HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
One of two surviving WWII Landing Ship Tanks, a D-Day veteran that now hosts paranormal investigations on Muskegon Lake.
560 Mart Street, Muskegon, MI 49440
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Admission charged for museum access; see website for current pricing. Paranormal investigation events are separately ticketed.
Access
Limited Access
Ship interior involves steep staircases, narrow passageways, and hatches; not wheelchair accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1942 · WWII D-Day Veteran · Operation Husky (Sicily) · Normandy Invasion · Great Lakes Maritime History · Rare Surviving LST
The USS LST-393 was built at the Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Newport News, Virginia, launched December 2, 1942, and commissioned January 27, 1943. LST stood for Landing Ship Tank — flat-bottomed vessels designed to beach directly on enemy shores and discharge tanks, trucks, and troops through a bow door.
LST-393 served in the European Theater, participating in Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and in the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944 — D-Day. She made multiple runs to the beaches at Normandy delivering men and materiel. After the European war she transferred to the Pacific, participating in the occupation of Japan.
After decommissioning, LST-393 was sold and converted to a civilian Great Lakes ferry, operating as the City of Midland on Lake Michigan for several decades. By the late 1990s she faced scrapping. In 2000, a nonprofit preservation group purchased her, and after fundraising and restoration work, she opened as a museum ship in Muskegon in 2005.
She is one of only two surviving WWII LSTs open to public visitation in the United States. The Muskegon museum preserves the ship in her wartime configuration as closely as possible, with the tank deck, crew berthing, bridge, and engine room accessible. Board members and longtime volunteers report unexplained sounds and sightings aboard, consistent with the experiences documented in local paranormal investigation programs.
Sources
Paranormal reports from the LST-393 come from people with institutional familiarity with the ship — board members and regular volunteers who know its normal sounds and rhythms well enough to notice deviations. The reported phenomena are consistent: footsteps in passageways where no one is present, and shadowy figures seen in the berthing area and tank deck.
The Muskegon Channel television program 'Paranormal Muskegon' broadcast a segment on the LST-393 featuring Marie Cisneros conducting an investigation aboard the ship. The segment documented the layout of the alleged active areas and interviewed museum staff about their experiences. The Visit Muskegon tourism bureau includes the LST-393 in its coverage of haunted locations in the region.
The setting amplifies any anomaly: the tank deck is a vast, open metal cavern that carries sound unpredictably. The crew berthing area — narrow bunks stacked three high in compartments designed for maximum density — creates a psychological weight independent of any paranormal claim. Men who served and possibly died on ships like this one passed through these precise spaces. The museum makes no official paranormal claims but does host investigation events.
Media Appearances
Guided and self-guided tours of the LST-393, one of only two surviving Landing Ship Tanks from World War II. Visitors walk the tank deck — the cavernous interior that once carried Sherman tanks and trucks bound for enemy beaches — through the crew quarters, bridge, and engine room. Docents from the veteran community interpret the ship's service record, which includes the invasion of Sicily, Normandy, and operations in the Pacific.
The museum has hosted organized paranormal investigation events on the LST-393. The Muskegon Channel TV program 'Paranormal Muskegon' documented an on-board investigation with Marie Cisneros, covering the areas where board members and visitors have reported footsteps in empty hallways and shadowy figures. Events are announced through the museum's website and social media.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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