The Former Passengers

Bithia Mary Croker (1848-1920) was an Irish-born novelist and a notable writer of ghost stories; much of her work concerned life and society in British India.

'The Former Passengers' (1893) tells the story of Mr. Lawrence, who is on his way to Singapore to give his sister away at her wedding. As he finds he has missed the steamer he intended to catch, he persuades Captain Blane to take him in his cargo boat, the Wandering Star.

Despite warnings to the contrary, his accommodation turns out to be sumptuous, and he thinks he's rather lucky to be travelling on the Star - until the steamer hits bad weather, and strange events take hold of the ship.