By Kaylee Kruschke
Murphy News Service
Isiah Herout found himself in the cargo hold of a large ship with darkness all around him and only a few traces of light. He entered a dimly lit room where he was followed by creatures begging him to give them his soul.
The S.S. William A. Irvin in Duluth opened its cabin doors to its 22nd annual haunted ship the first weekend of October.
The ship takes on a different theme each year for the entire month. This year’s theme is “What are your fears?” Stephanie Ukkola, William A. Irvin supervisor, said.
“We’re targeting all sorts of common fears and phobias,” Ukkola said. “Things that normally get people going. We have stuff like heights and claustrophobia and we also have other common fears like clowns, spiders, snakes and being stranded in the woods or in cemeteries.”
The tour is run by the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, Ukkola said, adding that to create this year’s theme, brainstorming meetings were held starting back in January.
Other themes in past years have included Blackthorn Asylum, Zombie Outbreak and Captain’s Revenge, Ukkola said.
Once inside the ship, visitors are surrounded by bloody intestines and other human limbs oozing with blood scattered about the interior of one of the inside deck levels.
While being distracted by the gory scenes, in the blink of an eye, screaming zombies lunge toward visitors pounding on the walls around them.
Visitors are allowed a small fraction of time to calm themselves as they exit the inside deck level and walk across the top deck to another staircase leading to the ship’s cargo hold – the location of most of the frightful sights.
Inside the cargo hold, those looking for a scare enter a room full of circus clowns and barred cages containing demented creatures grabbing for anything they can reach through the bars.
A dark, winding maze with just enough room to fit through shoulder to shoulder leads to a church full of ghouls looking for souls and to the bedroom of a deranged young girl.
The eventual sight of a staircase leading out of the cargo hold and to a gift shop is similar to a light of salvation and the end of tense muscles and rapidly beating hearts.
“I would say it was pretty unique. I really enjoyed the jump scares,” said Herout, who was visiting the ship with friends. “The crew was awesome; however, they didn’t follow through on giving me the [intestines] they said I could have at the end.”
“Overall it was an awesome experience,” Herout said.
Ukkola said the only requirement for volunteer crew is that they are 16 years old or older.
“It’s really just anyone that has an interest. We have a lot of people that are really passionate about scaring people and that’s what makes it fun,” Ukkola said.
Proceeds from the admission cost is used to support other events the crew hosts over the year and for maintaining the ship, Ukkola said.
While the Irvin may only appear to be haunted during October, local legend has it that it is actually haunted by the spirit of William Wouri who is known to be the only person who died aboard the ship.
Ukkola said she has been fortunate enough to never experience any hauntings, but that is not the same for some of her employees.
“Alex [Dunning], who is our production manager … has seen two full body apparitions in the cargo hold where we have most of the haunted tour,” Ukkola said. “You’re down there late at night and that’s when the strange things start happening.”
The large steel doors on the ship have also unexpectedly slammed shut on multiple occasions, Ukkola said.
Various paranormal teams have come aboard the Irvin to investigate possible paranormal activity. One of those groups was the Midwest Paranormal Files.
That group stayed aboard the ship and recorded audio and video of their experience and reported they heard voices that did not come from their crew.
The ship is open until Oct. 31 and is $10 for each visitor. On certain days, college students receive a buy-one-get-one-free special with a valid college I.D.
For more information about dates and times, visit www.duluthhauntedship.com.