The Haunting

Time to add a sea story today. I have not written a Navy tail fro a while, so I figured I would add this one. A couple rules about sea stories to get out of the way. First, if a sailor starts out a sea story with, “This is a not shitter.” It is true, no matter how impossible it sounds. Second, if the sea story starts out with, “After a night of heavy drinking.” Sit back and prepare to hear some of the funniest shit you have ever heard in your life.

OK, with that being said, this is a real no shitter. While onboard USS Scott DDG-995, I learned the ship was haunted. Seriously, it was haunted. One night while I was on watch in the forward engine room, I was out taking readings in the number 3 generator. I had to go all the way back to the far end of the ship with my clipboard to take readings in the generator room and to make sure everything was running like it was supposed to.

At night on the ship, lights are turned to red, so we do not let white light out, and so we can keep out night vision. White light at sea can be seen fr miles, whereas red cannot be. So, I am heading back to the generator, and the passageway has its red lights on. It was a little creepy I might add. I start to get a bizarre feeling that I am not alone, but it is 2:00 am, so nobody is up but the watch section.

I go through the first room where the large switchboards are located and enter the generator room. It is loud and hot in there since the generator is running. I take the readings there, then do the same thing in the boiler room. I look around and see nothing out of the ordinary. Back thought the switchboard room and the long walk back to the engine room. I had to do this every half hour. Each time I was back there, I felt the same creepy feeling.

This went on every time I had that watch at night, never during the day. Then about 2-3 weeks later, we were all talking in berthing one night and somebody mentions there is a ghost in #3 Generator.

“WHAT??? No way that is crazy,” I add to the conversation.

So, the story of how #3 became haunted is told. It seems a veteran passed away, and the ship took his ashes to burry then at sea. So, the crew assembled on the day on the flight deck, and they hold a funeral service for this veteran. As his ashed were bumped overboard, the Engineers realize the #3 generator is running. The air intake for the turbine is pretty close to where the ashes are being dumped. As they were dumped over the side, many were sucked into the generator.  

After that, several crew members began to see an electrician working in the switchboard area only to have him just disappear. One particular night a crewmember said he went through there, and this electrician was working in the switchboard. The whole thing was disassembled. When he came back out through the switchboard room, it was all back together, and no sign fo anything was there.

That crewmember stopped in engineering central to ask who was back in #3 Switchboard working. The reply was nobody. It was later discovered that the veteran was an electrician while in the Navy.

I still felt creepy every time I went back to take readings. But, I never did see anything out of the ordinary.