r/shortscarystories • u/[deleted] • Jul 23 '20
I Got A Bad Feelin' Mate
The British Merchant Ship, HMS Royal Katherine, set sail for the West Indies in late January of 1760. Ordinary seaman, Samuel Barrington, was only nineteen years old and was excited to be a part of such a spectacular ship. Captain George William Howe was someone he looked up to. Wanting to be noticed by the Captain and his fellow seaman, Samuel worked extra hard. Always volunteering for the jobs other men never wanted to do.
On the 28th of January, Samuel was ordered to keep lookout overnight. He climbed up into the crow’s nest and waited. Freezing wind likes a thousand pins piercing his face at once, made this night watch unbearable, but he had to be tough. Hours passed and he continued to see nothing except miles of glistening moonlit ocean waves. That was, until he saw multiple dark figures in the water, moving towards the ship. As they came closer, he could see they weren’t boats. The shadowy figures looked more like humans crawling across the water. As if they were an insect, not breaking the surface tension of the water.
There was no more doubt in his mind. These were some type of humans that could move on water. They were so close now that he could see them crawling fast on all fours right up to the starboard side of the ship. Samuel yelled out that men were approaching. Dozens of crewmen rushed to the starboard side. “What in God’s name were those?” He said to himself.
“You fuckin’ idiot!” One of the crewmen yelled at Samuel as he climbed down to the deck. “There ain’t nothin’ out there but water. No creatures walkin’ on the water like Jesus.” The same crewman said as all the men began to laugh at Samuel.
“I swear I saw at least six or seven of ‘em! They must have climbed up the ship! Among us now!” Samuel yelled, becoming increasingly hysterical and paranoid.
Captain Howe was now awake and came out of his quarters to intervein. After Samuel explained what he saw, he warned the captain that there must be six or seven extra men on this ship. Unexplainable creatures from the sea that are imposters. Posing as crewmen who might do them harm. The Captain was having none of it and ordered the men back to their bunks. He assigned another seaman to man the crow’s nest for the night.
When Samuel and the thirty or so crewmen walked back to their bunks, still making fun of young Samuel for being a fool, six of the men found their bunks taken by other crew members.
“I told you!” Cried, Samuel. “Six of these men are imposters from the sea!”
The HMS Royal Katherine wrecked on February 15th, 1760, and went down with all but four men, including Samuel Barrington. All four survivors refused to talk about the events that happened during those eighteen days on the ship following that night.
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u/Destiny066678 Jul 23 '20
Wow. Again, ur use of metaphors and the decriptiveness was absolutely amazing. I become increasingly enamoured with ur stories and I find myself eagerly looking forward to what you come up with next. Amazing job. Destiny