Case file · Folklore / legend
SS Ourang Medan
A ghost-ship story about a vessel whose crew was found dead with faces frozen in terror before the ship caught fire and sank, usually set in the Strait of Malacca.
1940 CE · 4.63, 99.30 · status: legend
The account
The tale was first printed in Italy and England in 1940, then repeated in 1948 and 1952. The 1940 version placed it south of the Solomon Islands.
The sceptical view
The location, date and details shift between versions, which is why it is regarded as a probable urban legend.