A Memorial University folklore researcher is cataloguing and mapping stories about mysterious ghost ships in and around the island of Newfoundland – and she wants to hear from you.

Karin Murray-Bergquist says she’s always been fascinated with the concept of ghost ships which once dominated talk around kitchen tables and wood stoves.

Her research has resulted in an interactive map, an effort that is a work in progress. The stories compiled include phantom lights seen in Freshwater, Carbonear near the place where four brothers were shipwrecked in a storm, and the Phantom Ship of Trinity Bay, which, lights ablaze, comes dangerously close to fishing boats but disappears before collision.

Among Murray-Bergquist’s favourite stories involves the Blue Jacket which, depending on the context, is a weather warning, or an omen of death.

“There is an actual story” says Murray-Bergquist, “and an origin that’s known, (but) there’s also an article written in the ’70s that completely distorts the story, so that’s kind of interesting as a contrast to see what the story that somebody wanted to tell was at that time, versus the actual history of the ship.”

Murray-Bergquist is encouraging people with their own ghost ship stories to reach out by phone at 514-891-4077 or by email at kmurraybergq@mun.ca.