De Vliegende Hollander en Terneuzen (The Flying Dutchman and Terneuzen)
Van internationaal symbool tot lokale legende (From International Symbol to Local Legend)
Agnes Andeweg
Den Boer| De Ruiter, Vlissingen 2015
The Flying Dutchman is a ghost story about a ship doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The story has been adapted countless times in two centuries.
These days the Flying Dutchman is familiar to many people from the eponymous Efteling theme park attraction, or the Pirates of the Caribbean films. The inhabitants of Terneuzen have had a soft spot for the Flying Dutchman for years. A Terneuzen museum cafe, their annual shanty festival, the musical society, and the free local paper, among other things, have been named after the wandering captain. This book describes how the story of the Flying Dutchman spread around the world. How a ghost ship could provide a nickname used for horses, trains, fountain pens, bicycles, and football players, none of which are remotely spooky. How the Dutchman from a laughable figure turned into a Dutch hero, and how the story presents ever new versions of the Netherlands as a colonial nation. Most of all, this book tells us why the Flying Dutchman and Terneuzen belong together and have done so for many years now.