.Most Haunted Local Attraction

Sure, a creepy old house with a ghost or two banging around inside is nice. But what about a decommissioned naval aircraft carrier ship that serves as a floating home somewhere between thirty and fifty spirits? People, that is hecka haunted. Paranormal types say it’s hard to tell exactly how many ghosts are aboard the USS Hornet, but they’re pretty sure they’ve positively identified the ship’s chaplain from WWII, two doctors, a rear admiral, and a slew of ordinary sailors. The ship’s haunted history is the subject of a videotaped lecture by the East Bay’s very own ghost-hunting expert Loyd Auerbach (professionally known as Professor Paranormal); The Haunting of the USS Hornet is available from Mindreader.com/Products/ or in the ship’s gift shop. The Hornet certainly has a storied past; it earned nine battle stars during WWII and retrieved the Apollo 11 and 12 astronauts after splashdown. The ship is open to the living every day; admission for adults is $14, students, seniors, and military personnel get in for $12, and admission for youth aged five to seventeen is $6. Nighttime flashlight tours for people over the age of twelve are held once a month for $35, and sleepovers can be arranged for Scout troops and other groups not afraid of things that go bump in the night.