Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Sailors Break Down The Creepiest Thing They've Experienced At Sea

I love the ocean. I love the sea.

But it freaks me out. I hate going to the beach at night because you never know what is lurking in the dark waters.

Giphy

That's why I could never be a sailor or in the navy. I'd be too nervous about what lies beneath.


Sailing was made fun by Johnny Depp, but you'd have to be as drunk as Jack Sparrow to navigate the life at sea.

We have no idea really about the waters that surround us.

Redditordeaddamselwanted to hear from all the sailors out there, tell us some stories.

It was asked:

"Sailors, what's the creepiest thing you've ever seen or experienced at sea?"


I once was on a fabulous cruise.

I loved the days at sea, but I had a few moments where I feel like I saw and heard some things on the open waters that were questionable.

Especially at night.

Slither

"Hundreds of sea snakes feasting on the bloated corpse of some kind of animal." ~ goat-of-mendes

Giphy

Alaska

"On a boat in Alaska recording humpback whale sounds, we picked up an odd, rhythmic noise on the hydrophone. We were on a 100 ft schooner around Admiralty Island, near Juneau."

"Nothing seen on the surface, just this odd repetitious mechanical sound. The skipper contacted the local authorities who seized the tape and spent several hours interviewing him. Not that scary, but surely weird." ~ dvmdv8

Shine

"We had a noise "shine" down on us my second time out. We were smoking and our bridge also saw/heard/ confirmed it."

"It was a pretty bright starry night, but this one area was a little brighter and had this dull washed out shaft appearance to it, a lot like seeing the Milky Way overhead in the sky."

"We passed right by it and there was a cyclical sound like 'WEEwahwahwahWEEwahwahwah' somewhere between a humming and a sort of siren. It wasn't loud, almost more of a frequency, about 3 or 4 miles wide maybe, coming down not quite vertically."

"We could see it every time we checked for over an hour behind us, then we checked and it was totally gone."

"I wasn't horrified or anything, but the creepy part was how quiet everyone was. We all just kind of looked at each other and cracked a few nervous jokes."

"Not as juicy as seeing The Flying Dutchman or something like that, but I still think about it every time I see the night sky."

"Scariest thing? No doubt the 40-50-60ft crests and being at a 45 degree angle for like 10 seconds at a time." ~ AlienSasquatchhunter

floating at the top of a big nothing...

"Not a sailor, but I've spent more time out at sea than most because of my fondness for most boat related stuff. Even though I enjoy being out there, it always has kinda of an eerie feel. I live in the south of Norway, and the North Sea is really dark, even on the most beautiful days you can max see a meter down."

"Well this one time I was out by myself, in a pretty small, about 14 feet boat. It was one of these "not sunny" but still adequate weather days. Well, long story short I lost control over the engine and my boat spun around, landing me just underneath it."

"As I saw mentioned in another post, I have never felt as vulnerable as just then, floating at the top of a big nothing. You know there is nothing for possibly hundreds of feet underneath you."

"Probably the worst part of it is when you have to duck under the boat to get up and away. You just stare down into the abyss. You can choose not to look, but then it's almost just worse. There are no big sharks or that sort here, but still."

"You feel like there is just something, down there in the dark. I managed to keep calm and after about half an hour someone must have spotted me, cause I was soon picked up by the local SAR boat. I still don't like to look down into water, but I will continue enjoying the sea, as long as I am above the surface." ~ VelocityTM1

Flashed

"Not creepy, but saw the Green Flash one morning when I was in the Navy." ~ DEdwardPossum

Giphy

Free Willy is not out there just waiting for us.

That was one whale in one movie.

There are a lot more dangerous creatures swimming about.

Noises Off

"Sailing at night and hearing the dolphins surround the boat. You can hear their wakes and blowhole sounds all around you, but you can't see them. It's creepy." ~ upeepsareamazballz

Giphy

The Shape

"Was sailing on a tall ship in the open sea. Good breeze so making 12+ knots and heeled over so hard that, over the rail, you were almost looking straight into the water."

"Out of nowhere a dark gray shape, maybe 20ft long, pulls right up along side us. Just paces us, for 1-2min, right over that starboard rail and keeping up like it's nothing."

"Then it rolls over and we see a bright white belly before it disappears under the waves. To this day I have no idea what it was." ~ Nephroidofdoom

Hallucinations

"I woke up to take a piss. Head was occupied, went to the stern. The entire sea behind the boat was glowing glowing blue."

"My piss stream made these beautiful colors of aquamarine and violet. Thought I was hallucinating or dreaming and went back to bed."

"I stayed awake petrified I had died and was in some sort of alternate reality or something. Told no one for years."

"Found a video online, apparently it's a type of bioluminescent algae. It f'ked with me for far longer than it should." ~ the-goku-special

The Ship Speaks

"Leading Seamen here, nothing scarier then doing a round (walking around exterior decks checking rooms for fires and such) when the ship is under way at night so it's pitch black and only a red flashlight for light and the ships engines are very loud, I always get the sense there's something following you in the dark/if you fell in no one would know for at least 20 minutes or much more." ~ DistributionUpper634

History

"My great uncle never talked about his time in the Navy, but I can absolutely answer this for him. He was at Pearl Harbor during the attack. He also participated in the shelling of Iwo Jima." ~ Abadatha

war hbo GIF by Game of ThronesGiphy

I'm good on dry. land.

But mad props and thanks to the people who make their living on the sea.

We need sailors and fishermen.


Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Newsmax screenshot about "Wicked"
Newsmax

MAGA Dragged For Claiming 'Wicked' Is Tanking For 'Going Woke' Despite Box Office Records

Gather 'round, ladies and gentlemen, for it's time for the latest chapter in the ongoing story of how conservatives are so weirdly angry and obsessed about "wokeness" that they are just making stuff up out of thin air to justify it.

You've probably heard all about the film adaptation of Wicked, right? It's everywhere—you can't open an app without being bombarded with people's posts about the film.

Keep ReadingShow less
close up of a fish
Bobby Mc Leod on Unsplash

People Reveal The Oddest Things They Actually Find Attractive

Have you ever heard the saying "so ugly that it's cute"?

It's something people often say about moose calves here where I live. Adult bull moose are sometimes described as majestic because of their massive size and antlers, but they're kind of an odd looking animal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk; Screenshot of Rachel Maddow
Chesnot/Getty Images; MSNBC

Musk Is Now Joking About Buying MSNBC To The Horror Of Liberals—Except It's Not For Sale

After it was announced Comcast plans to separate MSNBC and several other cable channels into their own company called "SpinCo," billionaire Elon Musk—the owner of X, formerly Twitter—"joked" about buying it.

Comcast plans to spin off its NBCUniversal cable television division as the traditional TV industry grapples with challenges from streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Laura Ingraham
Fox News

Laura Ingraham Put On Blast After Mixing Up Two Black Women During Cringey On-Air Flub

Fox News personality Laura Ingraham apologized after "accidentally" mixing up Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James while railing against officials who have played a role in the various legal proceedings against President-elect Donald Trump.

James, the first woman and woman of color elected as New York Attorney General, filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, his adult sons, and the Trump Organization over allegations of financial fraud. A judge ultimately found evidence of fraud and ordered the defendants to pay millions of dollars in penalties.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Divulge The Best Money-Saving Hacks They've Picked Up

Money makes the world go around.

And in this day and age, finding ways to hold onto every cent of it feels imperative.

Keep ReadingShow less