July 29, 2025 • 28 mins
They called her fast. Unstoppable. Untouchable. But in January 1815, The Dash—a sleek Maine schooner fresh off privateering duty—sailed into the Atlantic and vanished without a trace. Sixty men aboard. No wreckage. No survivors. Just a legend.
For over two centuries, coastal Mainers have claimed to see The Dash return in ghostly form—appearing on the horizon when one of her long-dead crew’s descendants passes away.
In this episode, we dig into the chilling history and eerie lore behind The Dash, Maine’s most famous ghost ship. Was it a victim of hubris? A maritime tragedy? Or something stranger still—cursed to haunt the coast forever?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Stories about ghosts in the paranormal seem to come from all
corners of New England. From The Conjuring House in
Rhode Island to the Four CornersCemetery in Connecticut to the
Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire, New Englanders have
shared ghost stories for centuries.
So it's no surprise that Maine fishermen would share a story
about a ghost ship sailed by thedead.
What is surprising is when the US Navy shares in on telling
(00:21):
these ghost stories. Join us and explore the tales of
the infamous ghost ship of CascoBay.
I'm Chris. I'm Kathy.
I'm Sean. And this is weird or after dark.
(00:47):
You guys remember visiting the ss Salem?
Yeah. Yeah, that was so cool.
Yeah, the haunted ship. Yeah, it was cold as fuck
though. We went.
Yeah, we went February. Yeah, the river was fucking
freezing. Oh my.
God, I think I spend the day outside in the late fall right
on the water and I scared. Myself on the dock.
We didn't even get on this haunted boat and Kathy got
freaked the fuck out because, like, the ships move on water,
(01:10):
you would have thought. But we had some some fucking
weird experiences there though. Like, yeah.
Yeah, that was a really cool tour.
It was. We got to do that again and then
tell the story. Yeah.
Podcast episode I'd like. To do that.
What the gang doesn't know is that was actually our pilot
episode that will never get aired.
So we used that to be like, should we be podcasters?
Do we have the talent and we're going to do that story justice
someday? Yes.
(01:30):
But what stood out to you 2 about the ship?
Well, for me, it was obviously when we were in the room and I
saw, I saw Shadow. I don't know.
I don't know what it was. I thought the guy turned right
and I started following him. I will say I saw him walking up
ahead and then that was where wewere supposed to go and they
were like, no, everyone's going to the left.
(01:51):
I just remember turning around and I see you walking aimlessly
down the opposite direction and this whole there's no lights so
I just see her silhouette going off in the dark and I'm like,
Kathy, where the fuck are you going?
I'm following this ghost I. Didn't know it was a ghost.
I thought it was the guy that was part of the tour.
Yeah, yeah. I still don't.
I don't know. I saw something, I don't know
what it was even. Creepier though, because Kathy
(02:12):
thought she saw something. Now everyone's like, Oh my God,
she saw something. So we all start like as a group
going down this like other wing on the boat and when we get down
there, we're in this like kitchen area and then we all
heard something. Everyone heard some noises, some
footsteps, something. We no one knew what it was.
Could there have been someone else?
I don't think there was, but. Yeah, I don't know, because they
said that there was only one entrance into that area, and
(02:35):
that was by where we were all standing.
Yeah. And I felt foolish, like I
really did. I felt foolish because I swear
that it was the guy. I really honest and truly
thought that it was the guy walking down.
And then the figure that I was following was gone.
He wasn't there anymore. So I was like, I don't.
I don't know. I don't know what I saw.
(02:55):
Yeah, super weird. Chris, did you have any
memorable moments from that evening?
Just you 2 trying to get me to play with a ouija board.
Not touching that thing, man. Oh dude, I, I remember telling
Kathy, I'm like, I'm not touching a Ouija board, I'm not
touching a Ouija board. And then like 2 hours later like
we've got a Ouija board. I was like, you fuckers.
And I will say it was kind of anticlimactic.
It really was. It was an anticlimactic.
(03:17):
Board, but we would definitely Ithink all of us recommend if you
were rounds the USS Salem, it's docked right outside of Boston.
Go check it out. Yeah.
They did a great job on the tours, a lot of fun.
A lot of fun, but Chris bringingup ghosts and you're bringing up
boats. Yes, I'm going to tell you a
haunted ghost story. Oh, OK, OK.
(03:37):
All right. Well, hey, if he can match the
the Salem, I'm in for me, Yeah. All right, let's get going.
Let's do it. So fisherman's and locals from
across the centuries in Costco Bay, Maine claim to see an 18th
century ghost ship often appearing and disappearing in
the heavy fog and mist. This is an outrageous claim and
the kind of legend and storytelling you would come to
expect from fishermen across theyears sitting in bar rooms
(04:00):
sharing the stories of their adventures of seas.
Tall tales are a long and Haroldtradition among local fishermen
filled with sea serpents, attacks from the Kraken or giant
squid, mermaids, ghost ships, even UFOs are strange
unidentified lights in the water.
The tradition seems to go back as far as fishermen and by going
out to sea, then coming back to port drinking away their
(04:21):
earnings in the local Taverns. In fact, Chris, it's for
Columbus and his journey to the New World wrote in his journal
of strange, unexplainable lightsunderwater on his voyage.
Really. Yeah, I didn't know that.
It's kind of creepy. Yeah, it's one of those weird
things that were just in his journal.
There were strange lights and nobody really knows what they
were. All right, I don't know how I
feel about this, but I'm here for the ride.
(04:41):
I'm here for the journey. We're gonna.
Go for a ride. So if you are local to New
England, I'm sure you can think of at least one uncle or family
friend that has the kind of talent that tells these spooky
tales. Sometimes these tales are in the
first person, but most of the time there's something
unbelievable to happen to a friend of a friend.
You know, with just enough detail to bring the story alive
and play in our imaginations, but not quite enough details so
(05:04):
you can question their outrageous claims.
Stephen King made a pretty good living spinning these tales.
Oh yeah, he did. And then just look at this
podcast, the three of us, all native New Englanders, sitting
around Sean's kitchen table telling mysterious, fantastic
stories to each other and you guys every week.
Hopefully we'll he likes StephenKing and make some money too.
He makes his stories out, yeah, and sells them.
(05:26):
We just steal other people. 'S stories, but we tell them in
our way. Yeah, yeah.
Our special unique way. Unique.
Special. So the maritime community is
famous for their ability to telltall tales that capture the
imagination. One of these stories is of the
Dash Schooner, a famous ship lost to sea but still has been
(05:49):
claimed to be seen repeatedly over the years.
These claims started in the 1940s and continue until this
day. The hook, pun intended, is that
the US Navy during World War 2 had a run in with this ghost
ship, including capturing it on radar and over 100 eyewitness
accounts. No fucking way.
This is a story of myth lore, infact, combining somewhere in the
(06:10):
heavy fog and mist to become legend.
This is a story of the Dash, theghost ship that's been seen by
so many people over the years, and it seems to be haunting
Casco Bay in Down East Maine since the 1800s.
