The Flaming Ship

Prince Edward Island or P.E.I as it's known to the residents, is an eastern maritime province of Canada that lies off New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is a rather large island with the population being nearly 157,000 as of 2019, and the area being 5,660 km². Lighthouses and red sand beaches mark the island with the capital being Charlottetown.  

The island has a very pastoral community feel to it, one that produces a great sense of storytelling. The residents would be no stranger to ghost stories or the many urban legends that is talked about. Folklore has been part of the island for generations, often tales having to do with the rocky shorelines and the arbitrary waters that circled the land. 

Perhaps the most famous story was the much talked about flaming ghost ship of Prince Edward Island. This story was known to everyone that lived here, so popular it is believed that some schools even teach the kids about the lore as part of the islands history. Some even believe it to be more than just an island legend, and that the ship did in-fact exist in reality.

The version that is best known would be the story of a group of sailors back in 1900 in Charlottetown.  They saw up ahead on the horizon, a ship with white sails floating towards them. The closer the ship got they could hear screams of panic. Up along the large masts were people climbing frantically, chasing them were large flames that were growing by the second, The sailors jumped into a rowboat and oared out to the burning ship. As they were approaching the ship it had completely vanished, no signs to where it had gone to, it had just disappeared as if it was never there.

Other islanders have similar stories of that nature to share. Sometime in the 1950's, a married couple were settling down for the night when the woman pointed towards the window and asked her husband who's house it was with the light on so bright. The thing was though, that in the direction she pointed at, there were no houses, only the water. The two went out to see what the light was, only to lay eyes on a fully rigged ship sailing down the Northumberland Strait, full speed ahead and covered in roaring flames. It then, yet again had vanished from sight.

This account was what they told an American Folklorist named Edward D. Ives. Ives was visiting the island working on a project of his own when he began to hear whispers about the ship. His interest began to increase as he gained personal encounters with the ship from the locals along the lot7 shore part of the island. A fisherman down said the one night while casting off, that he had seen the ship, but when he started to walk towards it, it wasn't getting and closer nor further away. 

The ships origin was never really talked about with no one knowing where it had come from. Some rumors that it was warning that a storm was coming, but that idea never really took off. The first person to offer some insight about the ships emergence came from a guy named Roland H. Sherwood. In 1948 he wrote about it in a book called Story Parade, in which he states a few possibilities; it was a result of a drunken brawl in which a lamp was knocked over and causing the blaze to start. Another story he wrote about was that it was an immigrant ship that was struck by lightning on the way to Quebec and blown off course. An informant of Ives gave up a theory of his own, that the ship was the result of pirates setting it on fire due to the fact it contained priests and nuns. 

The sightings still are reported, the last being in 2008 being published in the Nova Scotia paper. It was an account of a teenage boy who had said to have spotted a white and gold ship in the area of Tatamagouche, a village in Nova Scotia. Each island on the Northumberland Strait is said to contain its own version of the flaming ship, with the details varying.

Many have disproved the presence of the ship, but no matter what the truth is, no one can deny the interest this has brought to the provinces along the strait. Prince Edward Island being the main beneficiary of profit from this legend, with many folklore enthusiasts travelling from all over the globe to try and catch a glimpse of the flaming ship. Sometimes blind faith can bring about more enjoyment than authentication. 

The Dark Side Of Christmas - Frau Perchta

The Goddess of Christmas and a prominent figure in the lore of the Alpine regions of Austria and South Germany, Frau Perchta is a much feared witch-like lady that is not to be messed with.

Other aliases she has been knows by are "Spinning room lady" or just simply "Bertha". Her appearance is that of a shabby old lady with a beak for a nose as long as Pinocchio himself. She dressed in the cheapest clothes she could find, they were more rags than anything else. Along with this, she also walked with a crooked cane fashioned out of iron. 

Her frail appearance was often deceitful and taken for granted. Her pleasure came from spinning and she was a lover of domestic cleanliness, albeit ironic for one who dressed so vile. From December 25th to January the 6th, otherwise known to us as the twelve days of Christmas, she would do her inspections.

These so called inspections often ended in a gruesome fashion. She would fly over head going from house to house checking for two things; the first being that all your flax was spun, that the time for spinning was finished for now. The second was that your house was as clean as it could possibly be, Christmas was over and so the house should return to its normal state.

For those that didn't follow these rules or have failed the inspections, there are punishments. If you fail one of these then she would set fire to a section of the house and let it burn away before putting it out when valuables got destroyed, this was a warning for those to get their act together for the next inspection.

