S.S. Yongala
The tropical waters were warm, even on a night dive, but Aaron still wore a wetsuit.  He switched on the video camera attached to his mask, then pressed the start button on his waterproof wristwatch.  70:00 popped up in black against a staunch grey background, and quickly turned to 69:59, then 69:58, 69:57.  The countdown had begun.  He pressed the diving mask tight against his face and splashed into the water. The glow from the waning moon disappeared within seconds, too weak to penetrate the deep waters of the sea.  Aaron’s excitement was heightened by the rich darkness.  Ghosts were always more active at night. Time stood still below the water’s surface where darkness expanded endlessly in every direction.  Bubbles rose from Aaron’s mask as he exhaled, taking one last look at the bottom of his boat.  He shined a flashlight into the void beneath his feet.  What he was looking for lay cloaked in darkness, 70 feet below on the seabed, and it was time to start his descent. Aaron relieved the pressure on his eardrums continuously as he sank into the dark bluish haze.  It took only seconds to reach a depth of 40 feet.  If he was on target, the deck of the S.S. Yongala should be visible beneath him, but there was only blue in every direction.  He swam in small zigzags, waiting for the ghost ship to emerge from the darkness. Something bumped Aaron’s leg.  He dropped the flashlight and turned toward the cold caress to see a dark shadow looming beside him.  Wide eyed and frightened he tried to scream, jetting the regulator from his mouth while violently kicking to escape the creature. As the shadow moved away, Aaron looked into the darkness after it: Behind him, in front, above, below.   It could be anywhere.  He became aware of a burning in his lungs and the panic increased.  Reaching up and over with his right arm, he searched for the regulator, finally bumping his hand against a long hose that he pulled to his lips.  Salt water invaded his mouth while he pressed the purge valve before taking a life-giving breath. Shivering with fear, Aaron retrieved the flashlight from its long cord and pointed it into the gloom.  An enormous grouper hovered a few feet away, investigating the invader to its territory.  Aaron’s muscles relaxed.  Not only was this hulking fish harmless, it was also a sign he was close to the artificial reef created by the wreckage of the Yongala.  He followed the slow moving fish, fanning his flashlight back and forth beneath him. 57:18. A chill ran up Aaron’s spine when an enormous shape materialized in the void.  The hollow remains of the majestic passenger ship loomed in front of him, concealed in corals and shadow: the gravesite of 122 souls lost at sea over 100 years ago.  Aaron checked the full-spectrum camera, EVP recorder, and EMF meter on his belt.  The familiar feeling of adrenaline coursed through his veins, driving him on; this was what he came for. Aaron swam over the coral encrusted skeleton of rusted window frames where tiny silver fish darted in and out of the darkness.  He used landmarks along the ship in search of his destination; the aft mast, the engine room, and the galley were all visible before an inky black chasm near the bow appeared in the distance.  The entrance to the front cargo hold, site of the only evident bones from the shipwreck.  Aaron thrust forward eagerly and entered the forbidden remains of the S.S. Yongala where the wide ocean void was replaced by flaky walls of eroded steel.  His hands were steady as he checked the EMF meter.  The lights still glowed green; nothing yet. 55:23. Aaron began his sweep of the room.  He needed to save at least ten minutes for a safe ascent, and the clock was ticking.
Most of the contents within the cargo hold had long ago turned to sludge.  The ground crawled with crustaceans and slithering sea snakes, but no matter how many times Aaron trekked back and forth, he saw no sign of human remains.  His search continued so long, he began to worry the reports of bones might be a farce. He kept his breathing steady while methodically scanning the floor.  Just when Aaron made up his mind to quit the cargo hold to search elsewhere, an unnaturally straight object reflected off the beam of light.  He drew closer and saw a knob on the end of it.  It must be the famed femur bone reported by divers before him.  The adrenaline rush returned, and he kicked toward the human remains without hesitation. Taking advantage of his buoyancy, he hovered several feet over the femur bone while checking his equipment.  It would be difficult to discern ghostly voices on an underwater recording, especially over the rumbling of his regulator, but he clicked on the EVP recorder anyway.  The EMF meter was still in the green, so he brought the full-spectrum camera to his face. Aaron took a dozen pictures of the femur bone and its surroundings, then shined the light in every direction to take pictures of the entire cargo hold.  The pitch blackness of confinement impeded his flashlight, allowing less illumination than the infinite blue of the open sea.  In the darkness, he waited.  Ghost hunting was about patience, and he had been to enough haunts without sight or sound of a ghost for hours that he was well practiced in tenacity. 42:28. The EMF lights blinked yellow.  Aaron looked around expectantly, excited to get an alarm so quickly, but he was alone.  The yellow lights turned back to green. 40:02. A scratching sound reverberated through the water.  Aaron could not sense which direction it came from. 36:18. Aaron grew restless.  He worried his dangerous descent had been in vain. 32:43. The EMF blipped yellow again, but only for a moment.  