5 h 27 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 5 h 27 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Far from land, the crew knows how to face a storm—but not the figures aboard their ship.
In William Hope Hodgson’s The Ghost Pirates, young seaman Jessop joins the Mortzestus for work and a passage. The old sailing ship already makes her crew uneasy. Strange weather and a sound from aloft deepen their distrust. Then the men begin to speak of shapes, and ordinary shipboard work becomes something to fear.
Jessop tells only what he sees and what he can guess. Beside him, the young apprentice Tammy struggles with dread, while the captain demands obedience and the mate scorns the sailors’ fears. Their skills serve them against storm and cold. But what can those skills do when the danger follows no rules they know?
What you’ll discover
- A ship men distrust Step aboard the Mortzestus, where old timber and uneasy watches give fear room to grow.
- A sailor’s honest voice Follow Jessop as he tries to trust both his eyes and his reason.
- Dread in small details Listen for a sound aloft that the wind cannot explain away.
- Orders against the unknown Watch the crew’s need to work collide with fears their officers dismiss.
- The sea made strange Discover how Hodgson’s experience as a sailor grounds the story’s slow, unsettling horror.
Who will love it
Readers who love nautical adventure, supernatural tales told by sailors, mounting unease, and vivid details of ropes, sails and shipboard watches will enjoy this book.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A silent figure climbs from the sea
- A man aloft that no one can find
- Williams dies and Jessop forms a theory
- A blinding mist and lights that vanish
- Two men fall and a young sailor screams
- The captain climbs aloft to find Stubbins
- Shadow ships rise beneath the keel
- What the story is really about and how it is told
Who’s who
- JessopThe able seaman who tells the story, sensible and observant, who wants to understand what is boarding the Mortzestus and to survive the voyage home.
- TammyA young apprentice on his first voyage, frightened but honest, who needs someone to believe what he sees and begs Jessop to talk.
- WilliamsA Cockney seaman who stayed aboard in San Francisco, close-mouthed about the shadows, and determined to collect his pay no matter what.
- Mr. TulipsonThe Second Mate, practical and short-tempered, who sees something he cannot explain and hides his doubt from the officers above him.
- StubbinsA seaman who questions accounts of the strange events and only gradually begins to recognize the danger.
- The CaptainKnown as the Old Man, a gruff master who dismisses talk of ghosts until the dead mount, then leads the men aloft himself.
- PlummerA steady, stolid seaman in Jessop's watch who keeps working through the nights and offers to climb again when others refuse.
- JaskettAn old lookout who scoffs at haunted-ship talk at first, praises the ship's comforts, and wants only a quiet voyage.
Formats and delivery
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The Ghost Pirates
by William Hope Hodgson · 1909
Aboard the Mortzestus, sailor Jessop sees a silent man climb out of the sea and step over the rail.
Easy read5–10 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
Why would a sailor who has just watched a man climb out of the ocean and step over the rail tell nobody? Because he knows exactly what the crew will say.
The Ghost Pirates at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 5 min2 h 30 min fast, 3 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 44,600 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
- First published
- 1909by William Hope Hodgson
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A silent figure climbs from the sea
Jessop signs onto the Mortzestus in San Francisco, a ship with a bad name. Sailors call her unlucky. Twice her masts were blown away. Jessop shrugs it off, since he needs a ship home.
Her crew is new, because the old hands left the ship without their pay. Only a young Cockney named Williams stays. On Jessop's first night, Williams says there are too many shadows about this ship, and then he will say no more.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1909
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 3 h 30 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Hodgson, William Hope. The Ghost Pirates. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ghost-pirates.
Hodgson, W. H. (2026). The ghost pirates. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ghost-pirates (Original work published 1909)
Hodgson, William Hope. The Ghost Pirates. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ghost-pirates.
@book{hodgson2026ghost,
author = {Hodgson, William Hope},
title = {The Ghost Pirates},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-ghost-pirates},
note = {First published 1909}
}
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What is The Ghost Pirates about?
It follows a sailing ship, the Mortzestus, on a voyage home from San Francisco. Strange figures rise from the sea, sails behave oddly, and crew members die at night. The narrator, Jessop, tries to work out what is happening to the ship.
Who tells the story in The Ghost Pirates?
Jessop, an able seaman aboard the Mortzestus, tells it in his own voice, as a spoken account. His plain, practical way of reporting each odd event gives the book its steady, believable tone.
Is The Ghost Pirates part of a series?
William Hope Hodgson described it as the last of three books. The first two are The Boats of the Glen Carrig and The House on the Borderland. They share ideas but have separate stories, so you can read this one alone.
The author
William Hope Hodgson
1877–1918 · English horror and fantasy writer
William Hope Hodgson (1877–1918) was a British writer born in Essex, England. He worked as a sailor before becoming a writer. His novels include The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912). He served in the British Army and was killed in France during the First World War.
More by William Hope Hodgson
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