{"id":3516,"slug":"mataafa-storm-duluth-minnesota","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Mataafa is the '05 — the November 28 that's the wreck, the '9 drowned' that's the dead. The 'broke in two' is the ship — the '150 yards' that's the shore, the 'engine crew' that's the all lost. The 'ignored warning' is the captains — the 'week of calm' that's the experience, the '70 mph' that's the wind.","The storm is the named — the 'Mataafa Storm' that's the after, the '29 ships' that's the damaged. The 'Split Rock' is the lighthouse — the 'Madeira' that's the wreck, the 'built '10' that's the response. Mataafa is the watched — the 'whole city' that's the witness, the 'next morning' that's the rescue.","The file keeps Mataafa: the 1905 storm, the broken ship, the 9 dead, and the Split Rock lighthouse.","Mataafa Storm is the archive's Duluth file — the watched wreck."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Mataafa Storm is the archive's Duluth file — the city's witness.","A storm keeps its name — the file's suggestion being that Mataafa's hold is the watched: the 'whole city' that's the shore, the 'broke in two' that's the ship, and the '9 drowned' that's the engine crew."]}],"name":"Mataafa Storm","aliases":[],"type":"SITE","type_label":"Site","cats":["LOCAL_FOLKLORE","LEGEND_SITE","MARITIME_DISASTER","WEATHER"],"groups":["legends"],"desc":"November 28, 1905—the storm that wrecked 29 ships.","full_desc":"Mataafa Storm is a site in Duluth, Minnesota. November 28, 1905—the storm that wrecked 29 ships. Its accounts name only a collective — the storm dead. The dossier holds 2 reported claims, 1 legend, 1 documented fact and 1 named or described presence — documented record and retelling kept side by side. The site is open to visitors. For HauntHunt it is exactly the kind of file the archive exists for: a real place, a real record, and a story still being told.","address":null,"city":"Duluth","county":null,"state":"Minnesota","postal":null,"region":"Midwest","lat":46.774458,"lon":-92.134135,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":null,"current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"SHIP batch; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":59.4,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.65,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":0.3999999999999999,"paranormal_claim_provenance":0.8,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[{"id":3840,"type":"NAMED_GHOST_LEGEND","description":"The dead are reportedly seen. The presences go by the storm dead in the file. Mataafa Storm in Duluth, Minnesota carries the report the way old places do — as part of its identity. The story is documented as legend — recorded and retold, never verified as fact. The account appears in 'Mataafa Storm'. The name gives the haunting a face, and the sightings give the name a job.","evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","evidence_label":"Documented legend","entity":"The storm dead","where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Mataafa Storm","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mataafa_Storm","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]},{"id":3841,"type":"APPARITION","description":"Reported a presence on the lake. The reports at Mataafa Storm are the site's second history — unofficial, unverified, and stubbornly retold. It's anecdotal evidence in the strictest sense — stories, repeated, unresolved. The report is preserved in sources like 'Mataafa Storm'. The figure remains the site's most-repeated sighting.","evidence":"ANECDOTAL","evidence_label":"Anecdotal","entity":null,"where":null,"first_report":null,"approx_date":null,"confidence":0.8,"conflict_notes":null,"source":{"name":"Mataafa Storm","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mataafa_Storm","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4},"conflicting_source":null,"variants":[]}],"history":[{"description":"The November 28, 1905 storm is documented. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. The detail is preserved in 'Mataafa Storm'. The entry's timeline holds it; the lore holds the rest. The report keeps its place in the record.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":"1905-11-28","confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Mataafa Storm","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mataafa_Storm","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"legends":[{"name":null,"summary":"The dead are reportedly seen. The site in Duluth, Minnesota gives the account a documented setting: real place, real history, unresolved reports. 'Mataafa Storm' preserves the telling; the record keeps it filed where it belongs, as lore. Sources including 'Mataafa Storm' keep the claim in circulation. Every community keeps one story like this; this is theirs.","earliest":null,"evidence":"DOCUMENTED_LEGEND","source":{"name":"Mataafa Storm","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mataafa_Storm","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"entities":[{"name":"The storm dead","claimed_identity":"The storm dead","verified":null,"summary":"The dead are reportedly seen. The accounts name only a collective — the storm dead. Mataafa Storm in Duluth, Minnesota carries the report the way old places do — as part of its identity. A named spirit outlasts an anonymous one; the file's name is The storm dead. The claim holds its place in the ledger.","behavior":"The dead are reportedly seen.","area":null,"first_ref":null,"source":{"name":"Mataafa Storm","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mataafa_Storm","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}}],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Site access varies; verify before visiting.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Mataafa Storm","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mataafa_Storm","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":2,"history":1,"legends":1,"entities":1,"sources":1}}