“The Curse of the Mary Celeste” by Yi-Jay 9A

The Mary Celeste is probably one of the most famous ghost ship stories in the world. There have been many theories about how it became a ghost ship However, all of them do not come close to what really happened This is the true story of the Mary Celeste And I, Captain Benjamin S Briggs, take up my pen and go back to the year 1872 when my family and I had just relocated from Chicago to New York after my many successful trades over the years

I remember it as though it were yesterday. It was October 21st, a cold rainy night. The weather outside made no difference to us as we were inside one of the biggest mansions in New York The fire lit up pleasantly, warming everyone in the room. My friends and I sat around smoking cigars, discussing the latest news as we always did every Saturday night

My friends who kept me company were: Doctor Stuart, a neurologist; Robert Brown, an engineer and James Smith; a banker All successful and respectable personages “Well Stuart, what about the Chicago fires?” asked Robert Brown

“According to The Daily Telegraph the police are hot on the trail of the culprit ”

“Apparently the fire started from a farm,” Smith broke in.

“It is speculated that he is a sailor. Perhaps a merchant.” It was I who had now put down my newspaper to join the conversation

The Chicago fires, a current hot topic happened a year ago in 1871. The fires destroyed eighteen thousand buildings and killed three hundred people

“The chances of the criminal escaping is slim, ” said Stuart.

“The world is a big place,” I muttered.

“I agree with the Captain,” said Brown “There are still many places yet to be discovered It is very easy to go missing”

“About going missing,” said Smith with a fascination for mysterious events “There is a cursed ship called the Mary Celeste. The previous captain died in it from pneumonia. On the ship’s second journey, it ran aground. Then recently, it collided with an English Vessel! Anyhow, one of my friends, Richard W Hanes bought this cursed asset and restored it He is now looking to sell it Benjamin, you're a fine seaman Why not buy it? Break the curse.”

“Buy it?” I asked incredulously.

“Look,” broke in Brown “Let’s make a wager If you buy this ‘cursed’ ship and sail it from here to another port, say Italy and survive the trip, we will each give you a thousand pounds.”

“This is absurd!” I cried

“A true gentleman will never back down from a challenge,” said Stuart bluntly

“Alright, I’ll do it,” I said finally.

A wager was at once drawn and signed by the four parties I was set to go to the port in Genoa, Italy delivering one thousand seven hundred barrels of alcohol. I will leave New York port on November 7th and arrive in Genoa in three weeks

By the time the ship was ready to sail at noon, I was tired out I had brought with me my wife, daughter and eight able crew men A huge company gathered around the New York Harbour Word had spread like wildfire about our private wager, and many other gentlemen were making their own small bets. “How about a song, Captain?” shouted Walker, our cook

“Oh, blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down!” I sang and the whole crew joined in: “To me way-aye, blow the man down!”

The anchor was lifted and the winds filled the sails. People began to wave and soon the port was nothing but a small dot The first few days passed by, uneventful There was one event where Fred got into an argument with the cook but it was soon resolved. The food was good, the workload for each crew member light and the weather conditions were perfect After crossing half the Atlantic Ocean, the curse of the Mary Celeste began to strike At around midnight Fred reported that Walker was missing “He said that he heard you calling him, Captain.”

I scoffed at this “I did not call anyone I was here in my quarters ”

“Well, have you seen him Captain?”

We immediately launched a search party but as the hours dwindled by with no sign of Walker, fear slowly crept into our hearts Alas when we regrouped, we realized that Fred was gone too

“It’s a cursed ship Captain! This ship is haunted I can feel it in my bones!” I could see panic in their eyes

“Perhaps this is their little prank. Tomorrow morning they’ll both be laughing at us.” We never saw Walker nor Fred again From then on, no more songs were sung The terror of the Mary Celeste had fallen upon our spirits

With the cook gone, my wife took over the kitchen. Tonight's menu: stew pork with mash, accompanied with plenty of rum When the food was served every man gobbled their meal down heartily As Jim got up to get more rum, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Akin to someone being stabbed, he dropped down onto the ground with a loud thud His body lifeless

Everyone went dead quiet, eyes widened and faces as pale as death. Another thud was heard, this time it was Adrain, the engineer, his head dropped lifelessly onto the table “It’s the ship The ghost of Mary Celeste is after us!” one cried The whole crew drew their pistols preparing to shoot something they couldn't see

\Thud Another crew member down

“I should have listened to my wife. I shouldn't have come aboard!” another cried.

Thud Thud Now it was only the two of us left Scond mate Nevile and I

“Captain, what are we going to do?”

I slowly approached him

“Nothing,” I shrugged. “Soon the poison will kill you too.”

“You!” Nevile growled. “But why?!”

I let out a chuckle “This is my getaway, you fool You think I meant to stop in Italy? The bet was the perfect cover up. It was I who started the Chicago fire. I set my barn on fire for the insurance money. I needed the capital to fund my trading business ”

Thud. Nevile collapsed. The last victim falling to the curse of the Mary Celeste.

“Never liked you, Nevile Always wanting your way In fact, I never liked any of you boys,” I muttered as I tossed their lifeless bodies overboard.

Taking my wife and daughter with me, and leaving everything else untouched, we got into the lifeboat and sailed away Who would notice that we were gone? ***

The Chicago fires happened on October 8, 1971 It supposedly started from a barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O’Leary and took the lives of three hundred people As for the Mary Celeste, it set sail a year later on November 7th. On board was Captain Benjamin, his wife, daughter and eight crew members. It was set to arrive in Genoa, Italy but on December 5th, 1872 the ship was found sailing aimlessly by itself near Azores, Portugal Nobody was found on the ship and nothing was missing except a piece of rope and a lifeboat.