Tales from the Hornet
— more to the story
Sometimes it is fun to read old logs. I have been even known to rewrite a log several years later because there was too much unsaid. It’s rare, but I’ve done it. Other times I think that if I were writing with foresight a log would have been much different. This is one of those times.
In 2015, I logged The Big Ships that focuses on the USS Hornet in Alameda, CA. I noted that there were claims that the ship was haunted and a local anti-hero said that it had been used in an interstellar conflict. A few years later we toured the ship. As it turned out, there was much more to say about both.
The Ghosts of the Hornet
The Hornet is said to be one of the most haunted sites that can be easily visited. We went on the ghost tour. We were aware of the ship’s reputation. One of the docents has stated that Hornet “is a safe haven for [the spirits]. And they’re still here, on the ship.” (KALW, “A Visit to the Haunted USS Hornet in Alameda.”) However, we still were expecting a standard tour embellished with stories of hauntings and the ship’s history. We got some of that, as well as something completely different.
Our tour was led by two veteran sailors who served during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and in the waters near Korea after the Pueblo was taken. One of them worked as a docent on the Hornet for over 20 years. They knew the ship inside and out and had several strange experiences. Both the “history and mystery” were fascinating and I returned with new respect for those who served. The main stars, though, were the spirits.
We were led to various areas of the ship, where we sat and talked among ourselves — but the guides also addressed the spirits and encouraged the tour group to do the same. We were told later that things were particularly active — even more so than with the other groups that night.
In response to questions, either mag lights or the K-II electrical frequency meter often reacted. One of the guides asked if it was the same spirit that had touched someone on another tour — immediately a light went on, with no one standing near it. The same thing happened when a second related question was asked.
When we visited the infirmary my wife learned that Mr. White had been young when he passed, but was content. She felt a particular chill in the burn unit, but even thinking about massive burns gives me the chills. On a lighter side, the spirits seem to have appreciated some of the jokes our guides told.
We put a flashlight on the shelves or tables when we came into a room to talk. One of guides asked the spirits to turn it off because things were a bit too bright. It turned off (after a couple of requests). When he thanked them, the light flashed. No one was within several feet of it. I was looking at it the whole time.
In a once-secret high security radio room, one of the guides tapped on the telegraph. We asked the spirits if there was any who had once sent messages there. One of the frequency meters made a pitched noise that sounded like Morse Code, quickly going on or off in patterns, again with no one nearby. I wish I had a recorded it to see if an expert could tell us if there was an actual message. We were told that the experience was very unusual and it was certainly the only time we heard it on the tour.
I am not certain what to make of the evening. An old friend used to tell amazing stories that defied my belief system. I enjoyed listening to them, I had no reason to doubt that I was being told what he experienced, but I did not have any need to believe or disbelieve him. They were in a separate category. I feel the same way about the ghost tour and don’t feel any need to construct an explanation from either a skeptical or paranormal perspective.
It might be possible to program certain effects into the lighting or meters but I did not see evidence of that. I don’t know how a simple mag light could be that responsive. But ghost stories are meant for things that stretch our imagination. At the end, I told one of the guides that we had enjoyed the tour. He said that is what it was about.
Major Richards and Other Ghosts
In 2021, Jo Ann Fawcett (Richards) wrote Midlife Magic, her story about how she had been married to Mark Richards and how here life had been changed through studying witchcraft. Mark was serving a life term without parole for a murder he masterminded in a plot to establish an Arthurian kingdom in Marin County. Several years later, he met Jo Ann and gradually revealed that he had been a Major in the Secret Space Program, where he saved earth on numerous occasions. That story is told elsewhere if you follow the link above, but for here it is the adventures on the Hornet that is important.
Jo Ann had visited the Hornet because she believed that both of the Richards had served aboard her, when it was used by Ellis as his command ship. She came with two of her psychic friends and they had a number of encounters. She felt cold spots on the ship and saw a ghostly presence that looked like plasma when she took a photo. The area near the infirmary was closed but they could sense a particularly malevolent presence. Mark later told her that there had been hand to hand combat with aliens and some of the wounded were treated there, although we are assured that the area has now been cleaned and visitors have nothing to fear.
Jo Ann also met Ellis there, Marks father, there. He apparently will help some in their transition to the spirit world but he is not haunting the ship and has visited Jo Ann in many places. If she talked with Ellis, however, he should have corrected the many errors in her narrative.
According to Mark, his father had served as head of Earth Security and used the Hornet as a command ship. That story exists only in Mark’s imagination. Marks entire history of being in the military was fabricated. Although his father served and ended his career as a Major, he had been severely injured in a plane crash in the 1950s. He was disabled and could not have possibly done the things that Mark ascribes to him. More importantly there is no record that after the ship was decommissioned it had ever been restored and moved from the rust fleet, where it remained until it was towed to Alameda.
Mark’s story is fascinating to me for both the true crime and the breadth of his imagination, but how does it affect the experiences on the Hornet? Certainly Jo Ann had a far different experience than most visitors to the ship. I have met her and do not doubt her sincerity, but how much do our thoughts affect our other worldly perceptions?
The docents who lead the tours state that skeptics see very little on them. Jo Ann talked with people who never existed, or who had far different lives than what she now believes. I tried to keep an open mind to whatever would happen. I have no idea how something might manifest itself according to our thoughts, yet that seems to be what happened. Are they trying to please? Or is there a trickster element that can do what it pleases.
All I know is that it is why factchecking is so important. If we are given information we know to be false, why would we trust anything beyond that. There is no reason to believe you know more just because you are dead. Still, when I was on the ship, I asked if Ellis was there. He wasn’t.
My Log
I found myself in the area and although I have been here caching before, the ship has a way of calling one back.
Perhaps an even better time to come here would be at night. According to Roadside America the *Hornet* has had hundreds of ghostly sightings, including one by a museum curator and those by several tourists. I don’t know why ghosts will come out at night, but how many ghost tours are held here at noon? Perhaps there are less distractions, or the night brings us closer to the unseen, the darkness puts us on a more on equal footing. Or it might simply be that it is a good time for imagination and stories.
In any event, if you come here then, don’t forget the EMF meter. It might guide you to more interesting things than a GPS can take you. You might see even see something besides ships. And if anyone asks what you are doing, ghost hunting is as good of a story as geocaching.
But ghosts are not the only lore of the ship. Captain Mark Richards once dreamed of an Arthurian Kingdom in Marin and was found guilty of murder when he convinced others to join the Pendragon Plot and kill one of his friends. Years later he claimed that he was actually part of the Secret Space Program. He states that his father, Ellis Richards, was head of earth security and used the *Hornet* as his command ship. The two fought aliens here and saved our planet any number of times.
One problem with his story is that there is no record of the ship being used after it was decommissioned — somebody would have noticed if workers made necessary repairs and the ship disappeared from its dock. Then, too, Richards credibility is otherwise in doubt for any number of reasons. Still, if you see any aliens sightseeing here, it would be good if you had chocolate to share. Mark says that they love chocolate.
Parts of this article first appeared in the website The Story of Mark Richards and its related blog.