Fuck yeah, let's. Do how do you catch a ghost ship
on a radar? It's a good fucking.
That's a great question. We'll try to answer it.
But you want me to try to answer?
It no we will try to answer it. Right now, go.
(06:36):
Answer that. Bitch I.
Didn't thought you said yeah. Why don't you try to answer?
That I. Don't fucking know.
So Casco Bay itself runs from Cape Elizabeth, ME to the town
of Freeport, ME and includes thecity of Portland.
The Bay holds 136 islands and one town on the rocky shores of
Casco Bay is Freeport. Today it is a small, sleepy
coastal town with a population of just under 8000 people.
(06:59):
It has the kind of New England coastal charm vibe we think of
when we say of coastal Maine. And it is a must stop if you're
doing the fall foliage drive from Massachusetts to up Route
1. Freeport in the 17 and 1800s was
a shipbuilding town. So The Maine has plenty of tall
straight yellow Pines that are ideal for ship masks and plenty
of talented carpenters with New England ingenuity and know how.
(07:20):
So for Freeport, ME to make someof the most impressive ships in
the world in the 17th and 1800s is no surprise.
The Schooner Dash was such a boat.
Built in Freeport in 1813, it was one of the fastest ships
built in this day. The Porter Brothers, local
shipbuilders, designed her to outrun any British warship.
The bro had a slimmer profile inthe water, creating less draw.
(07:41):
It had 13 cannons and another 10fake cannons made out of wood.
Given the appearance of a more capable warship than she was.
That's kind of cool, yeah. Yeah, they made fake cannons.
Yeah, yeah. It's bluffing people.
So these fake cannons made British warship captains second
guessed their plans of keeping the lines of the embargo.
It also had a new design that added a forced sail that will
(08:02):
allow more wind to be captured and carry the ship faster than
the heavily fortified and slowerBritish warships.
So this is really novel. This is like unique modern arts
like ship ready to go huh? Yeah, it was one-of-a-kind ship,
which keep in mind as we talk about the sightings of it.
All right, all right. So the Dash, who had several
(08:22):
captains over the years, startedmaking runs to Santo Domingo to
trade local lumber for coffee, out running the British warships
in the brocade. The ship lived up to its legend
as the fastest ship in New England and was able to outrun
the British ships with ease. That must be so fucking fun.
You're just like going so much faster.
They come get me. British motherfuckers.
Yeah. Like, oh how cool.
(08:45):
I've never been fast in my life.No, I want that moment.
Like, I get that room. The cops, yeah.
Yeah, I would not. So the ship continues to make
its daring runs to Bermuda, Port-au-Prince Santa Domingo and
South Carolina without capture, frustrating the British Navy and
becoming a legend among the British naval ranks.
(09:06):
In 1814, the Dash went on the offensive President Madison, who
was seriously outgunned by the strongest naval force in the
world at the time. The British Royal Navy issued
private boat owners privateer papers, allowing private ships
to attack British ships and takethe spoils of the war.
That is so intense and so cool. It is estimated that the total
(09:27):
damage to the British shipping by privateers was about $18
million during the RevolutionaryWar, and this cost to the
British monarchy played a significant role in the final
decision to recognize the American colonies as
independent. So, New Englanders, we should be
proud of our pirate routes. That's right.
Yes, stealing ship from boats. I wish I could.
(09:50):
No, I would totally be a pirate.I sounds amazing.
Get to live on the sea and you have to go rob people and you
have like a whole crew that justlistens and does everything you
say. Yeah, kayaking.
I would be on a big boat. It's different.
Kayaking is different. But you're on a big boat and
you're like getting like cannonslaunched at you.
(10:12):
But you're throwing cannon balls.
Throwing them I'm not. Throwing them.
I'm knocking on your boat. As discussed in the Rock
throwing, I agree. We can't afford cannons, we are
throwing them Kathy on the Section 8 vote.
(10:34):
It's just me rowing. OK, I'm in a kayak.
With a kayak, throwing rocks andthings.
Give me money. You really are a rock throwing
devil. Here's a sandwich.
If you go away, I. Win.
Just saying I would be. I would be a pirate.
So the Dash receiving its private tier papers for torn to
Freeport and was fitted with more guns in a bigger, taller
(10:57):
sailed to boastal her speed. The Dash was not just faster,
but now a formidable warship that could face off with most
British warships, lighter and faster and now properly gun.
The Dash and her crew were said to have captured 15 British
ships and never lost a single man.
Swords were swung, cannons fire,loot was pillaged and and the
dash had an epic 15 and old record as a privateer.
(11:19):
Ship 15 and O it won 15. Battles 15 battles.
Never lost a single man. That is insanely cool, that is.
So yeah, the legend of the dash grows.
Never been a winner. Doesn't end well for the dash
either. Good, good.
So on a snowy January day, not having yet received word that
(11:41):
the war was over, the Dash and her crew engaged in a small
wager with fellow privateer ship, the Chamberlain.
The sum of $50.00 was to be awarded to the first ship to
reach port in Port-au-Prince. The two ships speed out of the
Portland harbor at the same time, but the Dash easily outran
the slower Chamberlain as she sailed off into the distance and
Nor'easter started to blow in. The Chamberlain, due to the
(12:03):
deteriorating conditions, turnedback and returned to the harbor.
The lore and the legend of the Dash might have gone to its new
captain John Porter's head, as he might have surmised he could
outrun Mother Nature herself. The Dash and his crew of 60 men
sailed off into the building storm and we're never seen
again. The biggest downfall always is
overconfidence. Overconfidence.
(12:24):
Yep. Or were they?
Oh. Yeah, so the strange and
paranormal tales of the Dash begin almost right away with
Captain John Porter's wife, Lois.
The two were newlyweds when JohnPorter took the helm of the Dash
in 1815. Reportedly on the night of the
storm that the Dash was lost, Lois was at her father's home in
(12:45):
Portland, sleeping when she heard a crashing sound from the
parlor. The wind had somehow blown down
and broken a porcelain tile off the mantle above the fireplace.
The tile which was decorated with biblical Scripture was sent
shattering to the floor. Her housekeeper who was awoken
by the crash, went to the pilot to see what the commotion was.
Finding the broken tile on the floor was seen as a premonition.
(13:08):
The housekeeper brought the broken pieces to Lois and
exclaimed the dash is gone. Lois, being a religious woman,
saw the broken tile with scripture from the Bible etched
into it as a sign from beyond ofher husband's tragic end.
How did that connection get made?
Yeah. I I don't know, but it's a
strange detail that. What was the scripture?
I'm not sure of something written from the Bible.
(13:29):
And just to clarify, so the boathas already, the storm was
coming in, they've decided to move forward.
Then this happens and there's like, yeah, your husband's gone.
Yeah, ship's dead. Wow.
The end. Why are they always right?
That's what I really want. To know they were right.
Yeah, why are they always right?So interesting.
Within months of the Dash's disappearance, fishermen started
(13:50):
to see the Dash appearing in Casco Bay as the ship turned and
headed for Freeport. They claimed to see the words
Dash Freeport written on her bow.
