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When a ghost rings the bell on the William A. Irvin

Posted 10/26/23

Stephanie Ukkola

 once worked as a manager on the SS William A. Irvin, a retired US Steel ore carrier that sailed the Great Lakes from 1938 until it’s retirement in 1978. The vessel now …

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When a ghost rings the bell on the William A. Irvin

Posted

Stephanie Ukkola

 once worked as a manager on the SS William A. Irvin, a retired US Steel ore carrier that sailed the Great Lakes from 1938 until it’s retirement in 1978. The vessel now resides in the Minnesota Slip in Duluth serving as an educational tourist destination and, during the month of October, a unique haunted attraction.
Most of the frights you’ll experience on a haunted tour are fictional, but not everything that happens on the ship can be explained.
The gift shop has a doorbell button that connects to the break room and dings so the cashier can call up a tour guide when needed. 
One night, I was alone with a co-worker on the ship. I was in the office closing out the financials while my coworker was waiting for me in the break room after locking all the ship’s exterior doors. 
Suddenly, “Ding-dong!” My coworker heard the bell. He went out to the gift shop to see who was there, but he had locked the door and, to no surprise, found the shop empty.
He ran back to my office, frightened.
“Did you ring the bell?” he asked.
“Uh….no, I’ve been here, what are you talking about?”

He explained and, needless to say, we made a hasty retreat, preferring not to spend any more time with a ghost on the ship.