The Cutty Sark, a historic tea clipper in South London, is linked to Robert Burns’ Tam O’Shanter and eerie ghostly legends, writes DAVID TURNBULL
One of the main tourist attractions in South London is the former tea clipper, the Cutty Sark, which sits at dry dock in Greenwich, near the National Maritime Museum.
Built in Scotland in 1869, the ship takes its name from a character in Robert Burns’ epic narrative poem Tam O’Shanter.
Burns often explored supernatural themes in his poetry. For example, Address to the Deil’ (1786), The Ballad of Tam Lin (1796), and the equally epic Halloween (1785).
In Tam O’Shanter, published in 1790, the poem’s subject is making his way home after a drunken night at a local alehouse when he comes across a midnight assembly of witches performing a black mass in a deconsecrated churchyard.
There is an altar table filled with grotesque objects, including murder weapons and coffins with open lids, revealing corpses.
The Devil himself presides over the ceremonies, eerily playing a set of bagpipes.
Tam spies one elderly witch wearing nothing but a short cut-off vest, a cutty sark in Scottish parlance.
As the witches are driven into a frenzy by the music, she leaps high into the air. Tam, forgetting himself, cries out, “Oh weel done, Cutty Sark!”, instigating a wild chase across the countryside.
Tam, astride his grey mare, Meg, is pursued by the furious coven of witches. He is only saved at the last minute by galloping across the bridge over the River Doon.
Unable to cross running water, the witches are halted, but not before Cutty Sark grabs Meg’s tail and pulls it off.
This climactic scene is depicted on the Cutty Sark tea clipper.
What is the Cutty Sark tea clipper?
To the front of the ship, the carved white figurehead shows Cutty Sark herself. In her hand, she holds what appears to be a frayed piece of rope but is actually designed to represent the snatched tail of Tam O’Shanter’s unfortunate grey mare.
As well as being named after a Halloween poem and depicting a fictional supernatural event on her figurehead, the Cutty Sark is said to be the scene of frequent spooky manifestations.
It is claimed that the ship was cursed as a consequence of a dispute that arose during her construction.
Visitors have recounted witnessing the ghostly apparition of a phantom crewman pacing the decks. Others have experienced mysterious footsteps and shadowy figures that swiftly vanish.
The ship was also the subject of a prophecy of doom when it set sail on a Friday in 1880.
Superstition held that it was bad luck to sail on a Friday, as it was the day Christ was crucified. An old sailmaker named Alex Jansen predicted that, by setting off on a Friday, disasters would surely befall the crew of the Cutty Sark.
By the time the voyage ended two years later, seven of the crew were dead – one had been murdered, one had committed suicide, one had fallen overboard, one had died in suspicious circumstances, and three had contracted cholera.
All of which might provide excellent material for a narrative poem.
What did you think of this article about the Cutty Sark and its ghostly legends? Have you experienced any spooky happenings aboard the ship? Tell us about it in the comments section!