The locals at the time believed the ship was actually coming
home and must have been delayed or ran off course for weeks, but
she never docked. What?
Man by the name of Simon Bibber in 1816 was fishing off the
(14:12):
island of Pumpkin Knob when he saw.
Fucking knob. It's the name of an island,
Kathy. It's a good name, Pumpkin Knob.
The things that entertain you. Come on, Pumpkin Knob, Come on.
When he was fishing off the island of Pumpkin Knob when he
saw a ship approaching quickly. Despite windless conditions,
(14:34):
ship was moving at an impossibleclip.
It came within 30 feet of his fishing boat.
He was able to read the ships nameplate on her bow.
Dash Freeport. The ship passed and he hurried
back to Freeport to greet the crew, but she was not there when
you when you arrived back in herport.
I don't like this. I don't like so 30 feet.
It got 30 feet. Very.
Close, right? It was so close that he actually
(14:54):
thought it was a physical. This man thinks it's.
Real. Yeah, you could read.
It not like it was like a misty figure that's.
What I was saying? Yeah, me too.
This isn't translucent fucking ghost ship.
This is there was a fucking boat.
And he went back thinking that he was going to go greet them.
Yeah, and when he got back, the boat wasn't there.
So Bibber back at the dock, he told a skeptical Mort Collins
(15:15):
what he had seen off a Pumpkin Knob.
Collins accused Bibber of starting drinking too early in
the day and laughed it off a. Little too much, Captain Morgan.
Early in the day for those type of stories, but this is when a
man by the name of Roscoe Moulton, a fellow fisherman,
arrived not hearing their conversation.
He report he saw the same thing off of Crab Island.
Both times, the ship came close enough for both of the
(15:37):
eyewitnesses to read the nameplate, that is.
So weird. Yeah, it's the thickens.
The plot thickens. Yeah, I mean, one person
reporting. It's strange.
Two people not talking to each other reporting it.
Yeah, All right. We got something here.
I'm just going back, Kathy, whenwe did the Dover demon story,
you're all like, are they doing LSD?
Are they all doing what's going on here?
(15:59):
All right, I'm not saying that everybody's ripping balls and
there's hallucinating. You literally said those words.
I did. I did say that in that
particular episode, which is still a possibility.
However, back in like the 1800s when they had the ships out and
they were storing their food andthey were like salting it and
pickling it and drying it out sothat it would last longer, yes,
(16:20):
the foods would go bad. It could get air go poisoning.
Yes, and it caused hallucinations.
Yep, these were fishermen. They weren't out to sea for
weeks. But maybe they had food that was
still being stored. Kathy just wants someone to be
tripping. Someone's hallucinated.
That's her answer to every weirdthing.
(16:42):
They're on drugs. I'm not.
Honestly, though, it's not. A bad it's not a.
Bad thing. But yeah, they like down on the
docks, they probably have like food and like barrels and shit
and they're like storing it and I'm like, I'm going out for the
day. Like I want to buy.
Maybe somebody wasn't storing their food properly and they
were getting people sick. It's just like the bad LSD
(17:02):
dealer. Okay all.
Right, I like that. That's a theory.
But I think it's the same thing that goes back to like they're
both seeing the same hallucination.
Right. Yeah, That's weird.
Right? That's what kind of.
Yeah. Either they both made it up or
there's something else there. Go ship.
So over the years these sightings continued, fishermen
and other boaters or even peopleon shore or the many islands of
(17:23):
Casco Bay reported seeing the dash schooner seemingly to
appear out of nowhere, then disappear back into the fog.
Eyewitnesses at times have noticed that despite the fact
there wasn't any breeze, the ship seemed to be moving very
quickly, almost gliding above the water.
It also only has seemed to appear in the heavy fog and
always have full mast even when dangerously close to shore and
(17:46):
the main mast should have been pulled down and tucked away.
Also it's not even making sense how it's showing.
Up. No, it's going way too fast the.
Winds so mast this shouldn't be.Ah, this is getting weirder.
It is also reported to be seen most often in August.
The ship did make its maiden voyage in August of 1812, but
this could just be a coincidence.
(18:06):
I mean I'm thinking summer in Maine you only get like one
month in August so more people will be out looking.
So at times, fishermen report, they would watch the ship speed
towards the shore and then just vanish before it wrecked on the
rocky coast. Other times it turned around and
sailed back out to sea, never finishing its voyage to just
disappear into the fog prematurely.
(18:27):
That's that's even weirder, yeah.
Could you imagine watching that though?
Like how Like like traumatizing them must be like seeing a ship
going far too fast. Like no, we like you probably
yelling like and. Then and then just disappeared
and. Especially back then too,
because people are still extremely religious today, but
probably more so back then there, you know?
Yeah, the 1800s. Yeah, so they said anything.
(18:48):
It'd be like the devil like is is in your life.
It's like poisoning you. So they they probably wouldn't
really want to speak out unless they heard other people having
the same experience. But yeah, that must be
terrifying. I'll also say too like Mainers
know they're fucking boats so. Yeah, this is a maritime
community. Exactly, and this is a unique
boat on top. Of all of that, no.
(19:09):
So over the years, fishermen have reported her near Pumpkin
Knob, Crab Island off the coast of Freeport.
But most often she is seen sailing up the Straits of
Harpwell Sound, sails at full mask headed towards the port in
Freetown, but then just vanishing.
The ship continued to be sightedthroughout Casco Bay.
It was sighted by the entire crew of 17 sailors above a
(19:30):
schooner. All 17 reports seeing the unique
ship and her nameplate. Dash, Freeport.
That is wild that they can see the name of it.
Again in 1880, she was seen by guests at the Hopswell Inn in
Portland, sailing by and disappearing just before she
wrecked off the rocky shores. It was seen again in the end of
August in 1915 by Miriam Fox, her brother Dudley and two
(19:53):
friends just off Crab Island. Yeah.
So at some point, sightings of the dash became associated with
impending death sightings of theship that occurred shortly
before the witnesses received news of a passing of a loved
one. Captain John Toothker's wife,
Paulie saw the ship before her husband's death.
It was also said that the captain's brother Esther saw the
(20:13):
ghost ship before he committed suicide, jumping overboard from
a merchant ship to his death as more sightings of the ship were
noted. Legend and myth about the Dash
Crew. It was said that when a
descendant of 1 of this Dash's 60 crew members died, the ship
would return to pick up their loved ones for their final
journey. A ghost ship escort to the
afterlife. Oh, I actually kind of like
(20:34):
that. That's kind of a cool story.
That's so cool. I went through the ship's
records and over half the crew, they didn't know their names.
They're not recorded, so it'd bevery hard to line them up.
But it's an interesting idea andthought, right?
Yeah, yeah, it's so cool. That could make it like a sick
movie. So seeing the ship became an
omen of bad luck and many superstitious sailors fared.
(20:56):
The ship's sightings would bringtragedy and sorrow.
The most well known story about the Ghost Ship Dash is from the
1940s during World War 2 when AUS Navy ship and two Ghost
Guard boats were protecting Casco Bay.
