One of the oldest and best known ghost stories in Atlantic Canada is that of the Ghost Ship of Northumberland Strait. Sightings of the flaming ship have been recorded for 200 years or more. Though the origin of the story has never been associated with a particular ship, it is said to be a two or three masted schooner with gleaming white sails which bursts into flame as onlookers watch. Crewmen can be seen climbing the masts before the ship is consumed by fire. Some of the more recent sightings have been in the Tatamagouche Bay where it was described as a "
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THE GHOST SHIP OF NORTHUMBERLAND STRAIT
Many witnesses(and there seems to be a lot of them) have reported seeing a burning ship (a three masted schooner) on the strait of Northumberland since the 1700s. And they all describe it as being engulfed in flames and people running left and right on its deck trying to put down the fire. Some have seen it going eastward at extreme speed. Many ships have taken off in the direction of the burning vessel to try to help out but the ghost ship would vanish before they reach it. The ship seems to appear most of the time just before a storm or rough weather moves in and around the month of October. Witnesses have reported seeing it from both sides of the straits, on the south coast of Prince Edward Island and on the North coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia like Caribou Island and Pictou Island.
From Montreal Paranormal
For two hundred years countless people who have lived near the Northumberland Strait that runs between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have witnessed a very unique phenomenon.
All these witnesses, whether they were on the water or on land, have reported seeing a three-masted brigandine moving fast through the Strait. As they watch this ship it catches fire and then just disappears.
The ship has been seen year-round but it is most often spotted in the fall months just before a northeaster blows in. Because of this many feel this fiery ship is a harbinger, which foretells a storm’s arrival.
From Seeks Ghosts