Free Kentucky Hauntings by Roberta Simpson Brown

Charles and Tina Mattingly, purchased the building and tightened security, it was like a “rite of passage” for boys to prove their courage by sneaking into the building and exploring alone. Some boys had heard that a homeless man and his dog had wandered into Waverly and died there. Their ghosts were said to roam the halls. The boys didn't know whether to believe the story or not, so they sneaked inside to try to find out for themselves. They were soon to wish that they had stayed outside.
    They were about halfway down the hall when they heard a low growl of what sounded like a dog in the area where the old elevator shaft had been. It had been closed off after the homeless man and his dog had supposedly fallen to their death down the shaft. No electricity was on in the building, so the boys couldn't see the dog. Suddenly the empty elevator shaft lit up, and they heard the dog again. The growling seemed to be very near.
    The boys ran as fast as they could, but the dog seemed to be gaining on them. They reached the outside door, thinking the dog was sure to leap at them. It did not follow them through the door, though. They fell to the ground to catch their breath, but all was silent behind them, like nothing had ever been there at all.
Steamboat Ghosts
    We have heard steamboat stories from crew members and read them in articles we found online. We experienced some paranormal happenings ourselves.
    Steamboats have a certain romantic, haunting appeal in our history. Though the Delta Queen was not Louisville's own, Louisville citizens have always felt a special connection to this wonderful old boat because of the former annual steamboat races between the Delta Queen and the Belle of Louisville.
    The Great Steamboat Race was a yearly event that took place the Wednesday before the first Saturday in May, three days before the Kentucky Derby. It started in 1963 and continued each year through 2008. The race started underneath the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge, continued to Six Mile Island, and then returned to the bridge, covering a distance of fourteen miles. Other vessels joined the competition occasionally, but the races through the years were mainly between the Belle of Louisville and the Delta Queen. They battled for the prize of the Golden Antlers, which passed fairly evenly back and forth between the two boats.
    People booked passage on the boats to take part in the race, and people lined the banks of the Ohio River every year until the Delta Queen was retired as a competitor and turned into a dry-dock hotel in 2009. Some believed that, in addition to the usual live passengers on board, there was a ghostly passenger as well , Delta Queen captain Mary Green.
    Captain Mary Green was one of the nation's first female riverboat pilots. She died in her cabin on the Delta Queen in 1949. During her life on the Delta Queen , she did not believe in the sale of alcohol and refused to allow it to be served on the boat. After her death, a saloon was established on board. Immediately after the first drink was served, a barge bearing Captain Green's name rammed the Delta Queen and destroyed the bar. Was it coincidence? Maybe, but, if so, it was a very odd one.
    There have been many sightings of Captain Mary on deck, but perhaps the most dramatic account that river lore gives us was told by retired captain Mike Williams. In 1984, Captain Williams was sleeping in his bunk on the Delta Queen when he woke up to a whisper in his ear. He could feel someone's breath, but there was no one there. He ignored it at first, but after it happened twice more, he got up to check. He found nobody there, but he did find water flowing into the lower level of the steamboat. A hole big enough to sink the boat was found and repaired. He believes that he was warned by the ghost of Captain Mary Green, a kind and watchful spirit that still lurks on deck looking out for her boat. If not for this warning, Captain Williams might not have awakened in time