The Doldrums: Ghost Ships, the Sargasso Sea, Sea Serpents & Maritime Folklore

For sailors travelling under canvas, the doldrums were among the most feared waters on Earth. Ships could remain trapped for days or weeks beneath an unmoving sky as water spoiled, sickness spread and frightened crews searched for supernatural explanations. This episode explores the dark folklore of the dead calm, including wind-calling rituals, cursed “Jonahs,” Neptune’s equator ceremonies, phantom ships, the albatross and the terrifying delirium known as calenture.

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Research Links:

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/doldrums.html

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/tradewinds.html

https://archive.org/download/legendssuperstit00bass/legendssuperstit00bass.pdf

https://archive.org/download/cu31924079619411/cu31924079619411.pdf

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3A53134a1e-1d2f-4d88-909f-f3d840702a8e/files/rtd96k375n

https://www.brigantineneptun.com/knowledge-base/king-neptune-ceremony-line-crossing

https://archive.org/download/crossinglinetale00lyde/crossinglinetale00lyde.pdf

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43997/the-rime-of-the-ancient-mariner-text-of-1834

https://www.britannica.com/science/calenture

https://www.britannica.com/place/horse-latitudes

https://bowcreektoanatahan.wordpress.com/the-sails-hang-dead-a-history-of-the-doldrums/

https://blackthornandstone.com/2020/05/21/here-be-monsters-sailor-stories-nautical-folklore/

Thanks so much for listening, and we'll catch up with you again on tomorrow.

Sarah and Tobie xx

"Spacial Winds," Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licenced under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licence

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

About The Whispering Woods

The Whispering Woods is a UK paranormal storytelling podcast exploring true ghost stories, unexplained mysteries, haunted history and folklore from around the world.

From firsthand paranormal encounters to historical hauntings and centuries-old legends, we bring you atmospheric stories of the strange and unexplained.

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