Pirate Stories |
| Pirates are thieves who prey on seafaring ships and rob them of their goods and sometimes capture them for their own nefarious purposes. In the early days of piracy - over 2000 years ago - sea robbers threatened Ancient Greek trade routes; Roman ships were robbed of their cargoes of grain; and olive oil, and the Vikings (which means sea-raider) routinely attacked shipping and coastal settlements. Piracy really flourished between 1620 and 1720, (called the Golden Age of Piracy) when privateers, buccaneers, and corsairs sailed the seven seas in search of wealth. “Privateers” were lawful pirates who were authorized by their government to attack and pillage ships of enemy nations. “Buccaneers” were pirates and privateers who operated from bases in the West Indies, and attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean. “Corsairs” were Muslim or Christian pirates who were active in the Mediterranean from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. |
Pirate StoriesBlack Bartelmy's Ghost
Black Bartelmy was an evil, surly buccaneer who murdered his wife and children and went to sea with a band of pirates as nasty as he. He roamed the Atlantic coast, murdering and pillaging and laying waste to the countryside as he passed...
Blackbeard's Ghost
The nefarious pirate Blackbeard (who's real name was Edward Teach) was a tall man with a very long black beard that covered most of his face and extended down to his waist. He tied his beard up in pigtails adorned with black ribbons...
Dem Bones
My granny was told as a child that Captain Kidd, knowing the law was on his trail, traveled up the Jersey coast looking for the perfect spot to bury his stolen booty. And he found it near a grove of gnarled, wind-swept pines on Sandy Hook. One moonless dark night, the Adventure Galley slid silently into harbor at Sandy Hook...
Ghost Ship of Captain Sandovate
When Captain Don Sandovate voyaged from Spain to the New World in search of treasure, he found gold in abundance. But among his crew there were many sailors who did not wish to share the new-found wealth with the monarchs of Spain...
Ocean-Born Mary
Elizabeth and James Wilson were Irish immigrants from Londonderry, Ireland. In 1720 they set sail for America. They had been granted some land in Londonderry, New Hampshire, and were hoping to start a new life there...
Palatine
The Palatine gleamed in the sunlight as she set out with a full crew, a long list of passengers, and a hull full of merchandise for the American Colonies the winter of 1750-1751. Certainly, there was no indication that morning of the destiny fate had in store for her...
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About the Author: S.E. SchlosserS.E. Schlosser is the author of the Spooky Series by Globe Pequot Press, as well as the Ghost Stories deck by Random House. She has been telling stories since she was a child, when games of "let's pretend" quickly built themselves into full-length tales acted out with friends. A graduate of both Houghton College and the Institute of Children's Literature, Sandy received her MLS from Rutgers University while working as a full-time music teacher and a freelance author. Read more |
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