” Hispanic 18.5 (2005): 64-65. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.