Historic Tampa flagship transforms into haunted zombie ship for Halloween

TAMPA, Fla. - The legendary American Victory Ship has transformed into a floating nightmare this Halloween, daring visitors to step aboard and navigate a terrifying Halloween experience in Tampa.

Undead in the Water

What we know:

Visitors face a fight for survival across multiple decks and darkened corridors as the attraction turns the historic vessel into a zombie-filled nightmare.

"It's a huge hit, people love to get scared," said Anthea Onufrak, vice president of operations.

Frightening ship experience

What they're saying:

Performers on board focus on delivering consistent, high-energy scares across every corridor for every group that enters.

"Our biggest goal is to make sure every night is not only cohesive and fun, but we can give every guest the same experience, or as close as we can," said actor Maddie Bickel. "It's scaring a person and making their friend watch them and have a good time. And then it's the scream, and then. Yeah, and it's always fun."

Historic vessel service

The backstory:

Beyond the theatrical scares sits an authentic maritime relic built for service during World War II.

"Welcome aboard Florida's recently named state flagship," said Bill Kuzmick, president and CEO of The Victory Ship. "We're pretty proud of that. So this is the American Victory. We won 534 that was built for World War II, one of three that remain. And it served in World War Two, Korea, Vietnam. And as I like to say, still serves today. We do a lot of training with active duty, reserve troops, police officers, firefighters, working dogs, you name it. We do lot here in the community, we're really proud of it."

Ghost hunters investigate

What we don't know:

Unexplained shadows and eerie sounds continue to fuel rumors about whether real spirits wander the decks alongside seasonal actors.

"We do get a lot of ghost hunters on board," Kuzmick said. "A lot of them say they found stuff. A lot of it happens in the same places all the time. I'll let you be the judge."

Upcoming ship celebrations

What's next:

The ship hosts multiple public community gatherings throughout the calendar year beyond its fall haunted events.

Organizers are preparing for Veterans Day events in November featuring historical education, ceremonial events and living history displays, Onufrak said.

"So coming up in November, we do have Veterans Day, which we'll be celebrating," Onufrak said. "We're hoping to have some World War II vets on board. We're gonna have a two-year-old bald eagle named Miss America. So, for educational purposes, you can come learn about and get photo ops with her. Hopefully some military vehicles on the dock, some pinups and some bettys, and then the Sea Cadets, some ceremonials throughout the day, the National Anthem at noon by some harmonica gentlemen who came from Bay Pines. So it's gonna be fun."

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Anthea Onufrak, vice president of operations, who detailed event operations and future schedules, as well as Bill Kuzmick, president and CEO of The Victory Ship, who provided historical and ghostly background, and actor Maddie Bickel.