GALVESTON – If you catch a dose of a freaky ghost, who you gonna call? Forget ghost busters. Curators of the Galveston Naval Museum are bringing in ghost hunters to poke around a mystery spooking employees.
What looks normal gets weird after dark aboard the USS Cavalla. The moment ship superintendent Ross Garcia closes the World War II-era submarine that helped sink a Japanese aircraft carrier after Pearl Harbor seems to have ghosts.
“I turn back and I think I heard something rattling back there and I can just barely see somebody maybe sneaking back there making me think that somebody is hiding around the corner and then the lights go off,” Garcia said.
Ten years ago, paranormal pros claimed they heard voices on the ship. That mattered little to Garcia, a retired Navy Master diver new to the job. Then, something triggered alarms around the periscope in a room chained and padlocked.
“After that you just kind of wonder what could these things evolve from,” Garcia said. “So it’s worth a little time to investigate.”
He called two teams of ghost hunters. In February, the first group claimed they found “a shadow hunched over as if it was playing checkers.” They plan to share more findings while a second group is coming next week. They will attempt to confirm what Garcia hopes.
“If they find something (paranormal), it’s just going to save me a lot of work,” Garcia said. “Of course the wiring is old. But, you know, I’d like to eliminate that part of the equation before I start tearing into wiring looking for shorts.”
With repairs totally dependent on donations, Garcia prefers ghost problems to anything electrical. He also thinks it could attract more guests to the museum.
“Whatever the attraction is if we have to cater to it we will,” Garcia said. “You know maybe I’ll buy that old sailor a cup of coffee or whoever is on board here.”
The museum opens to both ghost hunters and anyone curious this Saturday and next weekend.