Fears ran high at the time of a German U boat could attack the
East Coast cities of the United States and several ships as well
as the US Coast Guard were tasked with monitoring and
(21:17):
protecting Casco Bay. On a foggy afternoon, the
Control Center on the well armednaval vessel got a blip on the
radar screen out of nowhere. This phantom blip was indicative
of a German U boat whose small signature could dive and surface
and was tricky to pick up on radar.
The sirens went off and all the men reported to their stations
as they headed towards the spot where they got the radar signal.
(21:38):
They manned the guns as they closed in on the target.
All were tents with fear and anticipation as they closed in
on the feared German U boat, manning the spotlights and
binoculars raised. Once within eyesight, they
didn't see a German youth boat. Rather, they saw a 19th century
schooner cruising along the Channel headed for Freeport.
No way. They could clearly see the
(21:58):
dashes, unique for sails, but the sails were all ripped and
tattered. Despite the poor conditions of
the sails and the light wind that afternoon, the ship was
said to be moving in an impossibly fast clip.
Even stranger, no one seemed to be on board.
By the time they reached the mysterious ship only 50 yards
away, it disappeared. No fucking way.
And this is reported by the US Navy.
(22:19):
So the Navy nor the Coast Guard had an official stance on the
matter, rather reporting it was a false identification.
However, Seaman and the Coast Guard members alike have written
about their encounters and all seem to be describing an
unmanned 1800s schooner with four sails that just have
disappeared with thin air. Did they see the name?
(22:39):
They did not see the name, but they did see a boat that had no
business being on the water disappear.
Yeah, the fact that it disappeared is insane.
Insane. So, yeah, a couple of drunks,
fishermen and sailors. OK, it's a fun story.
You had the US Navy reporting this.
And it showed up on the radar, which is even more insane.
(23:00):
Yeah, that means something physically.
Was there or something there? I mean you could get a false
reading. Sure, but then they follow the
site. But they fall with site, yes.
So there's something there. Oh wow.
This is not LSD. Yeah.
Unless the whole U.S. Navy was doing LSD was bat
bread. It was seen again one August
morning in the early 1970s by a woman who was on vacation on
(23:23):
Bailey Island. The Out of time ship was seen
sailing into Maragosset Sound. It seemingly disappeared in the
short time it took for the womanto turn and call to her husband
to come see the strange ship. Once she told the story to the
locals, they revealed to her that she was seeing the ghost
ship of the Dash. They shared the Dash's story
with the couple, and then they shared the story with the
(23:44):
newspaper and local radio station, bringing the story back
into our collective attention. Most stories about the ghost
ship Dash agree that she's neverable to complete her journey,
always disappearing or even turning around and sailing back
out to sea before she can reach Freeport in an endless loop or
on repeat for all of eternity. So one idea is that this ship is
so fast it's out running mortality itself, or it's a
(24:08):
ferry ship to bring back descendants of loved ones of
crew to the afterlife. It's an apparition repeating
itself on an endless loop, or anintelligent haunting trying to
get back to the port but never can.
Many theories have been floated,pun intended, and salty
fishermen are some of the best storytellers around.
You have to think hours of downtime while manning the boat
has to be filled with something.Pre Internet days we shared
(24:30):
stories to pass the time. Good stories became myth.
The best myths became legends and get added to and retold for
centuries. However, remember the Kraken was
a myth until they found a 43 foot long squid washed up on the
shores of Norway. What are generations of
fishermen seeing off the shores of Casco Bay?
Could a ship that could not be caught somehow still be out
(24:51):
running the Grim Reaper himself?It's a kind of tall tale
fishermen share with the spooky details we would come to expect
from local Bloor and myth. But when the hell was the Navy
chasing around on that day in 1942 then?
So I'm just another storyteller in a long and Harold's tradition
of local New England storytellers.
What actually happened, if anything, in Costco bad?
I leave that up to you guys. It's so weird that they got it
(25:14):
on the radar. Yeah, that really bugs me too.
The idea of a ghost ship was like so weird to me.
But now I feel like I'm open to this now.
It was a. Pretty traumatic end for such a
legendary boat. This brand new captain, just
married, can't get home to port.It makes for a compelling ghost
story. The ships were a living,
breathing entity, so maybe when you have enough people kind of
(25:38):
having that emotional and physical attachment to the ship,
maybe that kind of gave the shiplife.
I don't know. We've also previously talked
about, like, bodies of water holding energy.
Yeah, from like, really tragic emotional things.
And the fucking ocean is a pretty big body of water.
Basically base pretty big. Yeah, yeah, that's interesting.
Man, what a hell of a story. That's cool.
(25:59):
Yeah. My favorite theory is it's
coming back as a ghost ship to the afterlife and.
Transporting people. Transporting people, yeah.
That's cool. That's a.
Cool. Yeah, that's a cool theory.
And the theory that it's like trying to make its way back to
the harbor and it's not. Yeah, so I was able to find the
log of the people on the ship and like half the people on the
(26:20):
ship, they didn't know their names.
They just put down random. Yeah, that was.
Pretty random sailor, random sailor, random sailor.
Yeah, or like would list them bylike whatever their job was,
whatever they were going to be doing, they didn't really,
really care. The moral of this story, I feel
like, is don't be overconfident.There's a storm brewing.
Go home. Yeah, go home.
Yeah, because had they not gone out and thought that they could
(26:41):
get ahead of that storm, they wouldn't have asked their end.
Also I feel like a second secondstory moral this story might be
Don't gamble, this is all over. 50 bucks. 50 dollars, $50 Don't
do that either, kids. So yeah, the dash out of kind of
legendary, right? So I think it went to the
captains head that the dash was untouchable.
Well, we know what. They Titanic.
(27:01):
I was just. Gonna say You know what they say
when they claim that something is unsinkable or indestructible?
Yeah, Mother Nature. That's all the plans.
That's it. Well, Chris, thank you so much
for sharing the story. That was that was a great one.
Yeah, I liked it. Yeah, yeah, I was.
I didn't know how to feel about ghost ships going in but.
Yeah, that's so cool. I didn't, but I really like the
theories. I like the theories behind it.
(27:22):
Yeah, I thought it was kind of silly until I found out the US
Navy is like, wait a minute, I'mtaking a look.
At this, that's what really kindof baffles me, yeah.
Well, I was sick, Chris, thank you so much appreciate it.
And gang, we hope you appreciateit and enjoyed it as well too.
Be sure to go ahead and catch our Instagram at Weirder after
dark. Well, Chris will go ahead and
drop some images that will support his story.
And don't forget, we're not justbuilding some communities on
(27:44):
Instagram. We're also doing it on Facebook
and Reddit. Again, that is at Weirder after
Dark. So feel free to go check those
out. You can connect with us as well
as other listeners like you who are loving these episodes.
And remember, we are always, always, always on the lookout
for any of your stories. So have you seen the dash?
Are you out there? Are you in the ghost ships?
Are any ghosts haunting you? Maybe it's aliens.
