Mary Celeste

The Mary Celeste (or Marie Céleste as it is fictionally referred to
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and others after him) was an American
brigantine merchant ship famous for having been discovered on 4
December 1872, in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and apparently
abandoned (one lifeboat was missing), despite the fact that the
weather was fine and her crew had been experienced and able seamen.
The Mary Celeste was in seaworthy condition and still under sail
heading toward the Strait of Gibraltar. She had been at sea for a
month and had over six months' worth of food and water on board.
Her cargo was virtually untouched and the personal belongings of
passengers and crew were still in place, including valuables. The
crew was never seen or heard from again. Their disappearance is
often cited as the greatest maritime mystery of all time.

The fate of her crew has been the subject of much speculation.
Theories range from alcoholic fumes, to underwater earthquakes, to
waterspouts, to paranormal explanations involving extraterrestrial
life, unidentified flying objects (UFOs), sea monsters, and the
phenomenon of the Bermuda Triangle, although the Mary Celeste is
not known to have sailed through the Bermuda Triangle area. The
Mary Celeste is often described as the archetypal ghost ship, since
she was discovered derelict without any apparent explanation, and
her name has become a synonym for similar occurrences.