I love a good ghost story and I stumbled upon one this weekend. My best friend Ralph came into town and he likes to see historical sites, so we decided to visit the Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington.
Once on board, I realized why I never joined the Navy. I am sure modern day ships are quite different, but this relic from World War II was crowded, dark, and a bit creepy. As we went from level to level, Ralph commented that he bet this ship was haunted. Once we were through with the tour, we visited the gift shop. My husband found a book about the ghosts of the battleship and bought it for Ralph.
I am glad we had already toured the ship before we got that book. Apparently, after they close the gates and all the tourist leave, a lot goes on. The ship’s night watchman, Danny Bradshaw, wrote the book, Ghosts on the Battleship North Carolina. He has seen and heard some strange things over the 25 years he has been the night watchman. When he first started the job, it didn’t pay much, but as a perk, he got to live on the ship for free.
He had heard from his friend John, who had the job before him, that the ship was haunted, but needless to say, Danny was a bit skeptical. He changed his mind after John came to visit one night. He wanted to search the ship for furniture for his room and invited John over to help. The area they were going to was also the same area where a torpedo blast had killed 5 men during the war. As they got to the hatch door of the room where the furniture was, Danny realized he had forgotten to set the alarm. He told John to wait there for a minute; he would set the alarm and be right back. Once Danny returned, he found John white as a sheet. John explained that while Danny was gone, he went through the hatch to look at the furniture. As he walked around, he heard a loud slamming noise. The hatch, which normally took two men to open or close because it was so heavy, had closed on its own. He found another hatch at the other end of the room and went back up a level to wait for Danny. John refused to help Danny look for the furniture after that.
Among the things Danny has experience through the years are eerie sounds (such as doorknobs rattling) and eerie sights (see the shower water handle turn on its own). He now truly believes the ship is haunted, but remains the night watchmen to this day. It is, he says, his home now.
For more great spooky stories, please visit:
Bell Witch: Tennessee’s Best Ghost Story