(28:06):
We don't care what it is. Send your store to us and you
can do that at the gang at Weirder After dark.com and we'll
share your creepy New England orNot New England tale in one of
our next listener tales episodes.
And remember, if you are liking this shit, if you are loving
this shit, the best thing that you can do is share this shit
with someone that you know and love and would appreciate that
forever. Don't forget it always gets a
(28:27):
little weirder after dark. Hi.
Stories about ghosts in the paranormal seem to come from all
corners of New England. From The Conjuring House in
Rhode Island to the Four CornersCemetery in Connecticut to the
Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire, New Englanders have
shared ghost stories for centuries.
So it's no surprise that Maine fishermen would share a story
about a ghost ship sailed by thedead.
What is surprising is when the US Navy shares in on telling
(00:21):
these ghost stories. Join us and explore the tales of
the infamous ghost ship of CascoBay.
I'm Chris. I'm Kathy.
I'm Sean. And this is weird or after dark.
(00:47):
You guys remember visiting the ss Salem?
Yeah. Yeah, that was so cool.
Yeah, the haunted ship. Yeah, it was cold as fuck
though. We went.
Yeah, we went February. Yeah, the river was fucking
freezing. Oh my.
God, I think I spend the day outside in the late fall right
on the water and I scared. Myself on the dock.
We didn't even get on this haunted boat and Kathy got
freaked the fuck out because, like, the ships move on water,
(01:10):
you would have thought. But we had some some fucking
weird experiences there though. Like, yeah.
Yeah, that was a really cool tour.
It was. We got to do that again and then
tell the story. Yeah.
Podcast episode I'd like. To do that.
What the gang doesn't know is that was actually our pilot
episode that will never get aired.
So we used that to be like, should we be podcasters?
Do we have the talent and we're going to do that story justice
someday? Yes.
(01:30):
But what stood out to you 2 about the ship?
Well, for me, it was obviously when we were in the room and I
saw, I saw Shadow. I don't know.
I don't know what it was. I thought the guy turned right
and I started following him. I will say I saw him walking up
ahead and then that was where wewere supposed to go and they
were like, no, everyone's going to the left.
(01:51):
I just remember turning around and I see you walking aimlessly
down the opposite direction and this whole there's no lights so
I just see her silhouette going off in the dark and I'm like,
Kathy, where the fuck are you going?
I'm following this ghost I. Didn't know it was a ghost.
I thought it was the guy that was part of the tour.
Yeah, yeah. I still don't.
I don't know. I saw something, I don't know
what it was even. Creepier though, because Kathy
(02:12):
thought she saw something. Now everyone's like, Oh my God,
she saw something. So we all start like as a group
going down this like other wing on the boat and when we get down
there, we're in this like kitchen area and then we all
heard something. Everyone heard some noises, some
footsteps, something. We no one knew what it was.
Could there have been someone else?
I don't think there was, but. Yeah, I don't know, because they
said that there was only one entrance into that area, and
(02:35):
that was by where we were all standing.
Yeah. And I felt foolish, like I
really did. I felt foolish because I swear
that it was the guy. I really honest and truly
thought that it was the guy walking down.
And then the figure that I was following was gone.
He wasn't there anymore. So I was like, I don't.
I don't know. I don't know what I saw.
(02:55):
Yeah, super weird. Chris, did you have any
memorable moments from that evening?
Just you 2 trying to get me to play with a ouija board.
Not touching that thing, man. Oh dude, I, I remember telling
Kathy, I'm like, I'm not touching a Ouija board, I'm not
touching a Ouija board. And then like 2 hours later like
we've got a Ouija board. I was like, you fuckers.
And I will say it was kind of anticlimactic.
It really was. It was an anticlimactic.
(03:17):
Board, but we would definitely Ithink all of us recommend if you
were rounds the USS Salem, it's docked right outside of Boston.
Go check it out. Yeah.
They did a great job on the tours, a lot of fun.
A lot of fun, but Chris bringingup ghosts and you're bringing up
boats. Yes, I'm going to tell you a
haunted ghost story. Oh, OK, OK.
(03:37):
All right. Well, hey, if he can match the
the Salem, I'm in for me, Yeah. All right, let's get going.
Let's do it. So fisherman's and locals from
across the centuries in Costco Bay, Maine claim to see an 18th
century ghost ship often appearing and disappearing in
the heavy fog and mist. This is an outrageous claim and
the kind of legend and storytelling you would come to
expect from fishermen across theyears sitting in bar rooms
(04:00):
sharing the stories of their adventures of seas.
Tall tales are a long and Haroldtradition among local fishermen
filled with sea serpents, attacks from the Kraken or giant
squid, mermaids, ghost ships, even UFOs are strange
unidentified lights in the water.
The tradition seems to go back as far as fishermen and by going
out to sea, then coming back to port drinking away their
(04:21):
earnings in the local Taverns. In fact, Chris, it's for
Columbus and his journey to the New World wrote in his journal
of strange, unexplainable lightsunderwater on his voyage.
Really. Yeah, I didn't know that.
It's kind of creepy. Yeah, it's one of those weird
things that were just in his journal.
There were strange lights and nobody really knows what they
were. All right, I don't know how I
feel about this, but I'm here for the ride.
(04:41):
I'm here for the journey. We're gonna.
Go for a ride. So if you are local to New
England, I'm sure you can think of at least one uncle or family
friend that has the kind of talent that tells these spooky
tales. Sometimes these tales are in the
first person, but most of the time there's something
unbelievable to happen to a friend of a friend.
You know, with just enough detail to bring the story alive
and play in our imaginations, but not quite enough details so
(05:04):
you can question their outrageous claims.
Stephen King made a pretty good living spinning these tales.
Oh yeah, he did. And then just look at this
podcast, the three of us, all native New Englanders, sitting
around Sean's kitchen table telling mysterious, fantastic
stories to each other and you guys every week.
Hopefully we'll he likes StephenKing and make some money too.
He makes his stories out, yeah, and sells them.
(05:26):
We just steal other people. 'S stories, but we tell them in
our way. Yeah, yeah.
Our special unique way. Unique.
Special. So the maritime community is
famous for their ability to telltall tales that capture the
imagination. One of these stories is of the
Dash Schooner, a famous ship lost to sea but still has been
(05:49):
claimed to be seen repeatedly over the years.
These claims started in the 1940s and continue until this
day. The hook, pun intended, is that
the US Navy during World War 2 had a run in with this ghost
ship, including capturing it on radar and over 100 eyewitness
accounts. No fucking way.
This is a story of myth lore, infact, combining somewhere in the
(06:10):
heavy fog and mist to become legend.
This is a story of the Dash, theghost ship that's been seen by
so many people over the years, and it seems to be haunting
Casco Bay in Down East Maine since the 1800s.
Fuck yeah, let's. Do how do you catch a ghost ship
on a radar? It's a good fucking.
That's a great question. We'll try to answer it.
But you want me to try to answer?
It no we will try to answer it. Right now, go.
(06:36):
Answer that. Bitch I.
Didn't thought you said yeah. Why don't you try to answer?
That I. Don't fucking know.
