Case file · Haunting
Faces in the waves behind the SS Watertown
In December 1924 two crewmen of the oil tanker SS Watertown, James Courtney and Michael Meehan, died of fumes while cleaning a tank and were buried at sea off Mexico; the crew then reported seeing their faces in the waves for days.
1924 CE · 18.50, -106.00 · status: claim
The account
Captain Keith Tracy is said to have photographed the faces; one print shows two face-like shapes in the water. The photo was printed by the shipping company and later in Fate magazine. Position approximate (Pacific off western Mexico).
The sceptical view
The photo has never been examined in its original form, and face-like shapes in waves are a textbook case of pareidolia; some think the print was retouched.