The Antarctic

31 Days of Ghosts presents a story of mystery and intrigue.  Is it real, myth, or a complete fabrication?  You decide.

When one thinks of the Antarctic, one doesn’t often think of ghost stories.  But the lonely, southern most continent of this planet has some of it’s own.

At any given time on the continent, the population is around 1,000 to 5,000 people.  These people mostly work in association with the many research facilities that dot the ice covered continent.  Temperatures are cruel, with lows reaching -89 Celsius, and highs not much better.  The only wildlife and plant life on Antarctica has evolved to survive the harsh cold.  This includes forms of bacteria, algae, penguins, seals and other exotic forms of life.

Antarctica is also historically known for being a way point for maritime whalers, as the northern most tips of several islands have old whaling station ruins.

But the most intriguing ghost like story is on Ross Island at McMurdo Station.

McMurdo Station is a United States research station, and decades ago was also a place where the victims of a horrendous plane crash were stored before being flown back to New Zealand.  This tragedy is one that is the worst in New Zealand’s history during peace time.  In the mid 70’s, a passenger plane was leaving New Zealand for sight seeing tours of the more hospitable locales of Antartica.  The route was Auckland to Antartica and return to Christchurch.  Due to an error in navigation, the plane collided with Mount Erebus, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board.

Since that time, there are those who work at the research station who have said they have seen strange sights among the buildings where the victims were stored until flown back to New Zealand.  Researchers have arrived at the station and commented how things just felt wrong.

This incident isn’t the only one to be recorded.  Sir Edmund Hillary reported seeing an apparition of Ernest Shackleton in one of the huts during the famous exploration expedition.

The ghosts are alive in the southern most continent of this planet.  Antarctica has her own secrets.  And her own ghosts.