We recently had the honor of investigating the WWII aircraft carrier the USS Lexington CV-16 located in Corpus Christi, Texas. Now a museum after over 40 years in service, this ship is an amazing step back into history. The Lexington, named after the former ship that sank in the Coral Sea while this Lexington was being built, went into commission in 1943. She saw many battles in the Pacific and became one of the most decorated ships in Naval history. She saw a torpedo attack that killed men in the engine room as well as a few other areas a long the way. She was also attacked by a Kamikaze, resulting in the deaths of men on the flight deck. In total there have been close to 400 men and women killed aboard the famous carrier.
We arrived at 7 PM for our 7 hour private investigation. It was just myself and two other investigators (one being a guide since the ship is like a maze) on the giant ship. As we entered the ship, I could tell it had an energy to it right off the back. Maybe it was just the history of all that it had seen, maybe not, but it felt charged with an energy hard to describe.
The first location we spent a bit of time in was an area known for medical treatments. This area is said to be haunted by a ghost who loves to touch women. It was really cold that night so I was bundled up in many layers, there was no feeling anything that may have happened in the spot so we moved a long.
Next we moved to a spot where a lot of engineering and mechanical work went on. We sat for awhile in the dark room and learned about a few of the paranormal instances that occurred there. The story goes that a woman working in this area (in the 1980's) had disappeared and when finally found, she was head first in a vat of varnish of some sort, dead. Our guide, Bill, wasn't entirely sure of the validity of this story but confirmed that there had been a few reports of a female spirit in the room. As we were sitting there, I was recording when we heard a voice pretty clearly shout. The guide thought the spirit said "Jeremy," I thought it was "Sir," either way you can check it out in the clip below and decide for yourself. Let me know what you think the spirit says, I'm really curious.
After moving on from that area, we arrived at the crew mess hall. This place was interesting as the whole time we kept seeing shadow persons up ahead, almost pacing back and forth. I managed to only catch one in a picture because they were extremely elusive to catch.
While also there, we heard the story of a man (ghost) who appears to gentlemen wearing a hat indoors. That is a big no no in the military (I guess) and especially in the 1940's, so he gruffly tells the man to "Take of that damned hat." This apparently had happened to multiple unsuspecting people who tour the museum during the day, unaware of its ghostly inhabitants, and always end up offended by this bossy "employee". They report the "employee" to management, describing his features exactly the same each time.
Side note: During times of mass casualty events, the mess hall was converted into a triage area which could explain some of the activity in the area.
While going over footage of the mess hall area, I came across an interesting tidbit. The video pans awfully quickly, so I'm unsure if this is anything or not, BUT, there is an area in the mess hall set up behind a plastic barrier. There is a really large picture on the wall in sepia, from WWII, of sailor's eating in the hall. There's a table set up in front of the picture to give the visitor an idea of what it would have looked like back in the day. Watching the video pan over this area, you see a man not in the picture on the wall and not exactly at the table in front of it but it could be the angle. The reason I'm not sure on this guy being a spirit or not is because I don't have a great look at the area and can't remember exactly what was there. It could very well be a life like mannequin or even a really detailed picture, I'm not sure, but wanted to put it in here just in case. I have a request with the people of the Lexington asking for a picture of the area so that I can have proof one way or the other but due to the bad weather down there, I don't believe they will be available for a few days. Below is the footage I have of the guy?, picture?, ghost?, mannequin?, whatever he is.
Like I said, I'm not sure either way on him, but it was a cool scene nevertheless.
Then we have orbs. Orbs are a tricky thing to decipher. Sometimes they are just dust or little bugs flying by, other times it is clear that they are some sort of spiritual energy. The one I have below makes me think it isn't dust because, well, it's bright green. I took this picture with an Iphone, meaning that it is also a live picture. The first is a picture of the still shot and the second is a video of it in motion.
We also did a necrophonic (spiritbox) session with "Charlie" the resident ghost down in the engine room. Charlie is an outgoing spirit who is pretty helpful to those that stop by. We did get some answers during the session but they are all so confusing that it's hard to understand them very well. I personally don't like these tools because they're a bit aggravating for someone like me who tends to have a short attention span, but some investigator's really do love them. I attached the video down below if you want to give it a listen.
I personally really enjoyed my time investigating on the USS Lexington and cannot wait to go back and do it again...when it's a lot warmer. There is no doubt in my mind that the place is haunted even if it wasn't as active for us that night. That's the things about investigating, sometimes it's really active and other nights barely a blip of anything. I still have a lot of footage to go over and am putting it into an episode for everyone to enjoy. Until then, enjoy these photos in the slide show below of the amazing "Blue Ghost."
*Some of the pictures below you may recognize from the movie Pearl Harbor. The Lexington was used as the Hornet in the movie and scenes from the Doolittle Raid and preparation where shot on the ship.