Chattanooga Pulse

It’s 7:56 p.m. on a misty Wednesday evening when my compatriot and I climb aboard the majestic Delta Queen riverboat. A recent addition to the Chattanooga riverfront, she’s a fine ship with antique furniture, a mighty steam boiler, a paddlewheel—and a mysterious past.

Having been a resident of Chattanooga since 1991, I’ve learned about the various hauntings in and around Chattanooga, particularly the forbidden room in the Sheraton Read House, but was intrigued that Chattanooga had welcomed another ghost guest to the population: Captain Mary Becker Greene.

Apparently we weren’t the only curious souls in search of the afterlife. A pair of intrepid brothers, along with their science teams and film crew, had made it their mission to discover the truth on board the Delta Queen. Brad and Barry Klinge helm a team of innovative paranormal investigators known as Everyday Paranormal, and their exploits can be followed on the Discovery Channel’s new show Ghost Lab, premiering Tuesday, October 6, at 10 p.m.

I sat down with Barry in a darkened parlor, surrounded by delicate electromagnetic sensors, infrared cameras and countless recording devices to determine what approach he would be taking in verifying the existence of the ghost of Captain Mary. “We take a scientific approach,” explains the stocky former Navy man in a black T-shirt, “We find out why it happened, when it happened, and how it happened.”

Barry and his younger brother Brad were intrigued by other paranormal investigators, but were perplexed by the lack of concrete evidence presented. “We tape a lot of the natural phenomena around us, and there are a lot of logical explanations to why ghosts happen,” explains Barry. “We talk to talk to people around the world, such as parapsychologists, electrical engineers, seismologists… we talk to a lot of people to try to correlate evidence.”

In this particular case, the ghost in question is Captain Mary Becker Greene, the ship’s first female captain, and perhaps the guardian angel of the aging paddleboat. The reports of her presence include sightings in rooms 106 and 109, as she resided in 106, but was moved to 109 shortly before her death. Twice she has been credited with saving the ship, once by notifying the captain of an onboard fire, and another when the Queen was taking on water.

It didn’t surprise me in the least that this old ship had stories to tell. Her wooden superstructure has a language all its own in the still of the night. Even docked alongside the peaceful Tennessee River, she still has a playful interaction with the waters rushing underneath. Without a single television or radio in any of the rooms, the Delta Queen is a snapshot of a simpler time.

The Ghost Lab, stationed under the Chief John Ross Bridge, stands in stark contrast to the old ship. The black trailer is packed with electronics, video conferencing gear, and a team of scrappy young investigators, representing the cutting edge in paranormal investigation. Dozens of sensors have been carefully positioned throughout the ship, and each of them feed into this central location.

Executive Producer Alan LaGrande paints a detailed picture of why the Delta Queen was selected, and why it is exactly that they’re looking for. “It’s obviously a beautiful place,” observes LaGrande. “It has that feel like The Shining on the river.” He explains that the Delta Queen needed to meet some very specific requirements before being selected for an investigation, in particular “a lot of sounds reported, a lot of apparitions on the boat.” In particular, the crew is listening out for “Electronic Voice Phenomena” or EVPs, which may be the ghosts attempting to speak to the living. “It may not be on a wavelength that we can hear with our ears, but sometimes voice recorders can pick up something we can’t hear,” he says.

LaGrande recognizes that there are already detractors in what he describes as a “closed” paranormal community; particularly as the Klinge brothers are more aggressive in their search. “They don’t wait for the ghosts, they try to say ‘Hey, come on, let’s do this!’

“It is pretty cool when you get an amazing EVP, or you see an apparition, or something moves, those are amazing things, and these guys have their moment of being excited,” explains LaGrande. “Immediately, they ask what could have caused that? The assumption is that it’s not paranormal.” This stands in contrast with other shows featuring paranormal investigators, as the Ghost Lab analyses dozens of scientific or logical explanations. “Only when they can’t come up with something, do they begin to entertain the idea that it might be paranormal.”

As the skies darken, and Chattanooga’s recent incessant rain hammers against the deck, it’s easy to image the Delta Queen as the residence of some wraith. Built in 1925, and launched in 1927, the Queen has seen service with the U.S. Navy as a troop transport, navigated dozens of America’s river systems countless times, and even made the treacherous journey through the Panama Canal on her way to the Mississippi River.

Speaking with the retired Captain Mike Wallace, I gain an insight on the ship. Sitting at the bar atop the Delta Queen, he shares the story of how he was startled awake by a whisper in his ear. Convinced it was a dream, he drifted back to sleep, but was awakened twice more before he decided to investigate. Searching the ship, he found only one of the ship’s 80 cabins locked: Room 109.

Additionally, he found something much more troubling. The Delta Queen was taking on water, and was in danger of sinking. Had he not been awakened, he might not have found the hole in time, and the Delta Queen could have sunk to the bottom of the Mississippi. Wallace credits Captain Mary as the voice whispering in his ear, as Room 109 was the room she had been moved to shortly before her death.

A 26-year veteran of the Delta Queen, her former captain explained to me that ghosts and age were lesser threats to the Queen than the United States Congress. “Our own government is responsible for partially destroying our inner water cruise fleet,” explains the passionate Williams. “We brought millions of people to the river towns.”

Having practically lived aboard the Delta Queen for all that time, Williams feels intimately connected to the ship. He knows a story for each and every aspect of her, all the way down to the Siamese ironwood flooring in the promenade. “I’ve seen about all of every river hundreds of times,” he remembers.

Williams has his own theory about the spirits aboard the Delta Queen. “Part of the ambiance from being built long ago still kind of exudes itself or extends itself from time to time,” explains Capt. Williams, “Whether it be from the boat creaking or shaking, or people saying occasionally saying they’re having spiritual experiences on board…ghosts floating around. There’s nothing sinister or evil, if there are any ghosts or anything.

“It’s just something that’s spiritual. Perhaps it’s all of the people who came on, and their voices echoing off the walls, and the tinkle of champagne glasses.”
Bunking down in one of the quaint little rooms aboard the Delta Queen, we can feel the history of the ship coursing through us. The intricate woodworking, the luxurious furniture, and the soft clap of the Tennessee River along the port hull can convince you that you’ve traveled back in time. It’s easy to imagine Captain Greene standing beside you as you watch the sun rise over Missionary Ridge, and prepare to set sail for adventure.