“May 4, 1823. No food for 71 days. I am the only one left alive.” – Was the captain’s last entry in the ghost ship Jenny’s log book. Jenny was an 1800’s English schooner that became frozen in ice crossing the Drake Passage in 1823.
Very little in this world is as fascinating and terrifying as a ghost ship. A vessel wandering aimlessly on the vast oceans instills the true meaning of being a ghost. The history of phantom ships dates back to the early 1700’s, with many pieces of ghost ship lore having no known origin date at all. Add in a frozen Antarctic passageway, and Ghost Ship Jenny takes the terror of ghost ships to another level.
Captain Brighton writing his last passage – Art by David Romilly
Date of Discovery
The ship set sail in 1822 and went missing in 1823. According to Polar Record, it was rediscovered in 1840 by a whaling ship “Hope.” By the time of discovery, the ship had been encased in ice for almost 7 years. Other accounts place the discovery in 1860, however, the most commonly agreed-upon timeline is 1840. On either timeline, the frozen bodies of the crew were encased in ice for no less than 7 years or up to 27 years.
Ghost Ship Jenny’s – Frozen Crew
The article from Globus in 1862, a popular German magazine, recaps the fantastic re-discovery of the ghost ship Jenny. As the story goes the whaling ship, named “Hope,” happened upon Jenny after the ice had broken revealing what appeared to be a fully manned ship. To the horror of the men aboard the whaling ship, the crew for the Jenny were actually frozen in place and had been for 7 years. It is reported that Captain Brighton of the ship Hope found the captain of the ghost ship Jenny still with pen in hand as he scribed the last entry. Some say that Captain Brighton properly buried the ship’s captain, crew, wife, and dog all at sea. Other urban legends state that the Jenny and Crew are still aimlessly lost at sea.
To this date the ship remains a true ghost ship as it has yet to be seen aside from reports that are nearing 200 years old. Are the crew of the phantom ship Jenny still frozen somewhere at the bottom of the ocean near the drake passage or is the ship still completing it’s doomed journey?
Ghost ship Jenny is one of many ghost ships out there, but the way in which it went missing and was re-discovered surely makes it one of the most terrifying.
Books About Ghost Ship Jenny
Seafaring Lore & Legends including the tale of the Ghost Ship JennyAntarctica Vol 1 which includes information on the Ghost ship Jenny
Tritone’s love of horror and mystery began at a young age. Growing up in the 80’s he got to see some of the greatest horror movies play out in the best of venues, the drive-in theater. That’s when his obsession with the genre really began—but it wasn’t just the movies, it was the games, the books, the comics, and the lore behind it all that really ignited his obsession. Tritone is a published author and continues to write and write about horror whenever possible.
The first reports of the Jersey Devil date back to Quaker and Founding Fathers times, around 1735 reports of sightings became a known and more experienced thing. To this day people report the devil to still be roaming among us and has become a staple to many household tales.
Name
Most commonly known as the Jersey Devil but originally called
the Leeds Devil
Physical Description
Over 300 years of siting’s and reports have led to main versions of the Jersey Devil’s appearance, overall they can stick to three kinds of the descriptions; a horseman, a horse-bat, and a dragon-like horse. The most common features these reports all share are deep blood red glowing eye, bat-like wings sometimes having feathers one them, claws on elongated fingers, hoofed back legs, and a combination of fur and feathers across the body and neck. Depending on the over-all “class” of the devil some walk upright on the back legs, others stay true to more of a horse like posture walking on all four legs, and finally, a combination of a more dragon-like posture using each leg individually as well as being comfortable up-right on its back legs.
Origin
Originated from Pine Barrens, New Jersey USA around 1735 this devil-like creature has made its home across all of southern New Jersey. Over the next 300 years, American’s have reported the creature making its way all across the north-eastern states, even as low as Pennsylvania. There are two main theories as to how the Devil came into existent, both led back to the Leeds family who were founding settlers of the region as well as ex Quaker members. One of the most detailed reports of the Jersey Devil’s Real Story tells the tale from a more” fact-based” style rather then a man becomes a true monster-like creature.
