The Burning Ship of Chaleur Bay
For two hundred years, people on a Canadian bay have reported a ship on fire far out on the water, with figures running on its burning deck. It never sinks.
What was reported
Along the shores of Chaleur Bay, between New Brunswick and Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula, people have long described seeing a glowing light on the water that looks like a three-masted sailing ship ablaze. Some say they can see sailors climbing the rigging as the flames rise, before it fades away.
It's said to appear most often before storms, in autumn and winter. Some people who rowed out to rescue the crew found nothing there.
Explanations offered
Legends link it to a ship lost in a storm or burned in battle long ago. Scientists have suggested natural lights such as burning gas from the seabed, St Elmo's fire before storms, or reflections in mist. No one has photographed it convincingly.
- When
- Reported since the 18th century
- Where
- Baie des Chaleurs, New Brunswick, Canada
- Witnesses
- Fishermen and people along the coast
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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