08.20.25. Phantom Vessels: ‘Ghost Ships’, Missing Crews and Oddities of Sea and Sky

2025-08-20

For centuries, sailors have shared baffling stories of phantom vessels found adrift with their crews missing. Such mysterious occurrences have helped give rise to famous legends like that of the “Flying Dutchman,” a ghost ship said to have been observed during severe maritime storms since at least the eighteenth century. This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we explore several historical cases of ships at sea and aircraft whose crews went missing, like the famous Mary Celeste, the odd tale of the Orang Medan, a blimp whose crew vanished during WWII, and other...

This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we explore several historical cases of ships at sea and aircraft whose crews went missing, like the famous Mary Celeste, the odd tale of the Orang Medan, a blimp whose crew vanished during WWII, and other eerie examples. However, could some reported sightings of phantom vessels throughout time also point to another kind of phenomenon at work behind a few of these famous tales, and the urban legends that become associated with them?

Have you had a UFO/UAP sighting? Please consider reporting your sighting to the UAP Sightings Reporting System, a public resource for information about sightings of aerial phenomena.

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Show Notes

Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode:

NEWS: Hurricane Erin update: Forecast sees huge storm moving closer to U.S.
NASA’s acting chief calls for the end of Earth science at the space agency
A Giant Rockfall at Yosemite Decades Ago Caused a Supersonic Airblast
Light in the sky surprised people across Pennsylvania Last Week. Here’s what it was
GHOST SHIPS: Haunting Mysteries of the World’s Creepiest Ghost Ships
A N.S. ghost ship is fading from memory — 150 years after its crew disappeared
Daily Mirror Fri Nov 22 1940: “Crew Dies in SOS Mystery”
The Myth of the Ourang Medan Ghost Ship, 1940 – The Skittish Library
A ghost blimp over California – the L-8 airship – Zeppelin Museum
El Caleuche – Mythological Chile (Spanish Language)

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