The Dread Crew

The Dread Crew

Sailors talk. Especially those who work the routes near Newshore, where the fog can get thick enough to hide anything. When they talk about the real dangers out there, sooner or later, someone might mention that ship. The Cruel Blaggard. It’s not a name they like to use often.

The stories say it’s not a normal vessel. It’s some kind of ghost ship that shows up out of nowhere, usually when the fog is heavy or a bad storm is brewing. People who claim they’ve seen it say it just looks wrong, maybe even like it’s made of something unnatural. They say its sails look like torn pieces of fog and it moves without making a sound, then disappears just as fast.

No one really knows who’s in charge. The tales just mention a captain, some kind of dark figure seen at the helm. They say seeing the figure fills you with dread. This captain leads the Dread Crew – shadowy figures you might glimpse moving on deck. Some think they’re the spirits of sailors who drowned, now stuck serving on that phantom ship.

The reason sailors fear it isn't because it attacks ships for cargo. It’s because of what happens after it’s been seen. There are many accounts of ships found drifting in the North Sea later on, completely empty. Good ships, nothing wrong with them, but the crew is just gone. No sign of a fight, nothing. Just vanished. That's what scares people the most – where do they go? Sometimes, they say you can hear strange noises on the wind when the vessel is near, like groaning or something scraping.

It’s why seeing that ship is considered such bad luck. Sailors believe it means bad things are coming, or that more people are about to disappear. Many carry charms, avoid sailing into odd fog banks, and definitely avoid saying its name out loud. They think it attracts attention.

Maybe it's just stories made up to explain the dangers of the sea. Or maybe there really is something out there taking crews off the coast. Either way, the legend about that ship and its Dread Crew is a real fear for those who sail the North Sea.