Ghost Ship: Carroll A. Deering

Carroll A. Deering

The curious fate of the Carroll A. Deering has put it at the top of the list of maritime mysteries.

The Deering is considered a ghost ship for it was found abandoned by the Coast Guard on the Outer Shoals of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina in 1921.

In August of 1920, the Deering a five-masted commercial schooner, prepared to sail from Norfolk, Virginia to Rio de Janeiro. It carried a cargo of coal.

The original captain was William H. Merritt--he fell ill soon into the journey and was left off in a port in Delaware. Hastily the Deering Company found a replacement. W. B. Wornell was a 66-year old retired sea captain.

A young Captain Wornell

The Deering made it to Rio de Janeiro without further incident. Captain Wornell gave his Danish crew shore leave and spent his time with an old friend--Captain Goodwin. He talked about the crew on the Deering with distain and stated all save the ship’s engineer were untrustworthy.

The Deering left Rio in early December and then stopped for supplies in Barbados. The ship’s first mate, Charles B. McLellan who came aboard the Deering at the same time as Wornell got drunk and complained about having to work with the old captain.

He stated to whomever would listen that Wornell would not let him discipline the crew and that he was an interfering old man. He stated it was left to him to do all the navigation because of Wornell’s poor eyesight.

While in the Continental Café McLellan bragged, “I’ll get the Captain before we get to Norfolk, I will.” Another captain, Hugh Norton overheard this threat and had him arrested.

In an odd twist Wornell forgave McLellan and bailed him out of jail. On January 9^th the Deering set sail for Hampton Roads.

The last time the Deering was spotted with her crew onboard was when she hailed the Cape Lookout Lighthouse in North Carolina. The keeper, a Captain Jacobson reported that a thin man with reddish hair and a foreign accent told him the Deering had lost her anchors--he did not look like any of the known officers aboard.

2nd Cape Lookout Lighthouse in 1913

Jacobson could not report this because his radio was out. He noted the crews’ presence on the ship was odd--for they were “milling around” on the fore deck of the ship, an area onboard where crews were not allowed normally. He then watched as the Deering set a peculiar course.

Soon after this, the Coast Guard spotted the Carroll A. Deering run aground on Cape Hatteras. After a series of storms let up, on February 4^th the cutter Manning reached the Deering and managed to board her.

There was no sign of the crew and their belongings and the lifeboats were missing. The ships log, navigation equipment, papers and most of the valuable items on the ship were also gone.

It looked like the crew had abandoned the ship just as a meal was being laid out.

The U.S. government conducted an extensive search and an investigation--this task was given to then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover-- but the crew was never located. 

The reason for why the ship was abandoned remains a mystery. The government has never offered an official explanation.

The Deering stayed ahead of a storm that hit the area at the time so this was ruled out as a possible cause.

A variety of reasons were put forth at the time. Was it foul play by rumrunners? Or was it a communist pirate ship that was set on capturing an America ship?

Could it be the crew mutinied--did they run the ship aground on purpose taking everything of value with them before they did this?

A more outlandish but persistent theory is that the paranormal forces at work in the Bermuda Triangle robbed the Deering of its crew. But the Deering wasn’t near the Triangle when she ran aground.

By March of 1921 the only thing left of the wreaked and battered Deering was her hull. The ship was towed away and dynamited. In 1922, the investigation was closed.

The Grey Man of Cape Hatteras

Hurricane Floyd

North Carolina is fourth on the list of states in the U.S. that are hit by category 4 hurricanes. 

Located in the Outer Banks, Cape Hatteras is an area that still has natural, unspoiled beauty--it has a pristine beach that is 70 miles long. But it is also a point where two major Atlantic currents collide. 

So when hurricanes hit Cape Hatteras, it is always the most vulnerable spot in the Carolinas. This island has experienced many bad storms. 

Hurricane Hazel in 1954, and Hurricane Floyd in 1999, both category 4 hurricanes, took over one thousand lives and their floods caused billions of dollars in property damage in the Cape Hatteras area.

Other victims of the violent storms that hit the Carolinas are ships. One such vessel, the Sea Venture was traveling to Jamestown when a violent storm hit off the Carolina coastline. 

This ship was tossed around for days by this storm’s violent wind. Waves almost tipped the vessel completely over. When the crew finally reached port, their ship was so damaged it took many months to repair. 

Once the Sea Venture returned home to England the story of this violent storm inspired William Shakespeare to write his play, The Tempest.

After this, the Spanish and the locals in the Caribbean called the storm that hit the Sea Venture a hurican--their word for their god. This word then was used to describe these violent storms--hurricanes. 

Hurricanes have caused many a ship to sink off the Outer Banks. * One such shipwreck that occurred off Cape Hatteras is believed to be the cause for the following ghost sighting.

Despite the tragedies that resulted from Hazel and Floyd, many locals on the island believe that even more residents would have died if they didn’t have one fascinating phenomenon. ** 

The Grey Man of Cape Hatteras, as he is known, is a ghost that appears just as the first winds of a strong storm touch the island. His spirit has appeared just before every bad hurricane that has hit the island for over a century. So this ghost is a harbinger.

Unlike many local legends when the Grey Man appears, tourists and residents of Hatteras take note--for when he is seen people do not take his warnings lightly. 

His appearances have always been accurate, so people heed them and immediately leave the island. In fact, his appearances are so appreciated that many islanders consider him more as a beloved resident than a ghost.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Built-in 1870
Tallest in North America

The Grey Man ghost is always seen walking along the beach near the Cape Hatteras lighthouse. His appearances began in the early 1900s, and he has been seen ever since just before violent storms. 

He is described as appearing out of nowhere, and then he just fades away amidst the rain and wind. 

Witnesses who have tried to approach this figure state that by the time they reached where he stood, he is no longer there. Because of this, no one has ever been able to speak to him.

Most who have seen this ghost state afterward, that they were not afraid. In fact, several knowing his story felt appreciation for his “mission to save lives,” and then have packed up and left the island quickly. 

It is believed that the Grey Man was once a sailor, by the name of Grey, who lived at Cape Point. The ship that he sailed upon was lost in a violent hurricane off Hatteras. 

It is said that he drowned in this storm. This is why it is believed he warns people of impending storms--he does not want others to suffer his fate.

* So many ships have sunk in this area that one tourist attraction off Cape Hatteras is to go on “Shipwreck Scuba Explorations.”

** Of course, today there are modern warnings that alert people to the fact a hurricane is coming--but it is stated the Grey Man still appears, and warns people of impending danger.