Invisible Horizons

by Vincent H. Gaddis

-The dog that stood watch on the phantom ship... -The dead crew that sailed its ship through the Northwest Passage... -The Bermuda Triangle, where ships and planes vanish without a trace... -The crew that died of asphyxiation-on an open deck... -The abandoned ship that avenged its own destruction...

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Paranormal

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 3 out of 5]

If nothing else, Vincent H. Gaddis earned his place in history by coining the phrase "Bermuda Triangle." That's among the nautical wonders he ponders in Invisible Horizons, a classic example of the briskly-written, factually-dubious mystery-mongering books which proliferated in the '60s and '70s. Gaddis covers all the expected topics: mysterious disappearances of ships and planes, derelict vessels, ghost ships and maritime specters, curses and time travels and mysterious islands (oh my!). No matter that the SS Watertown ghost photograph which adorns the back cover has been unmasked as a hoax, or that there's no record of the Ivan Vassili (the "curse ship" whose crew repeatedly went mad and killed each other under the influence of some dread force) ever existing, or that there’s a whole chapter on the Philadelphia Experiment mishegoss. Or, for that matter, that all Triangle disappearances need to be taken with a similar grain of salt. Gaddis is an engaging storyteller and this book summons up chills and the silly, speculative wonder we all possess as kids, and precious few of us retain into adulthood.

[Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nonfiction book about weird folklore and history surrounding the sea and seafaring history, which I found highly entertaining and learned quite a bit of obscure information about.

One of the most fascinating chapters in ”Invisible Horizons” follows the strange but true story of a 18th century French naval officer stationed on a remote island, where he could predict in fine detail on a purely intuitive basis which ships would arrive when. Other topics covered include: Stories of sailors who were lost and found due to weird coincidences, scrapped ships that broke free when their captains died, ships that seemed to be cursed with bad luck (most famously the British steamer Great Eastern), sightings of maritime ghosts even entire ghost ships, islands well known to seafarers only to disappear from their last known position and in some cases appear again (which happened once to Rapa Nui better known by the name Easter Island given to it by British colonists), weird cyborg sea monsters who might have been time machine submarines... I am impressed by how many strange and obscure stories Gaddis collected for ”Invisible Horizons”, as well as the engaging and entertaining style in which he writes about them.

Throughout the book Gaddis entertains theories about poorly understood psychic faculties of the human mind as potential causes of these phenomena, just as Charles Fort in "Wild Talents" and Colin Wilson in "The Occult". Near the end Gaddis also considers the Theosophical concept of the Akashic Records in this context. Not sure I understand any of those ideas well enough to form qualified opinions on whether or not I believe in them, but at least that has given me further interest in those topics.

One thing that surprised me was that Gaddis saved the most famous stories in here for the later chapters. The Bermuda Triangle for instance, or the ships Mary Celeste and Joyita who both disappeared only to be found with no trace of their crew anywhere on board. A brilliant move on Gaddis' part since the reader gets exposed to a ton of new information about finger-licking surreal cases before encountering the ”greatest hits”. If you enjoy reading about obscure folklore especially of the nautical variety, give ”Invisible Horizons” a read.

[Undine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was in many ways highly interesting and enjoyable reading matter--his chapter at the end on legendary Ufologist Morris K. Jessup was particularly intriguing.

There is, however one big--very big--caveat. Like so many books about "true mysteries," especially ones that touch on the paranormal, Gaddis tends to prefer a good yarn to a good fact. Some of the stories he soberly relates as "true" turn out, on closer investigation, to be either more prosaic than his retelling would have one believe, or entirely legendary. I don't believe he meant to be deliberately misleading, but he does seem to have been one of those researchers who don't check their sources very closely.

For sheer entertainment value, I can recommend this book highly. However, anyone who wants serious research into the realms of the strange and mysterious needs to double-check it very carefully. Otherwise, it's too easy to join the multitudes who unwittingly spread bad information. God knows, investigating the Unknown is a muddled enough business already.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I took my kids on camping trips years ago they frequently wanted me to tell them ghost stories and sea mysteries just before turning in for the night. Most of my stories came from this book. It was fun to read it again.

[George]

I read this book as a young teen. I was totally into the mysterious phenomena like Bigfoot, UFO's, mysterious disappearances,etc.. This book always stuck out in my mind years later. I assume that with way more critical skills on board I'd be disappointed with it now but it's fun to reminisce. I enjoyed Frank Edwards' stuff, too. Again, though, they are too under researched for my tastes now.

[Pradnya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part of mystery is interesting. Entertaining perhaps. But whether all the incidents and facts mentioned in the book are true is a matter of doubt. The book is well written and the mystery part keeps the reader busy through the pages. Especially in the middle part of the book. That is what I liked.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I especially liked books about forteana and unexplained phenomena that focused on the oceans - this probably has to do with growing up in a shore town. Anyway, IIRC, I liked this one as well - may have to give it a bathroom peruse at some point.

[Rudransh Nigam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its nice