So Casco Bay itself runs from Cape Elizabeth, ME to the town
of Freeport, ME and includes thecity of Portland.
The Bay holds 136 islands and one town on the rocky shores of
Casco Bay is Freeport. Today it is a small, sleepy
coastal town with a population of just under 8000 people.
(06:59):
It has the kind of New England coastal charm vibe we think of
when we say of coastal Maine. And it is a must stop if you're
doing the fall foliage drive from Massachusetts to up Route
1. Freeport in the 17 and 1800s was
a shipbuilding town. So The Maine has plenty of tall
straight yellow Pines that are ideal for ship masks and plenty
of talented carpenters with New England ingenuity and know how.
(07:20):
So for Freeport, ME to make someof the most impressive ships in
the world in the 17th and 1800s is no surprise.
The Schooner Dash was such a boat.
Built in Freeport in 1813, it was one of the fastest ships
built in this day. The Porter Brothers, local
shipbuilders, designed her to outrun any British warship.
The bro had a slimmer profile inthe water, creating less draw.
(07:41):
It had 13 cannons and another 10fake cannons made out of wood.
Given the appearance of a more capable warship than she was.
That's kind of cool, yeah. Yeah, they made fake cannons.
Yeah, yeah. It's bluffing people.
So these fake cannons made British warship captains second
guessed their plans of keeping the lines of the embargo.
It also had a new design that added a forced sail that will
(08:02):
allow more wind to be captured and carry the ship faster than
the heavily fortified and slowerBritish warships.
So this is really novel. This is like unique modern arts
like ship ready to go huh? Yeah, it was one-of-a-kind ship,
which keep in mind as we talk about the sightings of it.
All right, all right. So the Dash, who had several
(08:22):
captains over the years, startedmaking runs to Santo Domingo to
trade local lumber for coffee, out running the British warships
in the brocade. The ship lived up to its legend
as the fastest ship in New England and was able to outrun
the British ships with ease. That must be so fucking fun.
You're just like going so much faster.
They come get me. British motherfuckers.
Yeah. Like, oh how cool.
(08:45):
I've never been fast in my life.No, I want that moment.
Like, I get that room. The cops, yeah.
Yeah, I would not. So the ship continues to make
its daring runs to Bermuda, Port-au-Prince Santa Domingo and
South Carolina without capture, frustrating the British Navy and
becoming a legend among the British naval ranks.
(09:06):
In 1814, the Dash went on the offensive President Madison, who
was seriously outgunned by the strongest naval force in the
world at the time. The British Royal Navy issued
private boat owners privateer papers, allowing private ships
to attack British ships and takethe spoils of the war.
That is so intense and so cool. It is estimated that the total
(09:27):
damage to the British shipping by privateers was about $18
million during the RevolutionaryWar, and this cost to the
British monarchy played a significant role in the final
decision to recognize the American colonies as
independent. So, New Englanders, we should be
proud of our pirate routes. That's right.
Yes, stealing ship from boats. I wish I could.
(09:50):
No, I would totally be a pirate.I sounds amazing.
Get to live on the sea and you have to go rob people and you
have like a whole crew that justlistens and does everything you
say. Yeah, kayaking.
I would be on a big boat. It's different.
Kayaking is different. But you're on a big boat and
you're like getting like cannonslaunched at you.
(10:12):
But you're throwing cannon balls.
Throwing them I'm not. Throwing them.
I'm knocking on your boat. As discussed in the Rock
throwing, I agree. We can't afford cannons, we are
throwing them Kathy on the Section 8 vote.
(10:34):
It's just me rowing. OK, I'm in a kayak.
With a kayak, throwing rocks andthings.
Give me money. You really are a rock throwing
devil. Here's a sandwich.
If you go away, I. Win.
Just saying I would be. I would be a pirate.
So the Dash receiving its private tier papers for torn to
Freeport and was fitted with more guns in a bigger, taller
(10:57):
sailed to boastal her speed. The Dash was not just faster,
but now a formidable warship that could face off with most
British warships, lighter and faster and now properly gun.
The Dash and her crew were said to have captured 15 British
ships and never lost a single man.
Swords were swung, cannons fire,loot was pillaged and and the
dash had an epic 15 and old record as a privateer.
(11:19):
Ship 15 and O it won 15. Battles 15 battles.
Never lost a single man. That is insanely cool, that is.
So yeah, the legend of the dash grows.
Never been a winner. Doesn't end well for the dash
either. Good, good.
So on a snowy January day, not having yet received word that
(11:41):
the war was over, the Dash and her crew engaged in a small
wager with fellow privateer ship, the Chamberlain.
The sum of $50.00 was to be awarded to the first ship to
reach port in Port-au-Prince. The two ships speed out of the
Portland harbor at the same time, but the Dash easily outran
the slower Chamberlain as she sailed off into the distance and
Nor'easter started to blow in. The Chamberlain, due to the
(12:03):
deteriorating conditions, turnedback and returned to the harbor.
The lore and the legend of the Dash might have gone to its new
captain John Porter's head, as he might have surmised he could
outrun Mother Nature herself. The Dash and his crew of 60 men
sailed off into the building storm and we're never seen
again. The biggest downfall always is
overconfidence. Overconfidence.
(12:24):
Yep. Or were they?
Oh. Yeah, so the strange and
paranormal tales of the Dash begin almost right away with
Captain John Porter's wife, Lois.
The two were newlyweds when JohnPorter took the helm of the Dash
in 1815. Reportedly on the night of the
storm that the Dash was lost, Lois was at her father's home in
(12:45):
Portland, sleeping when she heard a crashing sound from the
parlor. The wind had somehow blown down
and broken a porcelain tile off the mantle above the fireplace.
The tile which was decorated with biblical Scripture was sent
shattering to the floor. Her housekeeper who was awoken
by the crash, went to the pilot to see what the commotion was.
Finding the broken tile on the floor was seen as a premonition.
(13:08):
The housekeeper brought the broken pieces to Lois and
exclaimed the dash is gone. Lois, being a religious woman,
saw the broken tile with scripture from the Bible etched
into it as a sign from beyond ofher husband's tragic end.
How did that connection get made?
Yeah. I I don't know, but it's a
strange detail that. What was the scripture?
I'm not sure of something written from the Bible.
(13:29):
And just to clarify, so the boathas already, the storm was
coming in, they've decided to move forward.
Then this happens and there's like, yeah, your husband's gone.
Yeah, ship's dead. Wow.
The end. Why are they always right?
That's what I really want. To know they were right.
Yeah, why are they always right?So interesting.
Within months of the Dash's disappearance, fishermen started
(13:50):
to see the Dash appearing in Casco Bay as the ship turned and
headed for Freeport. They claimed to see the words
Dash Freeport written on her bow.
The locals at the time believed the ship was actually coming
home and must have been delayed or ran off course for weeks, but
she never docked. What?
Man by the name of Simon Bibber in 1816 was fishing off the
(14:12):
island of Pumpkin Knob when he saw.
Fucking knob. It's the name of an island,
Kathy. It's a good name, Pumpkin Knob.
