9. THE SS OURANG MEDAN
(Photo/paranormalqc.com)
Ghost ships aren't just portrayed in legends and movies such as The Pirates of the Caribbean. In this true story, the entire crew mysteriously perished. It all started in 1947, when ships traveling the straits of Malacca (located between Sumatra and Malaysia) heard a troubling distress call:
“All officers including captain are dead, lying in chartroom and bridge. Possibly whole crew dead.†Following the message was some indecipherable Morse code and then finally, “I die.â€
An American ship called Silver Star answered the distress call and found the Ourang Medan, but there were no signs of the crew on the deck, even when they tried to call to them. And so they boarded the ship, only to find themselves in a horror scene. Scattered across the deck were the corpses of the Dutchmen, their faces construed in such a way one would think they had witnessed something ghastly before their demise. Even the dog was dead, its face also contorted in agony. The captain's body was found on the bridge, while the communication officer was still at his post, his cold fingers still pressing the telegraph. The American crew went down to the boiler deck to find the same situation. Despite it being over a hundred degrees down there, a cold chill came over them.
Retreating to their ship again, they decided to tow the Ourang Medan to port. But as soon as they attached the tow line, smoke began billowing out of the ship. Moments later it exploded, sinking into its watery grave, taking all its secrets along with it. What horrible thing did the crew witness? Some believe it was the work of the paranormal. Perhaps a band of ghost pirates raided the ship or aliens decided to drop in. Such unexplainable things do happen, as firefighter and EMT Mick Mayers have experienced in his firehouse. Others, however, have more scientific explanations.
Many theorize that the Dutch ship was smuggling hazardous materials such as potassium cyanide and nitroglycerin. Sea water may have interacted with the cargo, causing the toxic gases to be released and poison the crew. The nitroglycerin would later cause the explosion. Or maybe there was trouble in the boiler room and carbon monoxide killed the crew and a fire got out of hand and destroyed the ship. What is most troubling is the fact that, although the Silver Star is very real, there isn't any registration records of the ship. Did the ship even exist, or is it merely a sailor's tale?
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