The Haunting of the USS Lexington

Perhaps the most haunted ship in the United States is the USS Lexington (CV-16), a World War II aircraft carrier that was decommissioned in 1991 and now serves as a floating museum in Corpus Christi, Texas.  Launched straight into the war against Japan in the Pacific in 1943, "The Lady Lex" as she was nicknamed, and her crew fought in 21 of the 24 major battles between 1943 and the end of the war in 1945. On four separate occasions, the Japanese announced they had sunk her after launching massive attacks against the ship, but despite battle damage, she returned each time to exact revenge. Because of this and with her hull painted in a blue camouflage scheme, the Japanese began calling her "The Blue Ghost." Having been involved in so many major battles, almost 500 sailors lost their lives while serving on the mighty ship.

 When people are suddenly killed in battle, their spirits are sometimes not ready to leave this world yet and they stay in a place that is comfortable and familiar, perhaps to continue on what they were doing before their sudden death. When people die violently, they sometimes relive the time beforehand, experiencing what they felt and thought before they died. With so much violent death, is it any wonder the "Lady Lex" is definitely considered haunted?

In 1943, a Japanese kamikaze crashed into the engine room, causing massive damage and setting it on fire. 50 men were either killed outright or burned to death. Many visitors, most unaware of what happened in that spot, have told of hearing screams of men in pain. The screams seem to be coming from the walls. Other, luckier visitors, report having enjoyed the detailed lecture given by a nice young man in period uniform about how the engines worked to power the ship. They say he claims to be an engine room operator. But there have never been any staff or volunteer members in period uniform giving lectures in the engine room.

A Japanese bomb dropped from a dive bomber exploded in the switch room, causing numerous deaths and horrible injuries. The room has been closed to visitors because so many started to become sick and feel very uneasy and sad while in the area. One of these people was Donna LaCroix when she and television's Ghost Hunters team investigated the Lexington. They pronounced the ship to be one of the most haunted locations they had ever investigated.

Numerous guests over the years have reported getting lost within the many confusing corridors inside the ship only to be led up to the hanger bay by a friendly young man dressed in Navy dungarees named Charley. After leading them out of the maze of corridors and up the stairs, he opens a final door and tells them to "just step through here and you'll be safe." After the last person steps into the hanger bay, the group often turns to say thank you but finds he has vanished.

All of the apparitions seem to be friendly, helpful, and non-threatening with the exception of one. People who have seen him manifest say he is wearing a uniform that identifies him as a Chief Petty Officer. Although he has never harmed anyone, he is not friendly, scowling at the living and mumbling something in an unpleasant gravely voice. Of course, on a ship of this size with this many men, not all deaths were caused by combat. Sometimes if a person died from an accident caused by his own lack of attention, the entity is very angry at himself and won’t cross over, choosing to stew emotionally in this world. Ship's records from 1945 do indeed record a Chief Petty Officer who inadvertently backed up into a plane's spinning propeller which resulted in his grizzly death. 

Security officers very often report hearing running footsteps in the hanger bay after the ship has been closed and there is nobody else there. Several years ago, an officer said he didn't see anything on the security cameras and went to see what the noise was. The next day, while giving his report, he was white as a sheet when he said he witnessed "shadow figures running in chaos." When he finished his report, he handed in his resignation and has never been heard from again. One of the paranormal investigators said he thinks what the officers are seeing are sailors running for cover after the ship was hit by a torpedo in late 1943.

"They're constantly doing the same thing over and over again ... maintaining the ship," he said of the ghosts he suspects roam the ship. "This was their home and they don't want to go anywhere else."

Hundreds of personal experiences have been reported by staff and visitors over the years that this aircraft carrier has been docked at Corpus Christi. Many have also been reported by paranormal investigators. To visit one of the most haunted ships in the world and perhaps meet Charley, the angry Chief Petty Officer, or any number of other entities, head to Corpus Christi, Texas. The ship is permanently docked just across the bay at 2914 North Shoreline Boulevard.