If a house failed both check-ups then she would pay them a very personal visit. During the visit she would disembowel the house owners and replace their guts with rocks and straw. The only way said to repel her inspections was to leave out a bowl of traditional porridge at 11 p.m on the night of the 6th of January. This act was seen as a sign of respect and an offering to her that was very much appreciated, as long as the porridge was up to her taste of course.

Frau Perchta powers don't stop there, she is said to be a leader in the legend of the Wild Hunt. She would fly through the skies accompanied by her army of lost souls of the damned and the souls of unbaptized children.

Legend claims that if you're in this Alpine region and hear the thunder and wind roaring and rumbling through the mountains, followed by thrashes of lightening, then you are hearing Frau Perchta leading her army in the Wild Hunt.

Riverdale Road

In Thornton, Colorado, there is a stretch of road called Riverdale road. This street has become widely known across the country for its unexplained and mysterious happenings. Over the years the attention this road has gathered has gone from being some wacky local-lore to people actively avoiding driving down it, even if it meant adding substantial time to their journey. This hasn't stopped the ghost and ghoul chasers of the night from coming out of their dark bedrooms to see can they catch a glimpse of the sinister side of Casper. There are eight legends that are synonymous with the road, and below you can read about these.

The first legend talks about people spotting ghosts swinging from trees on the side of the road. It's not swinging as in the playful playground type, it's more the body of someone after being hung, dangling and swirling in the nights breeze. These people are said to be the bodies of one time slaves of the townspeople who were no longer needed and then murdered and buried along the road side.

Many years ago, there was a horrific car accident that resulted in the sad death of a ten year old child. The child himself was a very bright student who excelled at school in many areas, but mainly art. His death was a result of a an angry drink driver who was acquitted by a technicality, but everyone knew the real reason was because he was drinking with the mayor at the time and the mayors mistress. The ghost of the child is said to be seen wandering up and down the stretch of road looking for revenge on anyone he sees. If you see this ghostly figure then your front windshield will show on it hand prints of blood, which is said to mark your untimely demise.

Do not stop to give anyone a lift on this road; not under any circumstances. Many have vanished from this road for months, and in some cases years, with their last memory being that they pulled over and gave a woman a lift to the next town along the way. When they would return they would be in what many described as a "Sense of trance" and "Not able to connect with". All they would ever talk about is  if the lady who needed a lift had got home alright.

Gates of hell are regularly talked about when it comes to the unexplained, and this is no different. A very wealthy man, who bought a plot of land half way up the road, had iron gates built at every entrance to his four houses along the way. These were built for protection purposes but over time his mild mannered nature turned into a more controlling one, and his wife was never left leave their main house. She committed suicide one morning and upon waking to see this, he also took his own life. Now people have speculated that the large rusty gates that provide the entrance to the derelict house are in fact gates to a life of hell.

Running is a great way to maintain health and help you live a longer life, but not when the thing you are running from ends up killing you!!! The ghost of a  jogger who was killed mysteriously here is said to chase after those who decide to go for a midnight run on the 13th of every month. The transparent skinny figure will jog right next to you and if you stop to take a break or to tie your shoelaces, then your heart will also stop. 

Demonic activity is often reported by the residence on Riverdale Road. Reports of wailing women, mysterious graffiti and dead animals turning up in peoples backyards are an often too common call made by the folk of  this part of Thornton. Police were never able to give any explanation as to why these took/ are taking place, other than people passing through on their way out of Denver and having "some fun".

The surrounding land is said to be haunted also, with Native American tribes once inhabiting the area  and using the one time barren land as burial grounds. The spirits of these are said to be very protective of their past home, and anyone that does any wrong in the area; according to their tribal laws, is said to meet a very gruesome demise at the hands of a Native American shapeshifer acting as a loved one. 

The last legend on this lonesome road is one of a Camaro, that of course, is haunted. The Phantom Camaro of Riverdale Road, to give it, it's proper full title. The road itself is full of blind spots, which have caused numerous accidents on corner turns. One man in his 70's fatally crashed into a pregnant woman on a bright sunny evening back in the summer of the early 1940's. He was arrested and sentenced to death by lethal injection six months later. His last words were "demon car" and now that very car is the one that is spoken about as The Phantom Camaro.

The road today is still a very popular route for those behind the wheel. Those in the area remain convinced that something supernatural is going on here; those outside joke about the people along Riverdale Road.