USS Yorktown Hosts Ghost Tours

The USS Yorktown has opened its tours for ghost hunters and spook seekers just in time for the Halloween season.

The WWII-era carrier is offering 90-minute guided walking tours that take guests into crevasses not normally open to visitors. Tours at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. began Sept. 28 and will run through March. 

The ghost-specific tours are meant to capitalize on decades of spooky occurrences and hints that departed members of the ship's crew still make afterlife appearances.

Tickets are $25 for visitors over 12 years old. Parking is free for the ghost tours. Buy tickets at PatriotsPoint.org.

In May, an episode of SyFy's "Ghost Hunters" explored the Yorktown's connection to the paranormal. Yorktown officials estimated more than 2 million viewers watched the episode, and they were hopeful the interest would fuel a new revenue stream.

Launched in 1943, the Yorktown supported combat operations in WWII and Vietnam. In its final years of service, the ship was a recovery vessel for Apollo 8, the second manned spaceflight.

The ship was retired in 1970 and moored at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant in 1975 to serve as the centerpiece of the naval and maritime museum.