Mythology & Lore
As the origin theories have some variation as to when and why the Leeds thirteenth son became Leeds Devil, most have molded legend around Mother Leeds rather than her husband’s tale. The legend started in 1735 when Mother Leeds was preparing for her thirteenth child. She was living a rather poor lifestyle with a drunkard husband who did little to provide for them. Upon a stroll through the wooded area of Pine Barrens she became so overwhelmed and exasperated with emotions, she proclaimed to the heavens “Let this one be the devil”. Unknowing of the curse she had put on her unborn child she continued through pregnancy as if all were normal. A few months later she went into labor in the Leeds Point home, and by all accounts from the midwives, everything appeared to be a normal delivery. As the womanly group cleaned and prepared the baby boy for the rest of the family to see, the child began to metamorphosis right before them into the most unholy beast. The infant grew at an incredible rate, sprouting horns from on top of its head, his fingers became talon-like claws, and feathers began to cover the large body. Leathery bat-like wings exploding from his back, and his eye began to glow bright red as well as becoming two sizes bigger. The devilish creature savagely attacked the womanly group that had just brought him into this world, before turning on the rest of the family who was just down the hall. Knocking down doors the creature hunted down all the family members it could find, only leaving few survivors before flying up the chimney and leaving a destroyed wake of rubble in its wake. It made Pine Barrens it’s home from then forward, harassing and terrorizing those unfortunate enough to stroll through its woods.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the name was remade into the Jersey Devil rather than the Leeds Devil, as the creature was reported more spread through-out all of the southern New Jersey area. Residents to this day report unearthly wails coming from the forests, having their animals slaughtered, seeing the glowing red eyes hiding within bushes or trees, as well as a few reports of being attacked by the creature. The Devil has been sited from New Jerseys Pine Barrens area to the Delaware Valley, Camden, Bristol, and Philadelphia, Bridgeton, and Millville, and the list continues to grow more and more as modern culture accepts and adopts the tales and myths of the Jersey Devil. Many websites now keep special listings and accounts for Devil sightings, hoping to keep the community and creature hunter culture’s involved and up to date such as Weird NJ. The culture has even used this devil-like creature as a poster child for marketing and business adventures, even naming a hockey team after it. As it grows more popular the reported sightings take on more and more descriptions and behaviors the creature shows and develops.
It’s likely that the first written documentation of the Keelut was in the 1800s when anthropologists and ethnologists first traveled to the arctic regions to record folklore from the oral traditions of the Native Americans that had inhabited the northern region since well before the Bering Strait crossing melted.
Name
The Keelut is also known as the Qiqirn, Qiqion, and Ke’lets,
which translates roughly to “Spirit of Death,” or “Evil Earth Spirit.”
Physical Description
Physically, the Keelut is described as being a black dog who
looks malnourished—it is hairless in nature, except for its paws, which have a
fluffy patch of fur to prevent tracks from being left behind.
Other than its hairless nature, the Keelut is said to be related to the Church
Grim, or Barguest of Great Britain.
Origin
The Keelut is a mythological creature from the Inuit culture
and arose as a way to keep people from unwittingly traveling into the darkness of
an Alaskan or Canadian winter. To travel alone during the winter in the dark
would almost certainly mean death in a cold and unforgiving climate.
Mythology and Lore
Within the Inuit culture, the Keelut is a spirit of the underworld known to be an evil creature that stalks its victims while they are alone in the dark of winter. As a predator, it only ever appears during the winter, because of the lack of darkness during the warmer months of the year. Due to the hair that is only present on its paws, the Keelut leaves no tracks which allow it to stealthily stalk its prey without giving any warning. Stories say that this evil spirit is not just a harbinger of death, but that it feasts upon the dead. In folktales, if a traveler were to see a keelut, it would disorient the traveler, eventually causing the person to succumb to hypothermia, which would result in their death.
Georgia-based author and artist, Mary has been a horror aficionado since the mid-2000s. Originally a hobby artist and writer, she found her niche in the horror industry in late 2019 and hasn’t looked back since. Mary’s evolution into a horror expert allowed her to express herself truly for the first time in her life. Now, she prides herself on indulging in the stuff of nightmares.
Mary also moonlights as a content creator across multiple social media platforms—breaking down horror tropes on YouTube, as well as playing horror games and broadcasting live digital art sessions on Twitch.
The city of Kenai was founded in by the Kachemak people after the Russian fur traders arrived in 1741, they worked to get the Kenatize Indian Tribe incorporated in the early 1970s. As more American’s began incorporating into the town the cemetery was built and became known as the “American” cemetery.
Name
Kenai Cemetery is located on the Kenai Peninsula near where the Kenia River meets the famous Cook Inlet. To locals, it is known as “The American Cemetery”.
Physical Description
The cemetery is surrounded by beautiful scenery, historic settlements, and tons of other attractions as Kenai is the hear of Alaskan adventure.
Origin
The origin of this haunting is rather vague, and each day Alaskan natives add to the reports helping to piece it more together. The servants found were reported to have belonged to its original owner, but little support for these claims has been found.
Mythology & Lore
Kenai Cemetery was investigated by many paranormal teams, and in 2012 they reported a women’s spirit going by the name of Marie, the ghost of Arthur Johnson, as well as several servants’ spirits on the property. They also reported EVP recordings of unknown voices whispering in the backgrounds. They heard footsteps in the snow but never capture video or photo evidence of these spirits. They did however check the plot registers to find there were a few ‘Marie’s on the list, but no Arthur Johnson. Each day people visit a blogging site Only for your State to keep adding to the sightings of these spirits and more. Giving this cemetery a ghostly history that is coming to life. Now the City of Kenai owns the cemetery and maintains its upkeep.
Is there anything we missed about Kenia Cemetery? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you believe the idea that the Wild Man could, in fact, be the predecessor or most ancient embodiment of the Christmas Devil, then the first report of his existence dates back to 2000 BCE.
