Mysteries and Sea Monsters

The sea realm has ever been mysterious: strange happenings upon it, an unfathomable abyss of 'The Great Unknown' below. Before the scrutiny of scientific Enlightenment and Age of Reason, in the eighteenth century, ghost ships and oceanic monsters were the stuff of superstition, myth and legend to explain the inexplicable, to enthral the imagination - and enliven the unimaginable. Narratives of phantom ships manned by ghostly (sometimes skeletal) crews, or damned like the Flying Dutchman to roam the seas forever; of sinister, sinuous sea serpents; and the lore of the terrible multi-tentacled kraken. Accounts inspired spirited controversy amongst believers and sceptics, in the awestruck thrill of such frightful enigmas.

GRAHAM FAIELLA was born and raised in Bermuda. He has sailed across the Atlantic twice. In 1973-74 he joined an eighteen-month voyage around the world on a 1,750-ton ex-hydrographic research ship. After graduating from Edinburgh University he became a professional editor and writer. His most recent works reflect his interest in the lives of seafarers and ships, especially in the era of the deep-sea wind-ships.