Haunted Hearts on The Haunted Majestic

A 90-minute Valentine's Weekend special paranormal investigation/ghost hunt aboard the historic Haunted Majestic World War II US Navy hospital barges. Groups will be limited to a maximum of 10 people per group and all tours will be accompanied by a guide to assist you during the paranormal investigation/ghost hunt for safety reasons. Two groups will be toured simultaneously beginning at 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Friday, February 14, 2025.

Want to add a little after-hours fun to your Valentine's Day weekend? Our Haunted Hearts Paranormal tour aboard Haunted Majestic. will allow for the perfect date night. Groups of not more than 10 people will roam the grounds and the barges in search of the paranormal during this one-night-only intimate event! Tours begin at 7 pm, 9 pm, and 11 p.m. and last approximately 90 minutes. Come armed with your ghost hunting gear as you and your tour guide venture across the Haunted Majestic grounds and through the Haunted Majestic barges in an attempt to find out who or what the creepy Ohio River property hides.

• 90-minute guided tour

Is the Haunted Majestic event A.D.A. compliant?
Unfortunately, no. The haunt is located on two floating barges moored on the Ohio River. The tour takes participants on a walk through two levels of these barges and several staircases must be traversed up and down during the tour. We will do all we can to accommodate physically challenged individuals and will assist as much as possible, but the tour is not accessible by wheelchair or recommended for those with severe disabilities.

The Haunted Majestic is a floating seasonal haunted attraction located on the Ohio River at Majestic Landing near Huntington, West Virginia. The attraction is comprised of a common two story structure that covers two inland river barges which are permanently moored side by side. The vessel has a haunted history which dates back more than a century.

Hospital Ship
(1942-1978)
The barges, originally named Davy Crockett and Mark Twain when constructed, were renamed at the onset of World War II when they were leased by the U.S. Navy to transport and treat injured soldiers during land invasions. The barges were moored side by side and a common two story hospital structure was built atop both barges. They were renamed the Douglas Lee (1924-2009) and the Eugene Morris (1919-1978), after active military veterans serving in World War II. Both men were from West Virginia, the home base of the Majestic Steamship Line which owned the barges.
During the war effort the floating structure was towed to the English Channel between England and France where it served as a military hospital ship serving Allied soldiers injured during the European Campaign. It is reported that more than 300 service men died on the vessel during its three-year war service, many of whom paranormal investigators believe may not have fully left the vessel after their deaths.

Following the war effort, the barges remained a single unit and were stored in a naval shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia. The barges also saw action as a hospital complex during the Korean and Vietnam wars as well, being towed abroad during both conflicts to serve the U.S. armed forces. The vessel earned the nickname “the ship of death” due to the astonishingly high number of soldiers who perished on board during the span of three foreign wars. The reported hauntings grew more common as time passed and after an official government inquiry into reports that the vessels were riddled with spirit activity the Navy terminated the lease and returned the barges to the Majestic Steamship Line in 1978.

Haunted Majestic
(2019-present)
In early 2019 the barges were bought by a new company ironically named the Majestic Steamboat Company and were moved back to West Virginia where they were moored and their future fate contemplated. This new company’s owners knew nothing of the barges’ haunted history, previous owners of an almost exact company name, or for whom the barges had been named.

After much research and consultation with paranormal investigators the owners pledged to preserve the vessel for those who “live” aboard and not use it for commercial purposes again. Soon, Haunted Majestic was born as the barges became permanently moored at the steamboat company’s home at Majestic Landing at river mile marker 300 on the Ohio River, seven miles northeast of Huntington, West Virginia.

As an eerie ending to the barges’ haunted history, the Majestic Steamboat Company is owned by a married couple and their daughter with no previous knowledge or connection to the vessel. The husband is the son of Douglas Lee and the wife is the daughter of Eugene Morris, the World War II veterans who did not know one another and for whom the vessels were named nearly 30 years before the current owners were born. The current owners’ daughter is granddaughter to both men for whom the barges are named and will serve as caretaker of the vessels into the future. The two men for whom the barges were named never served on the barges or knew of their existence during their lifetimes. Both died of natural causes in their home state of West Virginia many years after their military service.
Believing they were somehow “chosen” to care for the vessel’s future and preserve its past, the owners have decided Haunted Majestic will remain moored at Majestic Landing indefinitely where visitors can tour the vessel and meet those who will forever inhabit its’ hulls.
Go to www.hauntedmajestic.com to fill in the missing years