The things that entertain you. Come on, Pumpkin Knob, Come on.
When he was fishing off the island of Pumpkin Knob when he
saw a ship approaching quickly. Despite windless conditions,
(14:34):
ship was moving at an impossibleclip.
It came within 30 feet of his fishing boat.
He was able to read the ships nameplate on her bow.
Dash Freeport. The ship passed and he hurried
back to Freeport to greet the crew, but she was not there when
you when you arrived back in herport.
I don't like this. I don't like so 30 feet.
It got 30 feet. Very.
Close, right? It was so close that he actually
(14:54):
thought it was a physical. This man thinks it's.
Real. Yeah, you could read.
It not like it was like a misty figure that's.
What I was saying? Yeah, me too.
This isn't translucent fucking ghost ship.
This is there was a fucking boat.
And he went back thinking that he was going to go greet them.
Yeah, and when he got back, the boat wasn't there.
So Bibber back at the dock, he told a skeptical Mort Collins
(15:15):
what he had seen off a Pumpkin Knob.
Collins accused Bibber of starting drinking too early in
the day and laughed it off a. Little too much, Captain Morgan.
Early in the day for those type of stories, but this is when a
man by the name of Roscoe Moulton, a fellow fisherman,
arrived not hearing their conversation.
He report he saw the same thing off of Crab Island.
Both times, the ship came close enough for both of the
(15:37):
eyewitnesses to read the nameplate, that is.
So weird. Yeah, it's the thickens.
The plot thickens. Yeah, I mean, one person
reporting. It's strange.
Two people not talking to each other reporting it.
Yeah, All right. We got something here.
I'm just going back, Kathy, whenwe did the Dover demon story,
you're all like, are they doing LSD?
Are they all doing what's going on here?
(15:59):
All right, I'm not saying that everybody's ripping balls and
there's hallucinating. You literally said those words.
I did. I did say that in that
particular episode, which is still a possibility.
However, back in like the 1800s when they had the ships out and
they were storing their food andthey were like salting it and
pickling it and drying it out sothat it would last longer, yes,
(16:20):
the foods would go bad. It could get air go poisoning.
Yes, and it caused hallucinations.
Yep, these were fishermen. They weren't out to sea for
weeks. But maybe they had food that was
still being stored. Kathy just wants someone to be
tripping. Someone's hallucinated.
That's her answer to every weirdthing.
(16:42):
They're on drugs. I'm not.
Honestly, though, it's not. A bad it's not a.
Bad thing. But yeah, they like down on the
docks, they probably have like food and like barrels and shit
and they're like storing it and I'm like, I'm going out for the
day. Like I want to buy.
Maybe somebody wasn't storing their food properly and they
were getting people sick. It's just like the bad LSD
(17:02):
dealer. Okay all.
Right, I like that. That's a theory.
But I think it's the same thing that goes back to like they're
both seeing the same hallucination.
Right. Yeah, That's weird.
Right? That's what kind of.
Yeah. Either they both made it up or
there's something else there. Go ship.
So over the years these sightings continued, fishermen
and other boaters or even peopleon shore or the many islands of
(17:23):
Casco Bay reported seeing the dash schooner seemingly to
appear out of nowhere, then disappear back into the fog.
Eyewitnesses at times have noticed that despite the fact
there wasn't any breeze, the ship seemed to be moving very
quickly, almost gliding above the water.
It also only has seemed to appear in the heavy fog and
always have full mast even when dangerously close to shore and
(17:46):
the main mast should have been pulled down and tucked away.
Also it's not even making sense how it's showing.
Up. No, it's going way too fast the.
Winds so mast this shouldn't be.Ah, this is getting weirder.
It is also reported to be seen most often in August.
The ship did make its maiden voyage in August of 1812, but
this could just be a coincidence.
(18:06):
I mean I'm thinking summer in Maine you only get like one
month in August so more people will be out looking.
So at times, fishermen report, they would watch the ship speed
towards the shore and then just vanish before it wrecked on the
rocky coast. Other times it turned around and
sailed back out to sea, never finishing its voyage to just
disappear into the fog prematurely.
(18:27):
That's that's even weirder, yeah.
Could you imagine watching that though?
Like how Like like traumatizing them must be like seeing a ship
going far too fast. Like no, we like you probably
yelling like and. Then and then just disappeared
and. Especially back then too,
because people are still extremely religious today, but
probably more so back then there, you know?
Yeah, the 1800s. Yeah, so they said anything.
(18:48):
It'd be like the devil like is is in your life.
It's like poisoning you. So they they probably wouldn't
really want to speak out unless they heard other people having
the same experience. But yeah, that must be
terrifying. I'll also say too like Mainers
know they're fucking boats so. Yeah, this is a maritime
community. Exactly, and this is a unique
boat on top. Of all of that, no.
(19:09):
So over the years, fishermen have reported her near Pumpkin
Knob, Crab Island off the coast of Freeport.
But most often she is seen sailing up the Straits of
Harpwell Sound, sails at full mask headed towards the port in
Freetown, but then just vanishing.
The ship continued to be sightedthroughout Casco Bay.
It was sighted by the entire crew of 17 sailors above a
(19:30):
schooner. All 17 reports seeing the unique
ship and her nameplate. Dash, Freeport.
That is wild that they can see the name of it.
Again in 1880, she was seen by guests at the Hopswell Inn in
Portland, sailing by and disappearing just before she
wrecked off the rocky shores. It was seen again in the end of
August in 1915 by Miriam Fox, her brother Dudley and two
(19:53):
friends just off Crab Island. Yeah.
So at some point, sightings of the dash became associated with
impending death sightings of theship that occurred shortly
before the witnesses received news of a passing of a loved
one. Captain John Toothker's wife,
Paulie saw the ship before her husband's death.
It was also said that the captain's brother Esther saw the
(20:13):
ghost ship before he committed suicide, jumping overboard from
a merchant ship to his death as more sightings of the ship were
noted. Legend and myth about the Dash
Crew. It was said that when a
descendant of 1 of this Dash's 60 crew members died, the ship
would return to pick up their loved ones for their final
journey. A ghost ship escort to the
afterlife. Oh, I actually kind of like
(20:34):
that. That's kind of a cool story.
That's so cool. I went through the ship's
records and over half the crew, they didn't know their names.
They're not recorded, so it'd bevery hard to line them up.
But it's an interesting idea andthought, right?
Yeah, yeah, it's so cool. That could make it like a sick
movie. So seeing the ship became an
omen of bad luck and many superstitious sailors fared.
(20:56):
The ship's sightings would bringtragedy and sorrow.
The most well known story about the Ghost Ship Dash is from the
1940s during World War 2 when AUS Navy ship and two Ghost
Guard boats were protecting Casco Bay.
Fears ran high at the time of a German U boat could attack the
East Coast cities of the United States and several ships as well
as the US Coast Guard were tasked with monitoring and
(21:17):
protecting Casco Bay. On a foggy afternoon, the
Control Center on the well armednaval vessel got a blip on the
radar screen out of nowhere. This phantom blip was indicative
of a German U boat whose small signature could dive and surface
and was tricky to pick up on radar.
