Petterman's Folly

Description: A legendary ghost ship, sighted by sailors across the 6 seas. Legends say that the Folly is always heralded by a vast and unnatural storm, and that should a ship's figurehead see the Folly it will die of fright and cause a wreck. For this reason sailors often blinfold the figurehead when sailing into storms.

According to tales told by drunk sailors in dockside bars the ship was originally a merchant freighter captained by the Vendel Jan Petterman. Petterman, seeking an easy profit, took money up front for a valuable cargo, insured the ship and its cargo, then told a pirate crew his planned route. The Folly was overtaken by the pirates, Petterman gave them the cargo, and the ship was sunk with the rest of his crew. Petterman returned home a rich man, having been paid three times for the same cargo.

Over the years the crew of the pirate ship that had sunk the Folly began to turn up dead. Each body was found the same way: drowned, their lungs full of saltwater, no matter how far they'd been from the sea at the time of death. As news of the deaths reached him Petterman became frantic, convinced some vengeful ghost was after him. He hired a dozen swordsmen and locked himself in a secure compound. By the morning of his third day at the compound Petterman had gone missing, the swordsmen seeing nothing, leaving only some watery footprints to mark his passing.

Now the sailors claim Petterman is cursed to sail his old ship for all eternity, attacking according to his own mad whims and claiming fresh souls for his crew.