In 1871 a deserted ship is found drifting in the sea. The captain and the crew have disappeared... Aimed at young learners but of general interest. Linked to learning activities & video here: http://ghoststories.eslreading.org/ghost/maryceleste.html More English language learning materials here: http://www.eslreading.org/

1. THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE! PAGE 1
Mystery Ship Found Deserted Near Azores
NO SIGN OF PASSENGERS OR CREW
December 4th, 1872 ‘Where’s it heading?’ No answer
‘Nowhere,’ says the first The deck of Celeste is
mate. ‘I’ve been watching it for completely deserted. There are
an hour. I can’t see anyone on no signs of life.
board.The ship is just drifting The men from the Dei
on the tide. Gratia board the ship. ‘Ahoy
More men came out onto there!’ they call out. ‘Is anyone
the deck. They watch the Mary here?’
Celeste drift slowly in the wind. But there’s no answer.
Captain Morehouse discovers the Mary Celeste ‘What’s happening, Captain Briggs is not on board.
Captain?’ Nor are his wife and daughter.
The Dei Gratia is sailing
‘I don’t know,’ says Captain Nor are his seven crew.
from the Azores towards the
Morehouse ‘But I don’t like it. ’ ‘They’ve all gone,’ says the
Portuguese coast.
first mate. ‘It’s like a ghost ship
It’s a hot afternoon. The
Boarding Party ‘What can we do, Captain?’
First Mate of the Dei Gracia is
Morehouse has known ‘We need to to find out
looking out to sea through his
Captain Briggs for many years. what is going on,’ says Captain
telescope. In the distance he
‘He’s a good sailor,’ he tells his Morehouse. ‘Pre pare a
sees something surprising. He
crew. ‘Captain Briggs wouldn’t boarding party.’
calls to his captain.
allow his ship to drift like that.
‘Look over there, sir’ he
We n e e d t o i nve s t i g a t e. There was no answer
tells Captain Morehouse. ‘Do
Organise a boarding party.’ A boarding party sails out
you recognise that ship?’
The boarding party consists to the Mary Celeste closer. As
Captain Morehouse looks
of the first mate and two other they get closer all conversation
through the telescope. For a
men. They sail out towards the s t o p s . I t ’s o b v i o u s t h a t
moment he can’t believe his
other ship in a small boat. something is wrong.
eyes. ‘The Mary Celeste?’ he
As they get closer to the ‘ W h e r e i s e v e r yo n e ? ’
says. ‘What’s it doing here?’
Mary Celeste all conversation someone whispers.
stops. Something is clearly The deck of Celeste is
The Dei Gratia
wrong. completely deserted. There are
The Mary Celeste left New
‘Where is everyone?’ one no signs of life.
York a week before its sister
man whispers.
ship, the Dei Gratia.
The Mary Celeste © 2009 Kieran McGovern | kieran@eslreading.org | http://www.eslreading.org/

2. THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE! PAGE 2
What Really Happened?
• the Mary Celeste got lost in
the Bermuda Triangle.
None of this is true.
The ship
What really happened? was clearly
abandoned
There is very little we can say for
certain about what had happened
in a hurry.
The men from the Dei Gratia about the Mary Celeste. There was
board the ship. ‘Ahoy there!’ they The official enquiry into the no attempt
call out. ‘Is anyone here?’
But there’s no answer. Captain
Mary Celeste relies on evidence to weigh
from Captain Morehouse and his
Briggs is not on board. Nor are his the anchor,
boarding party. They describe the
wife and daughter. Nor are his seven ship as ‘in a bad state’ and ‘not fit
roll up the
crew. for human habitation’. canvas, or
The boarding crew explore the In the dining room there were tie up the
ship but find no one. ‘They’ve all no cups of hot tea or abandoned steering
gone,’ says the first mate. ‘It’s like a breakfasts:
ghost ship
wheel.
• the stove was knocked out of
its place, and the cooking utensils
Legends were {thrown} around.
• nor was the ship mysteriously
There are many legends about clean and tidy.
what was found on deserted Mary • the whole ship was a wet mess.
Celeste. People say: The Captain’s bed was not fit to
• there were half-eaten sleep in and had to be dried.
breakfasts, cups of hot tea & a
warm apple pie in the dining room
of the ship.
• washing was hung out to dry
• the ship’s cat was found asleep
• the ship was clean and tidy
• the weather was good when
the crew ‘disappeared’
The Mary Celeste © 2009 Kieran McGovern | kieran@eslreading.org | http://www.eslreading.org/

3. THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE! PAGE 3
Navigation Chart
What do we know? Briggs’s cap and In the rst mate’s
The Mary boots cabin
Celeste was sailing a trunk containing a diary with
from New York to woman’s dress un nished entry
Genoa in Italy with a a small portable un nished
cargo of alcohol. piano with sheet calculations
Where Mary Celeste was found
On board were 37- music left on top
year-old Captain a portable sewing In the Cargo hold
Briggs, his wife, machine with a 1, 701 barrels of
Sarah, his two-year- child’s sleepwear alcohol
old daughter half sewn (9 empty)
Sophia.There were small bottle of oil
also seven crew. spool of white On the bridge:
There was a six- thread one broken clock
month supply of an open bottle of Captain’s Log
uncontaminated food. child’s cough
Clean, fresh water
medicine Missing:
was still aboard.
two silver Life boat
What possessions medallions Chronometer
were found in the several rings Sextant
captain’s cabin? a watch First Mate Albert Richardson
a purse containing
clothes “thrown two pieces of $10
hither and thither”
The Mary Celeste © 2009 Kieran McGovern | kieran@eslreading.org | http://www.eslreading.org/

4. THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE! PAGE 4
Key T heories
Did Briggs order the
passengers and crew to leave
the ship? If so, why? Pirates
Did pirates attack the ship? Did robbers rob & kill?
is was a very dangerous thing to I don’t think pirates attacked.
do and would normally only ere were rumours that a bloody The cargo was intact. It’s like
happen in an emergency. sword was found on board. robbing a bank without taking
the money!
But Briggs was an experienced
captain. He was also a part owner
Another rumour was that there
Lifeboat
was bloodstains on the deck. But
of the ship. this information did not come Did the rope break?
from the enquiry and seems very Perhaps the rope connecting
One theory is that the cargo of unlikely the lifeboat to the ship broke -
alcohol caused an explosion. or was deliberately cut?
Another is that Captain Briggs Was there a sword ght? Aliens
feared an explosion was imminent
No. Morehouse and his men did Sucked into space?
Did Captain Briggs believe nd an old sword on the ship – I think The Mary Celeste
that the Mary Celeste was sailed into a time warp. Aliens
but it had not been used for years.
came down from space and
sinking? sucked the people away.
Was there a robbery?
Bermuda Triangle?
If so, he was wrong. When
Many ships have disappeared
Morehouse boarded the ship it was ere was no sign that a robbery
into what they call the
seaworthy had taken place Bermuda Triangle. This is an
area of the sea where
Did Morehouse nd anything e ship’s cargo of alcohol was still mysterious things happen.
unusual? on board. Only nine bottles were Okay, so the Mary Celeste
empty.. wasn’t sailing through the
Bermuda triangle but ....
e chronometer or navigation
book was missing. So was the Tsunami
ship’s register.
Seaquake?
Where were they? Why would the Perhaps a ‘seaquake’
swamped the ship
crew take them onto a lifeboat?
The Mary Celeste © 2009 Kieran McGovern | kieran@eslreading.org | http://www.eslreading.org/

5. THE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE! PAGE 5
Captain Morehouse’s Theory
I cannot know Of course they may not
for certain have tied their lifeboat to
what the Mary Celeste. But I still
happened on think they would have
the Mary been unlikely to survive a
Celeste. My storm in a small boat on
personal view is that the open sea. If only they
something happened to had just stayed on the
make the crew panic. I Mary Celeste we could If only
think they left the ship have rescued them. they had
because they thought it just stayed
was sinking. So why did they leave on
on the
that lifeboat? That is the
When we boarded the real mystery. I knew
Mary
Mary Celeste we found a Captain Briggs well – I had
Celeste we
broken rope hanging over dinner with him in New York could have
the side of the deck. a few days before the rescued
Perhaps this was used to Mary Celeste sailed. He them
tow the smaller boat was a good man and an
behind until it broke. experienced seaman.
Storm He would not have left the
bridge of his ship unless he
There was very bad believed it to be in mortal
weather in the days before danger. What happened
we found the Mary to frighten him into risking
Celeste. For four days there the lives of his family and
had been a storm – it only crew?
ended on the morning we
found her.
The Mary Celeste © 2009 Kieran McGovern | kieran@eslreading.org | http://www.eslreading.org/