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As October nights settle in over the harbor and fog drifts across Canal Park, the William A. Irvin once again comes to life.
For 30 years, the retired ore boat has been reborn each fall as the Duluth Haunted Ship, a floating maze of gory sets, hidden corners and actors eager to make thousands of visitors scream.
The tradition began in 1992 as a creative partnership between the University of Minnesota Duluth’s drama department and the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Students helped transform the 700-foot vessel into a haunted labyrinth, and the crowds quickly followed.
By the mid-1990s, lines wrapped for blocks around the slip as people waited hours to board. Even during the interruptions — the ship’s repair work between 2017 and 2019, and the pandemic pause in 2020 — the attraction never lost its hold.
Last year, Forbes Media “secret shopped” the event and named it one of the Seven World’s Scariest Haunted Houses. For longtime organizers, the recognition confirmed what locals already knew: the Irvin is no ordinary Halloween gimmick.
And for some, the chills don’t need to be staged. Stories linger of “Boiler Room Man,” the spirit of sailor William Wuori, who died in a 1964 boiler explosion aboard the ship. His ghost, some say, still roams the vessel’s narrow passageways.
This fall, the Haunted Ship celebrates its 30th anniversary by doubling down on scares inside and adding a new kind of festival outside. The opening weekend will coincide with the launch of Gourd Days, a family-friendly harvest market along Harbor Drive.
“To sum up Gourd Days, think of Duluth Winter Village but pumpkin spice scented,” said Lucie Amundsen, communications manager for the DECC. “It will make the first weekend of October an excellent choice for attending the Haunted Ship if there’s someone in your group who prefers the sweeter side of fall over sinister.”
Amundsen noted that the first weekend has traditionally been the slowest at the Haunted Ship.
“That creates a richer experience for those who walk through it,” she said, adding that the pairing of cozy festival and fright-filled ship makes for what organizers are billing as “the best date of the season.”
Gourd Days, which runs Oct. 3-5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will fill the harborfront with vendor cabins, fall food and drinks, seasonal shopping, a pumpkin bouncy house and even a lakefront twist on the hayride, courtesy of the Vista Fleet. Admission is free.
Inside the Irvin, the spectacle remains a major production. It takes 50 actors each night — all trained in “Scare School” — plus professional makeup sessions, gallons of fake blood, fog machines and elaborate set designs informed by conventions around the country.
The walk-through lasts 30 to 45 minutes, though not everyone makes it to the end. Last year, 111 people quit midway, and 37 admitted to peeing their pants.
The anniversary year also brings new features. A VIP option allows guests to watch others go through the ship and remotely trigger scares. Along Harbor Drive, visitors will find bonfires, bistro lights, food trucks and seasonal beverages to extend the atmosphere beyond the ship itself.
The Haunted Ship opens Friday, Oct. 3, and runs Thursdays through Saturdays for the month, plus MEA Wednesday. General admission is $25, with discount days ($20) on the first weekend and every Thursday, including Halloween. Fast Pass tickets are $35, VIP tickets are $75, and college students with a valid ID can get in for $10 at the box office. Tickets are available at DuluthHauntedShip.com.
Organizers caution that the event isn’t suitable for everyone. No child under 12 is admitted without a parent or guardian. The historic ship is not handicap accessible, and special effects such as strobe lights may trigger health conditions.
Still, for more than 20,000 people each year, the attraction remains irresistible — a once-a-year ritual that pairs the eerie isolation of Lake Superior with the thrill of actors jumping from the shadows.
On its 30th anniversary, the Haunted Ship stands as both a Duluth tradition and a reminder that some ghosts, whether imagined or real, never leave the harbor.
