Hometown Ghost Stories contains serious and often distressing events and is not intended for all audiences.

Listener discretion is advised.

This week on hometown ghost stories, the USS Salem, docked in Quincy, Massachusetts, was only active for about 10 years and never saw any combat.

So how is it earned the reputation of being one of the most haunted ghost ships in the country?

We explore the history of the ship and the unusually high amount of death that occurred in and around the sea witch.

This is episode number 32 of hometown ghost stories.

The ghost ship USS Salem, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Music June 15th, 2013, U.S. Salem, Salem, Quincy, Massachusetts.

11.30 p.m.

Aaron had just finished breaking down the snack bar after a night of ghost tours. Massachusetts. 11.30 p.m.

Aaron had just finished breaking down the snack bar after a night of ghost tours.

The ship was supposedly haunted, but Aaron, being a pragmatist, wasn't particularly bothered by this.

She shut the lights off and picked up a stack of trays to bring down to the storage area

to be used the following week.

She was used to the narrow hallways and had no problem navigating them, even in the dark.

As she descended to the ship's lowest level, a pungent smell hit her nose, causing her to audibly gag.

It smelled like a dead animal, and she assumed it was.

Rats were known to dwell on that lower level, and the crew would

occasionally find their remains. She flipped the light switch on and continued down the hall

towards the storage area just beyond the butter room. Despite her pragmatism and disbelief in all

things paranormal, it would give her an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.

As she got closer to it, the rotten smell transformed into more of a combination of rot and burning hair.

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