Haunted Ships and Horrific Seas: Hydro-Gothic Forces in Coleridge’s“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Poe’s “MS. Found in a Bottle,” and Beck’s Ghost Ship

Abstract

This paper examines how the sea becomes a source of horror and mystery in Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, Edgar Allan Poe’s story “MS. Found in a Bottle”, and the movie Ghost Ship directed by Steve Beck. It explores how these works interpret the ocean not just as a background, but as a strong and dangerous force that affects the human mind and spirit. In Coleridge’s poem, the sea reflects repentance and retribution, within the deeper moral and supernatural experience of the mariner. Poe, in his story, presents the ocean as dark, chaotic, and beyond human understanding, heightening a sense of alienation and terror. Beck’s modern take on the haunted ship theme shows how the fear of spiritual and supernatural continue to exist even in contemporary narratives. The study follows a close reading along with a critical comparative analysis of these texts, in alignment to the theory of Hydro-Gothicism, in order to highlight how the sea blurs the line between reality and the supernatural, making it a space of uncertainty and psychological tension. Overall, the paper shows that the ocean remains a persistent symbol of fear and suspense of the unknown.