The Abandoned Ship — Mary Celeste

On a winter morning in 1872, Benjamin Briggs set sail from New York harbor with his wife Sarah and their two-year-old daughter Sophie, as well as a crew of eight men, aboard the ship Mary Celeste. The ship was carrying nearly 2,000 barrels of alcohol. However, when the ship was later discovered by Captain Morehouse of the Dei Gratia, it was completely empty and abandoned, with its sails slightly damaged and the lifeboats missing. Despite the many theories that have been proposed, the true reason for the disappearance of the crew and the Briggs family remains a mystery to this day.

Some of the theories that have been put forward include:

1. The Drunk Crew Theory posits that the crew became violently drunk and killed everyone on board before escaping in the lifeboat. This theory was debunked as alcohol was not consumable.
2. The Witness is a Criminal Theory that says the crew of the Dei Gratia attacked Mary Celeste and took the salvage money.
3. The Fake Death Theory suggests that the Briggs family faked their deaths and worked with the crew of the Dei Gratia to share the salvage money.
4. The Alien Theory proposes that a UFO abducted the crew and the Briggs family.
5. The Sea is the Villain Theory suggests that a tornado at sea caused the crew to abandon the ship in the lifeboats.
6. The Alcoholic Fumes Theory proposes that a leak in the cargo caused toxic alcoholic fumes, leading the crew to abandon the ship.

The story of the Mary Celeste was used by Arthur Conan Doyle as inspiration for his own version of the story, titled “J. Habakuk Jephson’s Statement”. In this story, Sherlock Holmes tells Dr. Watson that “Sophia Matilda Briggs was not the name of a young woman, Watson, said Holmes in a reminiscent voice. It was a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.” Sophia Matilda Briggs was the daughter of Benjamin Briggs, captain of the Mary Celeste.