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Corpus Christi Spook Central::Corpus Christi's Phantom Menace (Monday, October 31, 2005) |
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Corpus Christi's phantom menace
Ghosts, odd sightings reported across the city
Israel Saenz Caller-Times
Monday, October 31, 2005
Corpus Christi's phantom menace
Ghosts, odd sightings reported across the city
Israel Saenz Caller-Times
Monday, October 31, 2005
When visitors ask Lexington ship historian Judith Whipple about alleged hauntings aboard the vessel, she doesn't tell them anything.
She doesn't tell them about a couple reporting a uniformed man admonishing one of them for wearing a hat below deck - then vanishing. She doesn't tell them about the sighting of a transparent individual sitting on machinery on the fifth deck, mouthing unintelligible words. And she doesn't tell them about the time two teenagers nearly injured themselves because they raced out of the ship after spotting someone appear from a mass of fog.
For Halloween, she's making an exception.
"I know something's here," said Whipple, who has worked at the Lexington Museum on the Bay since it arrived in Corpus Christi in 1992. "What it is, I don't know."
The end of October brings the usual - cooler weather, candy and homecoming games. But there's something else that occurs that final day before the full onslaught of Thanksgiving preparations - the chance to be something you're not; the chance to believe . . . you know . . . in ghosts.
With its rich history and interwoven tapestry of cultures, Corpus Christi has its share of haunts, some say. Most, like Whipple, take a spectator seat to specters, hearing and passing along stories. Others, such as the Corpus Christi Paranormal group, get a little more involved.
The group, started in 2000, investigates local businesses, old buildings and residences for supernatural activity. Armed with cameras and audio recorders, they try to document what they believe to be signs of ghosts. Group co-founder Beckie Smith said conducting paranormal investigations in the city can be a challenge.
"Corpus Christi is pretty quiet on the subject," said Smith, who recently teamed up with fellow resident ghost hunter Margaret Prescott and her group, Corpus Christi Spook Central. "We're hoping to change that."
Smith and Prescott urge those who sense a ghostly presence in their home to contact them at their Web site, http://www.ccspookcentral.com www.ccparanormalgroup.com, and they don't charge because, Smith said, "It's not something we're gonna get rich off of anyway."
Smith said the group has found signs of paranormal activity in area homes and buildings but the Lexington is not one of them. Whipple said people, except for boys and girls attending overnight field trips, aren't allowed to spend the night on the ship turned museum.
That doesn't mean nothing out of the ordinary has ever happened on the vessel.
Although mice and roaches make her skin crawl, Whipple said she has spent most of her life not really spooked by the thought of ghosts. Working on the Lexington has shaken her perspective. Whipple said the reported spirits apparently don't mean any harm, but she can't help feel for possible ex-military men that are not at rest.
And for the skeptics, Smith says: Loosen up, it's Halloween.
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