I’d recommend a Ghost Ship Tour as a uniquely spooky way to celebrate scare season.
Battleship Olympia
The USS Olympia, commissioned in 1895, is the oldest steel warship still afloat anywhere. It’s part of the Independence Seaport Museum. Our motley tour group was greeted at the Penn’s Landing gangplank by a proclaimed sailor’s daughter who would not share her name. She was clad head to toe in black, with the requisite flowing cape. We boarded the Olympia over the hull of the submarine Becuna and were plunged into total darkness.
Restless Spirits
For the next hour, we heard gruesome tales of suicides, decapitations, horrific accidents and restless spirits as we felt our way around the ship. Legend has it that the Olympia is hoodooed or cursed, because a crewman died on the ship’s maiden voyage.Our guide spoke of strange smells and tingling extremities some guests experience in the mess hall. That’s where countless sailors were unwittingly exposed to lead poisoning from the lead pots and pans. Crewman unlucky enough to catch a contagious disease were banished to the crow’s nest until they recuperated, fell overboard or worse.
Fire When Ready
The USS Olympia is best known for its role in the Battle of Manila Bay. The famous line
You may fire when ready, Gridley was uttered on the ship’s deck by Commodore George Dewey. His colleague Gridley was deathly ill and died soon after. But Gridley’s spirit may not have gone far. Ship volunteers report many who’ve sensed his presence on deck, as a tap on the shoulder or a sudden chill below deck. I know I felt uneasy and creeped out, especially around the hammock area where so many died. Take a tour and experience it for yourself.
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