Swallowed By The Deep?

It was July 23rd and a beautiful evening on Placentia Bay, the kind of day that might lull a fishermen into feeling safe.

William Hallett and Samuel Dicks, two seasoned hands from Harbour Buffett, had their dories tied to trawl buoys, jigging for squid in the calm, clear water.

For hours, the only sounds were the splash of lines and the occasional call of gulls. But when Dicks turned to check on Hallett, his stomach dropped—Hallett’s boat was gone.

Panic set in as Dicks rowed to the spot. When he reached the buoy, he found only a jagged piece of the stern still tied to the keg. The wood was splintered as if something massive had struck it. There was no sign of Hallett, no other fragments of the boat, and no explanation.

Back on shore, the story spread quickly. Some blamed a thrasher, its whip-like tail known to shatter boats — they’d been seen in the area that summer. Others whispered of creatures older and stranger, lurking in the depths where the light never reaches.

“Thrasher or not,” Dicks spoke gravely to the crowd on the wharf, “it destroyed his boat in an instant—smashed it like it was nothing, and I didn’t hear a sound.”

Whether a known predator or something more mysterious, one truth was clear: Even for seasoned mariners, the deep holds surprises — swift, silent, and merciless.

Hallett’s body was never found.

 

• Sources & Further Reading

  1. Singular Accident, Evening Telegram, July 25, 1900.

  2. The Thrasher, Excursions in and about Newfoundland in the years 1839-1840, J.B. Jukes

  3. Offbeat History, Evening Telegram, Dec 4, 1969