The Marysburgh Vortex
In a strange part of Lake Ontario lays the Marysburgh Vortex. Within this Vortex, there are folkloric legends, aircraft disappearances, plenty of shipwrecks, and unexplained happenings. Some people believe it to be the Bermuda Triangle of the North and its three points consist of Wolfe Island, Mexico Bay, and Point Petre. But why is this part of the world so underreported and so mysterious? Let’s find out together.
I’ll start by appeasing the less woo-woo minded out there. In this part of the world, especially in the winter, weather can be deadly and storms can be life-ending. Bad weather is often at the route of many of these tragedies, and we need to take that into consideration. Additionally, due to natural geomagnetic anomalies, it is believed compasses often malfunction in the area (although, that’s a bit strange--right?). Not to mention, it isn’t exactly easy sailing and there are plenty of shoals and reefs that could ruin boats.
But the phenomena of the vortex isn’t limited to just shipwrecks. In fact, there are stories of ships never being found, or ships found without a trace of their crew. What’s more is phantom ships are often seen, anomalous lights, UFO activity, and even strange, unnatural mists and weather patterns.
During an early fall evening with friends, Sidney Wells and others used the telescope set up on a friend’s deck excited to see the stars. However, when they looked they saw something completely unusual. According to Wells the group say “a kind of diamond…covered in a shroud-like a cloud.” While friends took turns seeing this strange thing in the sky, the diamond disappeared without explanation. No one in the group has ever been able to identify a similar astronomical oddity.
But, let’s go back to the shipwrecks, particularly the Bavaria which I mentioned above. In 1889, the Bavaria (although fully rigged) was being towed by a steam barge when it rain into rocky seas near the south of Prince Edward County. For safety, the tow line broke away and the Bavaria was swept around the lake by the storm. Two days later, it was found in surprisingly good condition - sails were stowed, and lines were set. A canary chriped in its cage, money and goods lay on tables, and a loaf of bread was found untouched in the oven. The only odd thing? The ship was without its crew. Captain John Marshall, and his crew, were never found and their disappearance remains a mystery over 100 years later.
Due to the high number of shipwrecks in the area, this part of Lake Ontario is incredibly popular with divers. Whether they are exploring the wrecks for fun, or to find new clues the stories of these lost ships and aircraft and more live on. And, of course, there have been some reports of strange activity and murmurs of unexplained activity among divers that frequent the area.
To this day, those that live near the shore often blame “the vortex” on whatever strange or bad luck rolls into town. And many reports (or at least know someone) who experiences something that warped their reality, even if only for a moment.
Conversations of Vortexes always remind me of the theory of ley lines. If you aren’t familiar with the term, it was popularized by Alfred Watkins in the 1920s. He proposed a theory: that these lines were used as a navigation system for early humans in lieu of other direction technologies. It is important to note that Watkins himself never placed any supernatural significance to the ley lines - he believed that they were just pathways used for trade or ceremonial purposes. However, he did acknowledge it was impressive that these lines seemed to date back all the way to the Neolithic era. As this theory continued to grow, some believed it was believed these lines were something more special and ingrained in human thought - perhaps because they are imbued with electromagnetic energy.
It is common to hear ley lines associated with hauntings, UFO activity, and even the use of certain New Age rituals. So, what do you think? Is it mere coincidence or bad weather that explains the Vortex, or could everything really be connected?
The blog image is of Marsden Kemp on Wolfe Island, Ontario. Kemp was an amateur photographer who documented areas around Lake Ontario, including Wolfe Island, in the early 1900s.
Thanks to Caz for this blogstonishing suggestion!