Sunday, October 25, 2015

Maritime Halloween Trivia




MONSTERS OF THE DEEP



Amateur cartographer William L. Taylor added sea monsters to his rendering of the Yukon River Delta as part of a collection of papers in the possession of Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society -- The "Fragmentary Records of The Custom House of St. Michael, Alaska, 1894-1917."



Fantastic sea creatures are an enduring part of maritime legend and lore. Test your knowledge of these beasts and spirits!



1. I matched wits with a peg-legged sea captain, driving him insane. Who am I?


2. I destroyed the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Ferry Building, and parts of the Embarcadero with some help from special effects master Ray Harryhausen. What manner of beast am I? 


3. I lure sailors to destruction with my beauty and song and, sometimes, with the smell of coffee. What type of creature am I?


4. I'm a sea witch who gave my name to an atmospheric condition that causes seafarers to see mirages. Who am I?


5. I'm a sea deity discovered by horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Extra points if you can spell or pronounce my name. Who am I?






If you haven't been scared off yet, revisit our trivia contests from past years.


Nautical spooks and ghost ships



1. What ghostly mariner starred in a Disney movie long before Pirates of the Caribbean?

2. What spectral sea captain starred in both a romantic movie (1947) and a television series (1968-70)?

3.  On Treasure Island, Jim Hawkins and company come upon the skeleton of a pirate. What is the "point" of the skeleton to the story?

4.  Which of the following is NOT a portent of bad luck in sailing tradition or literature: a woman on board, setting sail on a Friday, a black cat, the black spot, bananas on board.


5.  Who is associated with the ship Queen Anne's Revenge?

6.  Who captained the Black Pearl?

7.  In the Movie, The Fog, what manner of men crew the Elizabeth Dane?

8. Who is The Flying Dutchman?

9. And finally, what scene from history was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow recalling when he described
The Somerset, British man-of-war,
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar 
Across the moon like a prison bar, 
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified 
By its own reflection in the tide.




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