The Ghost Ship Carroll A. Deering

The Ghost Ship Carroll A. Deering

Author: Ben Cutmore March 31, 2026 Duration: 1:00:30
In January 1921, a five-masted schooner was discovered run aground off the coast of North Carolina with no crew aboard and no clear signs of struggle. Personal belongings, navigation equipment, and the ship’s lifeboats were missing, leaving investigators with more questions than answers and a trio of cats, which had been the only signs of life aboard the abandoned ship. Rumors of piracy, mutiny, Russian conspiracies, and even supernatural involvement quickly spread, but no definitive explanation ever emerged, earning the wreck the enduring title of “The Ghost Ship of the Diamond Shoals.”SOURCES Simpson, Bland (2002) Ghost Ship of Diamond Shoals. Chapel Hill & London, University of North Carolina Press. NC, USA. New York Times (1921) Skippers Daughter Holds Pirate Theory. New York Times, Thurs 23 June 1921, p2. NY, USA. New York Times (1921) Soviet Pirate Tale Declared a Fake. New York Times, Fri 26 Aug 1921, p2. NY, USA. The Sun Journal (1921) All a Fake Admits Gray. The Sun Journal, Mon 29 Aug 1921, p3, Maine, USA. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠contact@darkhistories.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every two weeks, Ben Cutmore invites you into the shadowy corners of our past, where facts blur with folklore and case files remain stubbornly open. Dark Histories is less a lecture and more an exploration, weaving meticulous research into compelling narratives that linger long after the episode ends. You’ll hear detailed accounts of events that defy easy explanation, from long-forgotten crimes and bizarre hoaxes to oddities that shaped societies. The focus is always on the human stories within these enigmatic tales, told with a careful balance of skepticism and an appreciation for the strange. This isn't just about ghosts or monsters, but the very real, often unsettling peculiarities documented throughout history. Each installment of this podcast feels like piecing together a puzzle where some pieces are forever missing, offering no easy answers but plenty to ponder. It’s for anyone who finds themselves drawn to the edges of the map, where the documented record meets the unexplained. Settle in for a journey through the archives of the bizarre and the unresolved, where every story is a reminder that the past is rarely as simple as it seems.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Dark Histories
Podcast Episodes
Smuggling, Riots & The Sampford Peverell Ghost [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:26
In the heart of Devon, in the quaint village of Sampford Peverell, an information board refers the curious tourist to a now demolished building that had once been known as “The Ghost House.” The scene of an early 19th ce…
The Cleaver, The Fiend & The Axeman's Jazz of New Orleans [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:15
In the humid nights of New Orleans in the early years of the 1900’s, a shadowy figure prowled the moonlit streets. “They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the…
Murder Aboard the Herbert Fuller [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:06
In the eerie stillness of a moonlit Atlantic night in 1896, aboard the doomed Herbert Fuller, a savage cry pierced the darkness. What followed was a chilling discovery: The Captain, his wife, and the second mate lay brut…
The Wreck of the Wager [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:19
In 1741, amidst the treacherous waters of Cape Horn, on the southernmost tip of South America, the British warship HMS Wager pushed through a violent storm, hoping to carry out a mission against the Spanish to alleviate…
A Shot in the Dark: The Hammersmith Ghost of 1804 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:15
In the last twenty-five years, ghost hunting has entered something of a golden age, with all sorts of technology playing its part and filling up an investigators kit bag. Cameras, EMF metres, InfraRed thermometers and sp…
William Corder & The Red Barn Murder [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:12
In the first half of the 19th century, there was a single murder that, having ensnared the English countryside in a web of scandal, permeated throughout society and popular culture for decades after its conclusion. Havin…
Fritz Haarmann: The Vampire of Hanover [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:11
Following the first world war, Germany, having never found its feet economically throughout the conflict, now found itself crumbling under the further weight of heavy reparations. Many of those that had survived the figh…
Story Time: Dark Rituals & Pagan Rites [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:06
Hi everyone, something a little different this week, but I'll be back as usual with next episode. Thanks as always! ------- For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at darkhistories.com Support the show by usin…
Counterfeiting, Undercover Agents & The Abduction of Abraham Lincoln [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:06
The ingenuity of the criminal class has rarely been criticised for lacking in imagination. One of the finer examples of this concept was put on full display in America, on the eve of the presidential election in 1876, Wh…
The Mysterious Murder of Mary Jane Bennett [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:57
In Victorian England, the press were never shy of calling a crime the “sensation of the century” or a murder, “the most astonishing the world had ever seen.” When the body of a young woman showed up on the beach of a pop…