Rescue Ship Makes Horrifying Discovery

As has been covered on Scary Interesting several times before, in the past few centuries, just a few areas left on earth eluded polar explorers. These were the arctic, the antarctic, and the northeast and northwest Passages. Many of the world's greatest explorers made many equally great attempts to explore and map these areas, but for a time, each of them remained unconquered. This caused some to shift their attention to the massive frozen area around northern greenland, and expeditions began to be planned. One of these expeditions would go on to endure some of the most prolonged and brutal conditions in recorded history. This is their story, and as such viewer discretion is strongly advised.

As per YouTube's new AI disclosure policy, you may see a box pop up that says "Altered or synthetic content". To give specifics on how it's used on this channel, we use it to generate some scenes where real and stock images are not available, as well as some of the AI tools in various programs to speed workflow. Otherwise, all scripts, voiceovers, video editing, etc. is done by humans.

Attributions/Special Thanks for Photographs:
Ralf Roletschek

This video contains light dramatic reenactment but no actual footage or pictures of anyone being harmed or who has been harmed. The thumbnail is NOT a real image.

Writing and research by Jay Adams

And a huge thank you to the Scary Interesting team of writers, editors, captioners, and everyone else who make this channel possible.

[versebuchanan]

*Arctic Exploration Planning Meeting:*
"Never done this before, but I'm pretty sure I can figure it out. I'm tough."
"Well fuck, sounds good to us. Here's your crew, God bless, my guy."

[cjun]

“From the standpoint of arctic experience Adolphus had none..the military didn’t see this as something that should keep him from leading”

Me, an army vet:……sounds about right 😂😂

[StevenG]

Nothing will make you appreciate technology and advances in science like these early expedition videos!

[WendyDarling]

Thank you for not switching over to AI narration. I have started to hit skip immediately on videos that are done with AI voices. Those are the same videos that use a ton of stock footage without bothering to source original images and photos the way you have. Bravo.

[mikec]

love the channel man. from the intro tune, lack of irrelevant stuff to the way you tell the story.
i commend you, sir.

[MsMak]

OMG. It sounds like Uncle Sam just had plans to forget about the expedition THEY organized. And sounds like Congress was just as screwed up then as it is now.

[redfoxninja]

And what did we learn from this?...that a hostile, barren, lifeless, wasteland of ice and snow yields nothing but sorrow and death

[leannsfearcocktail]

You brilliantly relay these obscure and interesting historical events. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to accurately capture these all but forgotten moments in history.

[ChurchOfKenny]

Season 1 of the Terror is a fantastic look into the horrors of the passages

[janko]

Scary interesting is the best narrator for these stories

[i_like_lemons]

The leader of the expedition is unhinged. Imagine thinking that a doctor that you hired by contract is obliged to follow your command like he's a soldier.

[rileyh]

Viewer discretion is STRONGLY advised?? We're in for a real one boys...

[Kaiquintos]

I will never stop being shocked by the sheer number of exemptions sent away where they just seemed to flat out ignore the need of an expert that knows how to survive the climate...

[gregbors]

They couldn’t save the guys right away because the Senate had to debate about how much it would cost - sounds about right

[nyxspiritsong]

Really disgusting how the senate refused to approve the rescue funding until they were basically shamed into it.

[carmattvidz]

I can say I have felt the medical effects of starvation. I wasn't as bad off as these men, but I had a good taste of it. The worst part, I think, is that you can't sleep. You feel exhausted, but you just can't fall asleep. Walking and doing basic tasks feel like running a marathon. I remember that walking to the toilet felt like running five miles. You also feel dizzy if you try to push yourself to do something. Oh, and all you think about is food. All day and night, you think about eating, and anything edible looks delicious. I remember seeing food in a trash can, and it was tempting to eat (I never did, by the way). I remember counting the bones in my chest because they were visible. Sitting on wooden chairs was extremely painful. Headaches from low BGLs were common too. Hitting your bony hips on a door frame is also extremely painful. Starvation is a horrible thing to experience. Btw my BMI is now 23 but back then it was like 16-15. I still have some old clothes from that time and i find it insane I was so small. I feel for these men. Not many people in the western world know what real starvation is like. I hate it when people saying "I missed lunch and i am starving!". I just want to say "You have no idea what starvation and real hunger is like." If you have questions what medical starvation is like I am happy to answer them.

[travissapienza]

The sheer incompetence of.everyone involved on all sides of this is almost impressive.

[Uncle_Roadkill]

They should've turned back the very second that music kicked in, but since they didn't - here's their story

[stnaes-tfow]

Your videos about explorer expeditions gone wrong might be my favorite topic you cover

[ray]

I'm sure all these explorers heard or read about the famous lost expedition some 30+ years ago and their destination is also ironically called "Lady Franklin Bay". Reading about it and then experiencing it yourself seems so much more horrific because you don't need to imagine what's next. You already know what you should do after your food supply runs out, what parts to cut out and eat first before finally resorting to boiling the bones for marrow. Good thing they never reached that point though.