Eerie Abandonments: Haunted Ghost Towns and Deserted Locations

****

The vast expanse of the ocean, covering over two-thirds of our planet's surface, provides ample space for secrets and hidden wonders. Among these enigmas are the tales of phantom islands—land masses that once appeared on maps and were documented by explorers but have since vanished without a trace. These islands, often enveloped in myth and legend, raise questions about human perception, cartographic inaccuracies, and the very nature of exploration. Here, we delve into the fascinating stories of five such islands that have seemingly disappeared from the face of the Earth.

### Hy-Brasil: The Enigmatic Promised Land

Hy-Brasil, an island first noted on maps as early as 1325, was said to lie just west of Ireland. Unlike many other phantom islands, Hy-Brasil was not a one-off sighting. It was reported by numerous explorers, including the revered St. Barand and St. Brendan, who described its consistent location and form. The island quickly earned the moniker "The Promised Land" due to these frequent sightings.

However, expeditions in the 1480s failed to locate Hy-Brasil. Despite this, some believe that John Cabot spotted the island in 1497. The island continued to elude explorers until 1674, when Captain John Nesbit, an experienced Irish navigator, claimed he encountered it. According to Nesbit, after sailing into a thick mist, his ship nearly struck the island's rocks. Upon anchoring, three crew members visited the island, returning with tales of gold, silver, large black rabbits, and an old man living alone in a castle.

The last documented sighting was in 1872 by author T.J. Westropp, who took his mother and friends to verify his previous encounters. They reported seeing the island appear and then vanish before their eyes. After this, Hy-Brasil faded into Irish mythology. However, in 1980, a bizarre twist emerged when Jim Penniston, involved in the Rendlesham Forest UFO incident, claimed to have received binary code coordinates pointing to Hy-Brasil's location. This link between ancient legend and modern UFO lore remains one of the most perplexing aspects of the Hy-Brasil mystery.

### Antillia: The Isle of Seven Cities

The island of Antillia, or the Isle of Seven Cities, appears on maps from the 15th century, positioned west of Spain and Portugal. According to legend, seven Visigothic bishops fled the Muslim conquest of Hispania in 714 AD and sailed west, eventually settling on Antillia. They established seven prosperous settlements, giving the island its name.

Despite its presence on numerous maps, attempts to find Antillia proved futile. Sailors would often report seeing the island from a distance, but as they approached, it would mysteriously disappear. By the end of the 15th century, with the North Atlantic becoming a regular sailing route, Antillia was never seen again and gradually vanished from charts. The persistent reports and its detailed mapping raise intriguing questions about its existence and eventual disappearance.

### Sarah Ann Island: The Vanishing Guano Treasure

Sarah Ann Island was discovered in 1858 by a ship from the New York Guano Company, which quickly claimed it under the Guano Islands Act. Rich in guano, a valuable natural fertilizer, the island was a significant find. However, after its initial discovery, no one visited Sarah Ann Island for fifteen years.

When the USS Portsmouth attempted to locate the island following its documented coordinates, it found no trace of it. Despite this, U.S. mapmakers insisted on its existence due to its mention in numerous ship logs. It wasn't until the 1930s, when astronomers sought it as an ideal spot to observe a solar eclipse, that its absence was confirmed. Some theorize a mix-up in coordinates, suggesting the island was mislabeled and actually corresponded to another location. This significant error, given the repeated documentation, leaves room for speculation about what truly happened to Sarah Ann Island.

### Tuanahe: The Lost Cook Island

Tuanahe, part of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, was reportedly an inhabited island that vanished along with its community. In 1842, a sailor documented spending six days with the island's natives. However, two years later, a search party from a nearby island failed to locate Tuanahe.

In 1863, Captain J. Hammet, sailing between Auckland and Rarotonga, struck submerged rocks at the reported location of Tuanahe. These rocks, known as the Hammet Rocks, were later proposed to be the remnants of the sunken island by oceanographer Henry Stommel in 1984. Stommel suggested that Tuanahe might have been submerged due to an oceanographic cataclysm. Despite this hypothesis, the existence of the Hammet Rocks has been debated, continuing the mystery of Tuanahe's disappearance and the fate of its inhabitants.

### Atlantis: The Legendary Lost City

No discussion of vanished islands would be complete without mentioning Atlantis. First described by the Greek philosopher Plato over 2,000 years ago, Atlantis was depicted as a powerful and advanced civilization located in the Atlantic Ocean. According to Plato, Atlantis was ruled by the god Poseidon and his descendants, who lived in opulent splendor. However, their greed and corruption led to their downfall, and Atlantis was supposedly swallowed by the ocean in a single night of cataclysm.

Despite numerous searches and deep-sea explorations, no trace of Atlantis has been found. In 2015, researchers discovered a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily containing ingots of orichalcum, a metal described in Plato's writings as abundant in Atlantis. Although this discovery sparked excitement, many experts remain skeptical, attributing the metal to ancient Greek craftsmanship rather than evidence of Atlantis.

Plato's detailed descriptions and the persistence of the Atlantis legend fuel ongoing debates among historians and archaeologists. While some believe it to be a myth, others argue that Atlantis might have been inspired by real events, such as the volcanic eruption that destroyed the Minoan civilization on Thera (modern-day Santorini). The possibility that Atlantis was a real place that met a catastrophic end continues to captivate imaginations worldwide.

### Conclusion

The stories of these phantom islands—Hy-Brasil, Antillia, Sarah Ann Island, Tuanahe, and Atlantis—highlight the mysteries that still linger in our understanding of the world's oceans. Whether due to cartographic errors, misinterpretations, or genuine disappearances, these tales remind us of the complexities and uncertainties inherent in exploration. As we continue to probe the depths of the oceans with modern technology, perhaps we will one day uncover the truth behind these enigmatic islands and the legends they inspire.