The seaweed ghost

Here in the long winter month of January, the trees are skeletal and the grass is colourless. It gets frosty and foggy with storms. It's a very cold grim time that starts the new year. I shall continue posting about some true stories of the paranormal as told and written by people. This is another called "The Seaweed Ghost" that fits with the spookiness of winter beaches. 

In the early 20th century, two young women are in a car driving along Cape Cod, a coastal area in Massachusetts, United States. The women are sisters, and things take on a turn for the worst when their car breaks down during heavy rain. They found themselves quite lost and alone, with mud all around them and in bad weather. They saw a house further up a slope, which made them step out into the mud and wet, walking through damp foliage as they climbed up towards the house. They knocked on the door and waited a while but there was no answer, so they tried again. Soon they found the door was already unlocked and they opened it, calling out. As no one answered them, they both entered the house and were pleased to be indoors where it was nice and warm. 

They found that there was a room covered in dust and books on the shelves, which made them aware it must be an abandoned house. They decided to stay for the night because a storm picked up outside. The sisters prepared to get settled in, with blankets from the car. They lit a small fire in the fireplace, and went to sleep on the floor wrapped up cosy under the blankets. They were later woken up by a figure of a man who appeared to be standing in front of the fire. They noticed that he was wearing wet clothes and in the uniform of a sea captain. The sisters were very nervous and stayed quiet as they watched the man. After a while, one of the women said "who's there?" and the man only responded with a deep groan, and then he vanished into thin air.

The women were frightened. When morning arrived, daylight revealed a small puddle with seaweed where the man stood. The only footprints was their own. One of the women dipped her finger in the puddle on the floor and tasted it, which was salty. They packed and took the seaweed and rushed out of the house. Later made their way to the road, and hitched a ride into the nearest town. While in the car, they asked the driver about the house who told them that it had been empty for many years. The family who once lived there moved after their son was lost at sea. The seaweed had been tested, which confirmed it was a type that grows on corpses. 

The original tale is from "Full Fathom Five" by Alexander Woollcott, posted in The New Yorker in 1929.  

She Wolf Night