The Phantom Canoe Sighting That Foretold a Catastrophic Eruption in 1886

Was a supernatural vision of a Maori warrior-laden canoe, a harbinger of doom for an eruption that would bury the so-called “ninth wonder of the world?” The canoe (a waka), emerged from the mists on Lake Tarawera, in New Zealand’s North Island, on May 31, 1886. It was described by Maori lake guides and European sightseers, as being “vigorously paddled” by its spectral crew. When hailed by the guides, there was no response, simply vanishing into thin air while sparking one of New Zealand’s great ghost stories. Eleven days later on June 10, Mt. Tarawera, which looms over the lake and is part of the North Islands geothermal zone erupted in the early morning hours....