HauntedAmerica

An illustration of the burning ghost ship Palatine appearing off Block Island on Christmas Eve.

The Ghost Ship of the Palatine: The Burning Phantom of Block Island

by Quwwatu-Llah Oyebode

October 28, 2025

American Historical Legends·American Legends

Off the rocky coast of Block Island, Rhode Island, the sea holds its own ghost, a ship that burns upon the waves each Christmas Eve, its masts aflame against the dark Atlantic sky. Islanders call it the Palatine Light, said to be the spirit of a doomed refugee vessel lost to treachery and greed long ago. The Wreck of the Palatine

Parchment-style artwork of Davy Crockett firing into the sunrise on a frosty Tennessee hill, American folktale scene.

Davy Crockett and the Frozen Dawn: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Boasting and Humor

In the early days of the American frontier, when the land stretched wild and untamed across Tennessee, there lived a man whose

A realistic painting of an American alligator resting on a muddy riverbank at dawn, surrounded by misty wetlands and tall grasses under soft golden light.

The American Alligator Legend

In the vast marshes and slow-moving rivers of the southern United States, where the air hangs heavy with mist and the reeds

Parchment-style artwork of Nanabozho and animals during the Great Flood, Ojibwe Native American folktale.

The Great Flood and the Creation of the Earth: An American (Ojibwe) Folktale that Teaches Lesson on Humility and Renewal

When the world was young, the skies stretched endlessly over shimmering waters. The land had vanished beneath a vast flood that swallowed

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The Ghost Ship of the Palatine: The Burning Phantom of Block Island

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