What happened to 'Marie Celeste'?

Answer 1

The Mary Celeste was a brigantine found in the Atlantic Ocean unmanned and under full sail heading towards the Strait of Gibraltar in 1872. The fate of the crew is the subject of much speculation: theories range from alcoholic fumes to underwater earthquakes, and a large body of fictional accounts of the story. The Mary Celeste is often described as the archetypal ghost ship.

In early 1873 two lifeboats ran aground in Spain. One boat contained 1 body and an American flag. The second contained 5 bodies. These 6 bodies were never identified or if they were it was never entered into public records. So we may never know if these people were what was left of the crew and passengers of the Mary Celeste.

Answer 2

Nobody knows what happened to the fictitious Marie Celeste after abandonment, towing and trial. The brigantine in question was the location of much of the action in the short story J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement. The fictionalized account, published in 1884 and readable online, wrote of no disposition regarding Marie Celeste other than the derelict ship's towing into Gibraltar during December 1873 by Captain Dalton's Dei Gratia.