From the Depths, and Other Strange Tales of the Sea is a superb anthology in the “British Library Tales of the Weird” series, which breathes new life into obscure and long-neglected weird stories. Editor Mike Ashley has curated some excellent tales for this collection, and arranged them in an order that flows smoothly and thematically.

The Ship of Silence - Albert R. Wetjen…. Tailor-made as the opening story, Old Billings, a grizzled seaman, prefaces his tale with a rundown of the many types of odd phenomena that have been reported out on the open sea - absolutely perfect opening remarks for the reader of this collection. Old Billings then proceeds to how he was amongst the crew of the Doyon that discovered the Robert Sutter, a packet ship out of San Francisco, newly and completely abandoned on the open sea - except for an aged caged parrot who provides an explanation of sorts via a chilling oral history.

From the Darkness and the Depths - Morgan Robertson…. Robertson, best know for his remarkably prescient novella Futility: The Wreck of the Titan, which eerily foreshadowed the sinking of the Titanic, offers a compelling yarn about a murderous invisible creature from the ocean’s depths pushed to the surface by massive undersea earthquakes.

Sargasso - Ward Muir…. The story of the mysterious disappearance of the tramp steamer Wellington in the Sargasso Sea. A most memorable tale of terror from a long forgotten author.

Held by the Sargasso Sea - Frank H. Shaw…. After the deplorable and mutinous crew of the Swordfish forces Captain Chisholm off his beloved ship and onto a quarter-boat with meager rations, the fate of both he and the Swordfish appear bleak. An unusual and well crafted story with some unexpected twists.

The Floating Forest - Herman Scheffauer…. Mary Vance, wife of James Vance, captain of the Serapis, has noticed a drastic change in her husband. What lies behind the captain’s sudden dark and brooding demeanor? With some of the most elegant writing in the weird fiction genre, Scheffauer unfolds a series of stunning turns in this brilliant tale.

Tracked : A Mystery of the Sea - C.N. Barham…. A clairvoyant discovers the fate of the lost brig Audacious. The author, a staunch believer in clairvoyance, provides an illustrative case.

The Mystery of the Water-logged Ship - William Hope Hodgson…. Strange lights and sounds emanating from the titular ship baffle the captain and crew of the nearby steam-yacht White Hart. One of the author’s little-known stories, and not particularly memorable.

From the Depths - F. Britten Austin… The tension rapidly builds in this thoroughly chilling tale of ships sunk during World War I.

The Murdered Ships - James Francis Dwyer…. Ibid, an Australian pearl schooner sunk during World War I, exacts its revenge.

The Ship That Died - John Gilbert… Uncanny tale of a dying vessel that devolves into a phantom ship. Some nicely atmospheric imagery here.

Devereux’s Last Smoke - Izola Forrester…. “Did you ever happen to notice how a man looks smoking a cigar in a fog. You can see the light of the cigar as he draws on it, but not the man behind. Sort of a headlight effect, you know….” Some snappy dialogue highlights this fast-paced, offbeat ghost story.

The Black Bell Buoy - Rupert Chesterton…. Rivals in love for the hand of Captain O’Higgins are assigned to work on the balky Black Bell Buoy. Twelve hours later, when their steamer returns to pick them up, only one one of the men is there. He says that a large tentacle of some sea monster dragged the other under and disappeared. The mystery of this buoy and the fate of the men is deftly unspooled in the effective little yarn.

The High Seas - Elinor Mordaunt…. A cruel tale of twin brothers Agar and Bran and their toxic sibling rivalry.

The Soul-Saver - Morgan Burke…. Bizarre and disturbing story of a cruel sea captain and his little white mouse, which he claims is the very soul of a man he killed.

No Ships Pass - Lady Eleanor Smith…. Patterson, presumably thrown overboard from this yacht, washes ashore on an island where the other inhabitants claim that they too arrived under similar circumstances, and from which they claim there is no escape. A most compelling story to close out the anthology. ( )

Collection of weird tales involving the sea. These were originally written in the last years of the 19th century and first three decades of the 20th. These consisted of unexplained and often bizarre happenings.

The ones I liked best:

"The ship of silence": a ship with no one on board except a parrot who calls out what has happened to the ship through the years, especially how it met its end.
"Held by the Sargasso Sea": ship caught in tentacles of seaweed mass in the Caribbean and how it breaks free.
"The floating forest": a derelict ship overgrown with vegetation.
"The ship that died": a ship that weakens and comes apart little by little. On board, the captain's wife and family wait for death.
"The Black Bell Buoy": the ghost of a murdered man seeks revenge, using an old rusted buoy.
"The high seas": concerning two brothers who hate each other going to sea and the girl whom they both love. A storm arises...
"No ships pass": A castaway finds himself on an island that travels the world picking up shipwrecked sailors. These people are here until eternity, will recover from any illnesses or wounds, and cannot escape. ( )