The raging surface of the water is one of the most dangerous elements; it buried hundreds of ships under its thickness and claimed thousands of lives. But what if the ship remains afloat, and the entire crew dies under strange circumstances, without obvious injuries on the body?? Could this story be true??
Today we will solve this mystery by going to the ominous ship “Man of Medan” presented in the 2019 game of the same name.
Shadow of the Past [Brief History of the Ourang Medan]
The Strait of Malacca, which connects the coasts of Malaysia and Sumatra, is considered both one of the most important and one of the most dangerous sea routes. About 50 thousand ships pass through the strait annually, serving (according to various estimates) from one fifth to one fourth of the total maritime trade turnover. Which, of course, attracts all sorts of pirates and smugglers here. Add to this the annual foggy seasons and especially narrow, and therefore especially dangerous sections of the route. It is not surprising that over the years the strait has acquired a very bad reputation and has turned into a real maritime cemetery for boats and ships. But one of them, called “Ourang Medan”, was still known among the people as an unusual and very creepy story.
In 1947, the coast station received a short distress signal emanating from some unknown vessel. Along with the SOS signal, the signalmen heard the voice of a man who reported that all the officers on this ship, including the captain himself, were dead; probably the rest of the team is dead too. No further explanations followed, and from the voice of the transmitter it becomes clear that he himself is on the verge of life and death.
Here the connection is lost, and the radio operators, without wasting precious time, begin searching. Having determined the approximate location of the message, they contact the nearest ship in the area and they immediately organize a rescue operation.
Ourang Medan.
It didn’t take long to search, and in the search area they discovered a drifting ship, on board of which the inscription proudly displays: “The Man from Medan.”. Later it turns out that a ship with that name is not listed in any of the official documents, which means no one knows what and when it was transported.
The sailors swim close to the side of the mysterious ship, climb onto the deck and begin to search every inch. Ultimately, the words of the person transmitting the SOS signals turned out to be true – absolutely the entire crew, including the captain, was dead, and the appearance and positions in which their bodies were located were imprinted in the memory of the rescuers for a long time. A grimace of horror froze on the pale faces of the dead, as if before death they saw something unimaginably terrible.
Terrible cold in the hold.
But that’s not all. https://lotusasiacasino.co.uk/login/ Having gone down into the hold, the rescuers came across another oddity – an unusually strong cold. This shouldn’t have happened at this time of year, when outdoor sensors recorded almost thirty degree heat. One of the superstitious sailors immediately started screaming that when ghosts live on board a ship, it always becomes cold. And although many agreed with this statement, they had no choice but to continue searching.
Soon they came across a radio room, in which they found the lifeless body of the same sailor who transmitted SOS signals. He sat on a chair and clutched his telegraph with both hands, as if it was his only and last hope for salvation.
Having finished examining most of the ship and being somewhat shocked by what they saw, the rescuers decide to return and tow the found ship to the port. But as soon as they get on board their ship, tighten the cables and begin to pull, thick smoke suddenly begins to pour out of the hold of the “ghost ship”, and then a monstrous explosion occurs, after which the ship, loudly clenched with metal, sinks in the merciless thickness of water.
Explosion on a ship.
The ship is a ghost
Nowadays, this story, which many classify as local tales and legends, is still able to intrigue after decades. If suddenly at night, during an approaching storm, you find yourself in these parts, then you risk discovering a lonely ship, faintly emerging from the impenetrable fog and serenely drifting on the raging waves.
It’s breathtaking.
Its appearance and size can cause real awe. It is obvious that it is very old, so it is far from being in the best condition: the lining is thoroughly covered with rust and is full of various kinds of holes and chips, because of which, it would seem, the ship is about to sink. This means that being on it at the moment is extremely dangerous. On the other hand, the mysterious ship seems abandoned, which will encourage many to take risks and explore it far and wide, because there may be something really valuable there. What if the famous Manjurian gold is stored under its arches?? Yes, you can’t miss this chance.
Why not explore an abandoned ship? What could go wrong?
However, instead of riches, complete chaos and desolation reign in the hold of the ship: all around there is pre-war equipment, old military equipment and half-decayed corpses of sailors, ominously staring at the uninvited guests with their empty eye sockets. Elements of clothing, personal belongings and even posters of girls on the walls – absolutely everything here refers to the distant, distant past. It’s as if it’s true that this ship, having passed decades, sailed here straight from the fifties.
The first difficulty you may encounter when you get into the hold of a ship is a labyrinth of the same type of corridors and cabins, in which you can easily get lost. Wandering through them, you will begin to hear and see something that will be able to fray your nerves. In the galley, suddenly, some shadow will move in the corner, and some noise will be heard in one of the dark corridors, making it clear that you are clearly not the only ones on this ship.
Ghost ship crew.
Making your way through the cabins, you can notice how the skull of one of the dead suddenly moves, and the hand of the other, as if on a whim, twitches threateningly. What is this? Ghosts of a long-extinct ship or just your wild imagination? There is no time to guess, because soon even stranger things will begin to happen.
From the darkness of the corridors you will hear an ominous whisper that will give you goosebumps. In addition, from this moment on, some things and objects will clearly seem not to be what they really are. But the worst thing will begin minutes later. When you once again look at a poster with a young girl, soon an elderly, ugly copy of her, rotten to the bones, will appear. A creepy old woman will begin to chase you throughout the ship and try to tear you to pieces. Moreover, there is no salvation from her – she does not know fear, compassion or fatigue.
This is not the worst thing that awaits you.
Instead of an old woman, someone may even dream of some kind of two-headed monster or a long-dead younger brother, for whose death you may blame yourself. In general, be prepared that all your fears, all the secrets and mysteries, desires and just thoughts, distorted by some sick imagination, will materialize and begin to “test the strength of your psyche”. “Test” until one of you loses his nerve and commits suicide. Or until the other one collapses on the floor having a heart attack.
There is only one way to stay alive and avoid this whole nightmare – quickly get to the surface and inhale, inhale more clean, fresh air.
Solution
What’s really going on on the ship?? Is there really some otherworldly force involved in this, and the crew of the ship really rose from the dead, wanting to get even with the strangers??
In fact, the reason for their appearance is much more trivial. One of the tasks of the ship “Man of medan” was the transportation of a certain particularly dangerous and toxic substance. What kind of substance it was and for what purpose it was created is unknown. But it was probably intended and could be used as a chemical weapon. Therefore, there were no records in official documents regarding this voyage and the ship itself.
The substance was enclosed in sealed boxes and loaded on board a ship in one of the ports of Manchuria, and its route ran through the notorious Strait of Malacca. On the way, the ship encounters a severe storm, under the influence of which the tightness of the boxes is broken, and the deadly green poison begins to gradually spread throughout the hold, penetrating the lungs of the unfortunate sailors. What actually caused various types of auditory and visual hallucinations.
That’s another finale for horror, of course. But we must pay tribute: the authors clearly showed that sometimes a person’s enemy may not be a gold-hungry criminal, a ghost or a particularly disgusting monster, but his own mind can be dangerous, because only it absolutely knows all our fears, desires and secrets.