The sirens went off and all the men reported to their stations
as they headed towards the spot where they got the radar signal.
(21:38):
They manned the guns as they closed in on the target.
All were tents with fear and anticipation as they closed in
on the feared German U boat, manning the spotlights and
binoculars raised. Once within eyesight, they
didn't see a German youth boat. Rather, they saw a 19th century
schooner cruising along the Channel headed for Freeport.
No way. They could clearly see the
(21:58):
dashes, unique for sails, but the sails were all ripped and
tattered. Despite the poor conditions of
the sails and the light wind that afternoon, the ship was
said to be moving in an impossibly fast clip.
Even stranger, no one seemed to be on board.
By the time they reached the mysterious ship only 50 yards
away, it disappeared. No fucking way.
And this is reported by the US Navy.
(22:19):
So the Navy nor the Coast Guard had an official stance on the
matter, rather reporting it was a false identification.
However, Seaman and the Coast Guard members alike have written
about their encounters and all seem to be describing an
unmanned 1800s schooner with four sails that just have
disappeared with thin air. Did they see the name?
(22:39):
They did not see the name, but they did see a boat that had no
business being on the water disappear.
Yeah, the fact that it disappeared is insane.
Insane. So, yeah, a couple of drunks,
fishermen and sailors. OK, it's a fun story.
You had the US Navy reporting this.
And it showed up on the radar, which is even more insane.
(23:00):
Yeah, that means something physically.
Was there or something there? I mean you could get a false
reading. Sure, but then they follow the
site. But they fall with site, yes.
So there's something there. Oh wow.
This is not LSD. Yeah.
Unless the whole U.S. Navy was doing LSD was bat
bread. It was seen again one August
morning in the early 1970s by a woman who was on vacation on
(23:23):
Bailey Island. The Out of time ship was seen
sailing into Maragosset Sound. It seemingly disappeared in the
short time it took for the womanto turn and call to her husband
to come see the strange ship. Once she told the story to the
locals, they revealed to her that she was seeing the ghost
ship of the Dash. They shared the Dash's story
with the couple, and then they shared the story with the
(23:44):
newspaper and local radio station, bringing the story back
into our collective attention. Most stories about the ghost
ship Dash agree that she's neverable to complete her journey,
always disappearing or even turning around and sailing back
out to sea before she can reach Freeport in an endless loop or
on repeat for all of eternity. So one idea is that this ship is
so fast it's out running mortality itself, or it's a
(24:08):
ferry ship to bring back descendants of loved ones of
crew to the afterlife. It's an apparition repeating
itself on an endless loop, or anintelligent haunting trying to
get back to the port but never can.
Many theories have been floated,pun intended, and salty
fishermen are some of the best storytellers around.
You have to think hours of downtime while manning the boat
has to be filled with something.Pre Internet days we shared
(24:30):
stories to pass the time. Good stories became myth.
The best myths became legends and get added to and retold for
centuries. However, remember the Kraken was
a myth until they found a 43 foot long squid washed up on the
shores of Norway. What are generations of
fishermen seeing off the shores of Casco Bay?
Could a ship that could not be caught somehow still be out
(24:51):
running the Grim Reaper himself?It's a kind of tall tale
fishermen share with the spooky details we would come to expect
from local Bloor and myth. But when the hell was the Navy
chasing around on that day in 1942 then?
So I'm just another storyteller in a long and Harold's tradition
of local New England storytellers.
What actually happened, if anything, in Costco bad?
I leave that up to you guys. It's so weird that they got it
(25:14):
on the radar. Yeah, that really bugs me too.
The idea of a ghost ship was like so weird to me.
But now I feel like I'm open to this now.
It was a. Pretty traumatic end for such a
legendary boat. This brand new captain, just
married, can't get home to port.It makes for a compelling ghost
story. The ships were a living,
breathing entity, so maybe when you have enough people kind of
(25:38):
having that emotional and physical attachment to the ship,
maybe that kind of gave the shiplife.
I don't know. We've also previously talked
about, like, bodies of water holding energy.
Yeah, from like, really tragic emotional things.
And the fucking ocean is a pretty big body of water.
Basically base pretty big. Yeah, yeah, that's interesting.
Man, what a hell of a story. That's cool.
(25:59):
Yeah. My favorite theory is it's
coming back as a ghost ship to the afterlife and.
Transporting people. Transporting people, yeah.
That's cool. That's a.
Cool. Yeah, that's a cool theory.
And the theory that it's like trying to make its way back to
the harbor and it's not. Yeah, so I was able to find the
log of the people on the ship and like half the people on the
(26:20):
ship, they didn't know their names.
They just put down random. Yeah, that was.
Pretty random sailor, random sailor, random sailor.
Yeah, or like would list them bylike whatever their job was,
whatever they were going to be doing, they didn't really,
really care. The moral of this story, I feel
like, is don't be overconfident.There's a storm brewing.
Go home. Yeah, go home.
Yeah, because had they not gone out and thought that they could
(26:41):
get ahead of that storm, they wouldn't have asked their end.
Also I feel like a second secondstory moral this story might be
Don't gamble, this is all over. 50 bucks. 50 dollars, $50 Don't
do that either, kids. So yeah, the dash out of kind of
legendary, right? So I think it went to the
captains head that the dash was untouchable.
Well, we know what. They Titanic.
(27:01):
I was just. Gonna say You know what they say
when they claim that something is unsinkable or indestructible?
Yeah, Mother Nature. That's all the plans.
That's it. Well, Chris, thank you so much
for sharing the story. That was that was a great one.
Yeah, I liked it. Yeah, yeah, I was.
I didn't know how to feel about ghost ships going in but.
Yeah, that's so cool. I didn't, but I really like the
theories. I like the theories behind it.
(27:22):
Yeah, I thought it was kind of silly until I found out the US
Navy is like, wait a minute, I'mtaking a look.
At this, that's what really kindof baffles me, yeah.
Well, I was sick, Chris, thank you so much appreciate it.
And gang, we hope you appreciateit and enjoyed it as well too.
Be sure to go ahead and catch our Instagram at Weirder after
dark. Well, Chris will go ahead and
drop some images that will support his story.
And don't forget, we're not justbuilding some communities on
(27:44):
Instagram. We're also doing it on Facebook
and Reddit. Again, that is at Weirder after
Dark. So feel free to go check those
out. You can connect with us as well
as other listeners like you who are loving these episodes.
And remember, we are always, always, always on the lookout
for any of your stories. So have you seen the dash?
Are you out there? Are you in the ghost ships?
Are any ghosts haunting you? Maybe it's aliens.
(28:06):
We don't care what it is. Send your store to us and you
can do that at the gang at Weirder After dark.com and we'll
share your creepy New England orNot New England tale in one of
our next listener tales episodes.
And remember, if you are liking this shit, if you are loving
this shit, the best thing that you can do is share this shit
with someone that you know and love and would appreciate that
forever. Don't forget it always gets a
(28:27):
little weirder after dark. Hi.
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