The Ship That Saw a Ghost

Benjamin Franklin Norris was an American writer and journalist in a period of “Progressive Era”. He was the first author who brought French naturalism in American literature. Norris was not a supporter of socialism as a political system, but his works were in a socialist orientation and inspired many progressive writers. Darwinian Theory of evolution and some Spencer’s articles made a huge influence on his works. “The Ship That Saw a Ghost” is an atmospheric tale of the deserted ghost ship. The tramp steam-freighter Glarus pulls off from the shore of the seaport Callao in Peru bounding north to San Francisco Bay. On the way there, the crew experiences the loneliness of surroundings and the horror of seeing the Ghost Ship. The narrator is no sailor so that non-specialist audiences will definitely appreciate simple recital of the proceedings. The Glarus gets outside of the scope of navigation and makes a voyage to just after the palms of the mysterious island where two hundred years ago a ship had sunk in murky circumstances. All sailors died in the first week, but six of them returned to the island and died there. Unexpectedly, The Dead Ship starts moving toward Glarus, the legend of the Dead Ship is born now. Can the steamer safely reach San Francisco? Why no captain will navigate her again? Why the Glarus is suspect?