Considering the depth and temperature of the waters, the dive was reserved for only the most experienced, which meant that relatively few explorers got to wander through sunken bowels of the Kamloops. However, Lake Superiors cold temperatures inhibit bacterial growth and the bodies tend to sink and never resurfaced: TIL bacteria will feed on a decaying body underwater and create gas, which causes the body to float to the surface. from todayilearned. Could possibly explain why it looked so white I suppose thanks for the info much appreciated! His body stiff and his skin white as snow, the nameless member of the Kamloops crewhad floated inside the ship for fifty years, alone until the divers began to occasionally filter in. Volume 16 link: https://bit.ly/3U87LEj. Some even returned saying that they had seen Grandpas ghost and his body in the same trip, though never in the same room. The body in this case was fully submerged in a specific vessel, and it remained partly intact due to specific circumstances: It turns out that the frigid waters of Lake Superior had not just refrigerated farm equipment and foodstuffs, it had perfectly preserved one of the 13 crewmen who never made it ashore. During a 1994 expedition to the wreck, divers finally found the body of a crewmember for the first time. It's hard to over-stress the importance of the Great Lakes when it comes to America's history and the development of entire industries. SS Kamloops - Wikipedia In months such as August and September the surface temperature runs between 65 to 70 degrees. Lake Tahoe has a constant temperature of 39 degrees between the depths of 600 to 700 feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Worse, some of the dead had made it into lifeboats, only to freeze and wash ashore. She's called the Witch of November. Lake Superior has its own, and according to the Jesuit missionaries who first made contact with the native tribes who had long lived in the area, regular sacrifices were necessary to keep the monster satisfied and the ships that sailed the lake safe, says SooToday. Seneca legend says a serpentine creature called Gaasyendietha lives in Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron's Mishebeshu (which translates to "great lynx") lives in an underwater den at the mouth of the Serpent River. Divers who have been down to the wreck have reported strange encounters such as being followed by the body or being surprised suddenly by the body floating towards them. The Hume continued and disappeared. Even the corpse, though initially disturbing, floated peacefully along next to the divers, revealing small details like a wedding ring still attached to Old Whiteysstiff fingers. Water that is so cold, a dead body will never float to the surface, because the water is never warm enough to grow the bacteria needed to cause a body to float. TIL bacteria will feed on a decaying body underwater and create gas, which causes the body to float to the surface. Divers report seeing Whitey follow them or stare at them while they explore the shipwreck. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Sign up for a new account in our community. Over the coming days, more wreckage turned up including the bodies of some of the crew, some wearing life preservers bearing the name S.S. Back then it would have been dangerous. They call him grandpa or old whitey, because the cold lake waters have bleached the preserved body a pale, ghostly white. Login. It is a lowering of the bodys core temperature caused by immersion in cold water (less than 70 degrees F.) or, out of the water, by a combination of wet, cold and windy weather. Thirteen ships sank during a single storm in 1913, unable to overcome white-out snows and 35-foot waves. [University of Minnesota Duluth professor Julius Wolff wrote in his book Lake Superior Shipwrecks] that the theory was supported by the fact that only a few bodies washed ashore. WebWhiteys corpse is found floating inside the engine room of the SS Kamloops, which sank on the Canadian side of Lake Superior in the 1920s and has never been removed. When the two fronts meet, the resulting storms are hurricane-level gales with winds over 80 mph, gusts of more than 100 mph, and waves more than 20 feet high. But even they admit it's just a theory, and it would be a rare occurrence, given the time of year. Email Us. Even though they work slowly, bacteria make up such a large portion of the metabolic activity in Lake Superior that they play a great role in moving energy and toxins into the food web. Until then, though, hell wait patiently for visitors, and relish the company. Its surface temperature varies with the type of season. Scattered across the island were the remains of nine crew members who had managed to escape on a lifeboat. Meteorologists' models of the storm suggest a series of three 50-foot-plus waves swept over the Edmund Fitzgerald and snapped her in half, and this theory is supported by the report of witnesses on another ship, the Arthur M. Anderson. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Seems odd to me that a body from 1927 would still be intact. The Hudson and Kirby are likely tied for the second-deepest wrecks yet located in the Great Lakes. It's said that some of the ships that met their end on the Great Lakes are condemned to keep wandering and the tales of those who've met the ships crewed by the dead are nothing short of terrifying. The Kamloops and her small crew of about two dozen spent most of their time running cargo along the Canadian shore, fromMontreal to Fort William. Meet Old Whitey, the Preserved Corpse of the SS Kamloops, Lake Superiors Most Haunted Shipwreck, it had perfectly preserved one of the 13 crewmen, National Parks Service has protected the shipwreck as a culture treasure, Kentuckys T.B. Some had taken to calling him Old Whitey, but those whod heard the stories of ghostly encounters knew the truth: this was Grandpas body. The search at the Kamloops site that once was an orchard was prompted because of a discovery of a childs rib bone. WebMeet Old Whitey, the Preserved Corpse of the SS Kamloops, Lake Superior's Most Haunted Shipwreck The ghost of Old Whitey, the preserved corpse of the haunted SS Kamloops shipwreck, has been scaring divers in Lake Superior for decades. Create an account to get started today. Kamloops