Twenty minutes left. The Yongala groaned, its steel frame protesting against the watery grave.  It was followed by a childlike cry for help.  Aaron’s skin tingled, and he swung the flashlight around, catching nothing but blackness.  He stared down at the EMF meter, but it had gone dead.  He knocked the side of it with his flashlight, trying to coax it to life.  With a burst of radiance, a dozen red pinprick lights flickered in the dark. Warmth vanished from the water, leaving it icy cold.  Aaron saw nothing supernatural with his naked eye, but still snapped dozens of pictures, hoping a glowing human figure or mystical ring of light would show up when he developed the negatives in the darkroom. 24:12. The nauseating sensation of listing from one side to the other seized him.  Childish cries for help came from every direction, and Aaron’s blood chilled to the core.  Despite his experience, Aaron’s courage faltered.  The EMF meter cranked back up, flashing red lights this time.  Dread overcame him and he headed for the hole in the deck, looking back one last time toward the abandoned bone. In the darkness, a pale face wavered like white silk in a breeze.  Aaron stopped his ascent and grabbed the camera.  This could be irrefutable proof of a haunting, guaranteeing him recognition in the ghost-hunting community. The face disappeared in seconds, but Aaron hovered near the exit.  Now that he was closer to his escape route he felt safe, and decided to stay a few more minutes.  The sight of a ghost had reinvigorated him, but the lights on the EMF meter went green and the temperature of the tropical waters warmed. Shadows moved in the darkness, but when Aaron pointed his flashlight toward each anomaly, he saw only local sea creatures swimming past.  A group of spotted manta rays glided overhead, just beyond the gaping hole of the cargo hold, causing a wavering in the still water.  Aaron pointed his flashlight on their white undersides, watching the graceful undulation of their wings as they passed. 13:03. Time to leave.  Disappointed that ten minutes passed and he had seen no more signs of the supernatural, Aaron took a final look around the cargo hold.  He swept the darkness with his flashlight one last time, then conceded his defeat and swam toward the gaping exit above. Aaron jerked in surprise when light flooded the chamber.  The temperature plummeted, and in his shock he missed the exit, hitting his head on the splintering roof.  He blinked against the jolt of pain, then saw clearly the cargo hold as it was in 1911, with over a hundred passengers crouched on the floor in fear.  The Yongala listed severely, groaning as it swayed side to side.  Aaron floated over the scene, an observer over the impossible vision of these doomed passengers, hiding from a storm in the bowels of their ship.
Wails and crying filled his ears, echoing like the hollow sound of waves in a conch shell. Vertigo ripped through Aaron’s senses.  He couldn’t tell whether he was seeing the ghost ship or the real Yongala.  Aiming for what he hoped was the exit, Aaron kicked against the freezing water, trying to escape the pleas for help below him.  Time was running out.  He burst into the warmth of the open sea, and the sight of blue and yellow fish swimming through the gently waving fingers of a white coral brought him back to his senses. 7:20. Back in the open sea, speed was the enemy. He must ascend slowly to avoid the pressure change tearing his lungs to shreds, so he pushed his fears deep inside to be dealt with later.  Aaron kicked gently against the water, watching the wreckage of the Yongala disappear beneath his feet.  He kept an eye on his depth gauge, fighting the urge to sprint to the surface. Aaron hovered at 15 feet, his final safety stop, watching the timer to make sure he stayed a full five minutes.  His heart had slowed to normal, the world returned to what it should be, and with nothing to occupy him but his thoughts, Aaron’s mood shifted from fear to excitement.  All of his equipment was intact, and he felt sure of proving the wreck was haunted. 3:23. With a final farewell to the deep blue beneath his feet, Aaron kicked toward the surface.  He looked up, expecting the marquis-shaped underside of his boat to come into view, but instead he saw the pearled, smoky form of a 120 foot ghost ship hovering overhead.   His EMF meter shook free of its own accord, floating to his face and reflecting a dozen blinking red lights across his mask. The phantom Yongala capsized in the calm water, struck by an invisible wave, and descended upon Aaron.  Water whirlpooled in an indomitable current, dragging him relentlessly toward the sea floor.  The enormous pressure in his chest and ears was crippling, and a rush of cold water accosted him as the ghost ship crashed into its 100 year old remains and disappeared, leaving Aaron alone at the bottom of the ocean. :22.  Aaron sat on the deck of the S.S. Yongala, 65 feet down, breathing his last thin gasp of air.  If he rose to the surface, the pressure would tear through the soft tissue of his lungs and he would die in agony alone on his boat.  It was better to stay here. He released the waterproofing clasp on the EVP recorder, flooding its electronic insides with saltwater, then popped open the film canister of his camera.  The red sweep-hand of the oxygen tank meter slipped to zero, and behind the plastic shield of his mask, Aaron’s eyes filled with fear.  As he looked one last time at the endless expanse of blue overhead, the regulator slipped silently from his mouth. Credit: Yarn_Spinner Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.