Battleship North Carolina

The most decorated American battleship of World War II, earning 15 battle stars for her service in the Pacific Theater. The USS North Carolina is now permanently moored as a memorial and museum, having saved thousands of lives during the war.

The USS North Carolina rides at anchor in the Cape Fear River at Wilmington, a 45,000-ton battleship that earned 15 battle stars in the Pacific Theater of World War II—making her the most decorated American battleship of the war. Commissioned in 1941, she saw action from Guadalcanal to Tokyo Bay, and the souls of sailors who served and died aboard her have apparently never left. For decades, the night watchman who lives aboard has documented their presence, and paranormal investigators have declared the ship "very haunted."

Danny Bradshaw took the job of night watchman in 1976 and has lived aboard the USS North Carolina ever since. He gets a room of his own, full benefits, and companions he didn't expect. On a pitch-black night early in his tenure, Bradshaw was headed to the galley below deck to check a power box. As he reached into the box, he felt a gust of cold air and a hand on his shoulder. In the open hatch nearby stood a sailor with hair so blond it looked white. When Bradshaw's flashlight beam passed through the figure, he screamed. The sailor turned his head and vanished.

That encounter was only the beginning. Over his decades aboard, Bradshaw has documented his experiences in a book, "Ghosts on the Battleship North Carolina." The blond sailor is the most frequently seen apparition, believed to be a young man who died in an attack on September 15, 1942—he appears most often in the battleship's washroom. But he is far from alone.

Hatches and doors unlock and close by themselves. Lights turn on and off, sometimes responding to verbal commands. People are touched by invisible hands. Objects are thrown. Disembodied voices echo through compartments, and footsteps ring through empty passageways. Faces appear in windows where no one stands.

The evidence has attracted serious attention from paranormal investigators. In 2005, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson brought their TAPS team to film an episode of Ghost Hunters, spending two days exploring the ship and producing evidence of paranormal activity. The USS North Carolina has also been featured on Ghost Hunters Academy and Fact or Faked, with investigators concluding each time that the battleship is genuinely haunted.

Today the USS North Carolina serves as a memorial to the 10,000 North Carolinians who died in World War II. Visitors can explore nine levels of the ship, from the bridge to the engine room, walking the same decks where sailors lived, fought, and died. The ship offers ghost hunts and overnight programs for those who want to experience the supernatural activity for themselves.

But Danny Bradshaw doesn't need special programs to encounter the ship's other residents. He has shared his quarters with them for nearly half a century, and he has learned to accept them as shipmates. They served aboard the USS North Carolina in life, and in death, they have chosen to remain at their posts.