Name
Krampus actually goes by several different names, including Knecht Ruprecht, Certa, Perchten, Black Peter, Schmutzli, Pelznickel, and Klaubauf. There is also a record of him being referred to as the Wild Man, but it is unsure if these legends refer to Krampus himself, or Bigfoot. Krampus and Bigfoot are considered distinctly separate creatures.
The name Krampus is derived from the German word krampen which means, “claw.”
Physical Description
Der Weihnachtsmann und Krampus (St. Nicholas and Krampus)
Krampus is typically portrayed as a monstrously large, muscled, dark half-goat, half-demon, with horns, fangs, and a ridiculously long tongue. He’s seen as the anti-St. Nicholas who carries a chain with bells to announce his arrival, as well as a wicker basket or, in some cultures, a bag and bundle of birch sticks so he can mercilessly beat naughty children and then haul them to the underworld.
Origin
The origin of Krampus as he is known today relates heavily to German folklore that celebrates Krampus with a December 5th holiday celebration called Krampusnacht, where children placed their shoes out to see whether or not they have been naughty or nice. If a child had been naughty, they would receive either a rod or piece of coal, where good children would receive candies or some other type of sweet treat.
Mythology and Lore
Due to the possible spread of misinformation on the internet, it has recently been proposed that Krampus is the son of Hel, a Norse goddess of the underworld–so much so that it has appeared in articles in National Geographic and Smithsonian Magazine. That claim, however, is not necessarily as factual as it may seem–those who know Norse Mythology either have no record of this part of the mythology or vehemently rebuke the idea.
Instead, Krampus is the Christmas Devil–the evil counterpart of St. Nicholas or Santa Claus whom aside, from leaving children an indicator of their behavior throughout the year, would gather bratty and naughty children into a sack or wicker basket, beat them with the birch sticks he carried and the drag them off to hell.
It’s a popular event in countries such as Austria, Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic for men to dress in a Krampus costume and take part in an event called Krampuslauf. Typically this is celebrated as a sort of parade of Krampus monsters as a way to bring back old traditions.
Mythological Timeline
The people over at the Official Krampus website gave a timeline of how the mythology of the Krampus legend is believed to have evolved. There are several references that might indeed be speaking of what we now call Bigfoot, which is also referenced to the Wild Man.
Krampus Chasing a Child on a German Krampusnacht Postcard
2000 BCE
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is considered the earliest known appearance of the Wild Man within folklore.
600 BCE
Within the Old Testament, in the Book of Daniel, the Christian mythos tells of when God punished King Nebuchadnezzar for his pride and turned him into a hairy beast.
217 BCE
Saturnalia, a pagan holiday within the month of December is officially introduced in Rome as the official winter celebration. It established one of the first instances of social role reversals where the slave became the master and vice versa. People would throw wild parties and give gifts to one another.
300s
Around five hundred years after the introduction of Saturnalia to Rome, the Romans had actually converted to Christianity–with their influence, they converted many Germanic tribes to Christianity. Their pagan roots survived only in small remote villages within the Alps where the Church could not gain favor.
1250
Konungs skuggsjá, or King’s Mirror–a historical Norwegian text in which the Wild Man appears, described as being covered in hair.
1600s
The first appearance of Krampus as Knecht Ruprecht within the Christmas procession in Nuremberg.
Early 1800s
When the Brothers Grimm began recording and publishing Germanic Folktales, acceptance began to be re-established within the culture. Jacob Grimm even mentioned Krampus within his Deutsche mythologie.
Within this time postcards celebrating Krampusnacht were introduced into the culture of Austria, Germany and other parts of Europe which officially initiated the recognition of Krampus and other companions of St. Nicholas.
When German and Dutch immigrants began to arrive in the US, they also brought the popularity of Pelznickel traditions to Pennsylvania, and Maryland which spread as far west as Indiana.
2004
A collection of vintage Krampus postcards from the 1800s was published by Monte Beauchamp as Devil in Design. This would mark the growth of the popularity of Krampus within the English speaking world.
The Venture Bros., an Adult Swim Network show featured Krampus during a Christmas special.
2007
Supernatural, an American television show based on the unexplainable supernatural mythos of the world, they showcased Krampus as a diabolical monster they had to defeat.
2009
Stephen Colbert, an American comedian, brought Krampus on to his television show The Colbert Report.
2013
Krampus was featured twice within American television, by appearing both on Grimmand the animated television series American Dad.
2015
The movie Krampus was released as a horror/comedy fusion.
Georgia-based author and artist, Mary has been a horror aficionado since the mid-2000s. Originally a hobby artist and writer, she found her niche in the horror industry in late 2019 and hasn’t looked back since. Mary’s evolution into a horror expert allowed her to express herself truly for the first time in her life. Now, she prides herself on indulging in the stuff of nightmares.
Mary also moonlights as a content creator across multiple social media platforms—breaking down horror tropes on YouTube, as well as playing horror games and broadcasting live digital art sessions on Twitch.
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