If you thought that sitting in a landlocked desert would keep you away from creepy ghost ships, think again! This story involves treasure hunters, crazy old prospectors, a spectral ship, and one of the most unfortunate alleged navigation errors in human history. Pull up a seat whippersnapper, and let ol’ Matt tell you about the Ghost Ship of the California Desert, dagnabbit!
This episode was written by Matthew Armstrong with music by Matthew Armstrong and production assistance from Kaylia Metcalfe.
A transcript of this episode is available here.
Show Notes
An example of a fake UFO newspaper story
Pioneer Museum in Julian, California
Don Laylander, an archaeologist with ASM Associates
Lost Dutchman’s Mine of Arizona
Sources
AltaOnline: https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a5707/buried-treasure-of-the-california-desert/
Desertsun.com: https://www.desertsun.com/story/desert-magazine/2019/12/02/5-facts-lost-ship-california-desert-what-we-know/3981175002/
DesertUSA.com: https://www.desertusa.com/desert-activity/lost-ship-desert.html
Lost Ships of the Desert: http://www.lostshipofthedesert.com/
Skeptoid: https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4209
Unexplained and Unexplored: https://meaww.com/unexplained-and-unexplored-legend-califonia-ghost-ship-viking-treasure
Wikipedia – Lost Ship of the Desert: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Ship_of_the_Desert
- Salton Sink: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salton_Sink
Lee, Hector. 1984. Heroes, VIllains, and Ghosts, Folklore of Old California. Capra Press, Santa Barbara, CA.
Schlosser, S. E. 2005. Spooky California. Insiders’ Guide, Guilford, CT.
Music in this episode was preformed by Matt Armstrong.
If you have a story about a ghost, some bit of folklore, or anyting else you want to share, please contact me.
Photo credit: Wood photo created by wirestock – www.freepik.com
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