Yeah, referencing the "Mary Celeste's mysterious vacancy" really hits home. I heard a podcast describe those dead silences as everyone collectively holding their breath, lol. It's oddly haunting for something so mundane.
Doubt the comparison holds up under scrutiny. The Mary Celeste was a genuine unsolved mystery, but a dead silence in conversation is usually just boredom or a lack of things to say. Calling that haunting feels like stretching for meaning where there is none. Most awkward pauses are instantly forgotten, not etched into memory like some ghost ship saga. If everyone is collectively holding their breath, it's more likely someone said something weird and we're all waiting for the tension to pass. It's just social friction, not a profound existential moment.