Ghost Ship Jenny
The Ghost Ship Jenny. Photo credit: Wikipedia.
The Schooner Jenny was missing for 20 years before the ghost ship was found with the crew frozen solid, standing at attention on the main deck.
The Discovery of the Ghost Ship Jenny
In 1862 the German Geographical magazine, Globus, recounted the story of a whaling ship named Hope that was out in the Drake Passage in Antarctica on September 22nd, 1840.
The crew were working in the frigid conditions when they suddenly spotted a battered looking ship emerging from a gap between two large icebergs. There were seven men standing on the main deck who appeared to be standing to attention.
The Hope’s crew boarded the weathered schooner and discovered it to be the Jenny, a ship from the Isle of Wight. They called out to the men on the deck but there was no reply.
Upon closer inspection they realised they were dead and frozen solid in place as if caught in some freak ice storm and flash frozen. The bodies appeared to have been frozen recently and were in good condition.
The Hope’s Captain Bright ventured below the deck of the ghost ship Jenny and found the ship’s bridge. He saw the Jenny’s captain sitting at his desk appearing to write in the ships log and called out to him. Again there was no reply and Captain Bright realised that the man was frozen solid just like his crew.
Captain Bright picked up the ships log. It’s last entry read:
“May 4, 1823. No food for 71 days. I am the only one left alive.”
A ghost ship similar to the Jenny in an icy sea. Photo: Unsplash.
If the ships log was accurate it meant that the Jenny and her crew had expired in these freezing cold waters nearly 20 years prior while still looking to be alive at a glance. The log book stated that the Jenny left her home port in the Isle of Wight in 1822. The last port she visited was Callao, Peru. Captain Brighton took the logbook, intending to return it to the ship’s owners back in the UK upon their return.
Captain Brighton continued searching below deck and upon reaching the Captain’s quarters he found another sorry sight. Lying on the bed cradling their pet dog was the Captain’s wife, both frozen solid.
Accounts differ as to what happened next. Some say the crew of the Hope gave the bodies a proper burial at sea, throwing them overboard and saying prayers over them. Others say the crew was too disturbed by what they had found and left the bodies as they were, frozen in place for eternity. The ghost ship Jenny may still be haunting the waters of the Antarctic to this day.
Theories About the Ghost Ship Jenny
Could an intense ice storm have struck the ghost ship Jenny? Photo credit: Unsplash.
The most likely and most boring theory is that it is simply a made up or highly exaggerated story. Assuming it is all true however what could have happened to the crew of the Jenny?
A sudden, intense ice storm caused the ships crew to be frozen solid on the deck. The captain, his wife and dog may have been spared as they were inside the ship at the time. They then slowly starved to death.
Something paranormal happened to the crew causing them to disappear from our reality for 20 years and then appear back in an area of ocean they were not prepared to be in. They ended up succumbing to the cold.
Aliens? People say there’s Aliens in Antarctica! Maybe it’s all connected.
What do you think happened to the ghost ship Jenny? Let us know in the comments.
If you liked this story you may also like to learn about the strange case of the Mary Celeste or slips in time.
