Popular Romances of the West of England, Second Series / or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall

by Robert Hunt

THE DROWNED “HAILING THEIR NAMES.”

The fishermen dread to walk at night near those parts of the shore where there may have been wrecks. The souls of the drowned sailors appear to haunt those spots, and the “calling of the dead” has frequently been heard. I have been told that, under certain circumstances, especially before the coming of storms, or at certain seasons, but always at night, these callings are common. Many a fisherman has declared he has heard the voices of dead sailors “hailing their own names.”