Case file · High strangeness
SS Bannockburn, the 'Flying Dutchman of Lake Superior'
The grain steamer Bannockburn left Port Arthur, Ontario, on 20 November 1902 and was seen by another ship on Lake Superior the next day, then disappeared with her crew.
1902 CE · 47.60, -86.20 · status: unexplained
The account
Sailors have since reported seeing her ghost ship on the lake.
The sceptical view
She probably foundered in a storm or struck a shoal; Lake Superior is cold enough to keep wrecks and bodies hidden.
The researched reading
A steamer lost in a November gale on Lake Superior. A storm or shoal explains it; the ghost-ship tales are legend.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A known natural phenomenon | 40% | A November gale on Lake Superior; she may have struck the then-uncharted Superior Shoal or foundered, and the cold lake often keeps wrecks and bodies. |
| Undetermined | 30% | The share a generic explanation had beyond what has been shown for this case: it fits many cases like this one, but has not been demonstrated for this one. |
| A cultural story | 14% | She became the “Flying Dutchman of Lake Superior”, a Great Lakes legend. |
| Something in the surroundings | 6% | Ice build-up or engine failure in the storm are possible contributing factors. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 6% | Sightings of her as a ghost ship came after the loss. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 2% | No fabrication. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 2% | A storm or shoal explains it. |
Official position: No formal finding of cause; a life preserver later washed ashore.