The Octavius was a famous ghost ship from the 18th century. According to the story, the three-masted schooner was discovered west of Greenland by the whaler Herald on October 11, 1775. The five-person team that boarded the ship found the entire crew of 28 people below deck: all were dead, frozen, and nearly perfectly preserved.

The captain’s body was reportedly still at his table in his cabin, holding a pen (just like in the Schooner Jenny legend), with the captain’s log in front of him. In the cabin, there were also the bodies of a woman, a boy who was naked and covered with a blanket, and a sailor holding a tinderbox. The boarding party took only the captain’s log before leaving the ship, as they did not want to search further.

The last entry in the log was dated November 11, 1762, meaning the ship had been lost in the Arctic for 13 years. Because the log was frozen, it came loose from its binding, leaving only the first and last few pages intact.

Story

The story says the ship Octavius left England for the Orient in 1761 and reached its destination the next year. The captain decided to return home through the dangerous and little-known Northwest Passage. This choice led to the ship becoming trapped in sea ice north of Alaska. As a result, the Octavius completed the Northwest Passage only after the captain died. The ship was never seen again after it met another ship called the Herald. During the night, the ship was carried away by wind and water. The last known location of the ship while the crew was still alive was at 75°N 160°W, about 250 miles (402 kilometers) north of Utqiagvik, Alaska, which was called "Point Barrow" in 1825. Later, the ship was found near Greenland.

Other stories similar to the Octavius’ tale appeared in the late 1820s. American newspapers reported about a frozen ghost ship in Arctic waters, though it was not named at first. Later stories referred to the ship by the name Gloriana.