The Unlikely Story of How the William A. Irvin Saved Itself with Screams Posted on October 16, 2025October 20, 2025 by Lucie [Note: Poster above features dates from 1992. The image was designed by Carol Snoeyenbos (formerly Carol Lilyquist) when she was a graphic designer at ProPrint.] There’s a vintage poster with a black streak at the bottom and the wrong phone number—a fitting symbol for how this whole adventure began: imperfect, a little chaotic, and destined to become something nobody expected. Paul Novitzke worked summers on the Vista Fleet during his time at UMD, captaining harbor tours for the Goldfine family. Then one day, Bob Hom and Dan Russell, DECC executives, came aboard in their suits with an unusual proposition: Would he take over running the William A. Irvin? They had big ambitions. They wanted Novitzke to spice up the tours and turn the Irvin into something that actually made money. October was brutal—the Irvin was losing $1,000 for the month. The Call That Changed Everything The ship had an alarm service to the police, which mostly meant getting late-night calls about break-ins. Usually, it was just people climbing the ropes, but walking through that massive ship alone at night was terrifying. The cold air made everything creak and groan. The sounds echoed through the empty corridors in ways that made your imagination run wild. That’s when Novitzke had his breakthrough moment: Man, this would make a great haunted house. Creating the Haunt He went to the DECC with the idea. They decided to get UMD involved turning it into a community event. The result? 20,000 visitors in 8 days. The line wrapped around Canal Park, requiring porta-potties for the crowds. Actors were inserted into the line to entertain guests as they waited. People kept saying it was worth the wait. The Twin Cities media picked it up. Tourism exploded. Behind the Scenes The details made it unforgettable. They brought in an Irish wolfhound as part of the atmosphere. There was food displayed with rats in plexiglass boxes—unsettling in all the right ways. Sketch by Arden Weaver @1992 The Creative Team John Berry and Arden Weaver, UMD professors, visited the boat in early January to scout locations. It was freezing. Weaver remarked, “I wore dress shoes; I thought my feet were going to fall off.” But the cold didn’t stop the vision. The entire theater department threw themselves into the project—actors, directors, designers, costuming, and makeup teams all contributed. “It was an incredible space, and fun for me to come up with different ideas,” recalled Arden Weaver, who worked on the production. “The kitchen and various areas through the entire boat worked out very well.” Berry brought incredible attention to detail. He sourced pig brains and pig eyeballs because “they look so human—they even have eyelashes,” Weaver explained. “The goal was to show people something bizarre enough to make them genuinely uneasy.” Barry worked on set the design for 5-6 years until UMD work obligations got to be too much. Berry installed large cemetery stones with dramatic lighting and fog effects. He used fabric draped throughout the ship’s corridors, shooting arrows or slingshots to run cords, then pulling ropes to get the fabric positioned just right. The Spaces That Scared The entire boat became a canvas. The kitchen worked perfectly for horror. Various areas throughout the ship offered unique opportunities for scares.In the dining area, they had actors stand with their backs to the door, motionless and silent—an unnerving presence that played on people’s expectations. In the cabin set, they stationed a little old lady in a rocking chair. Simple, but effective. The Legacy What started as Paul Novitzke’s attempt to keep a museum ship afloat became something much bigger—a beloved community tradition that brought together students, professors, artists, and tens of thousands of visitors. The William A. Irvin didn’t just survive. It thrived, transformed by the very thing that made it scary in the first place: those dark corridors, those creaking halls, that cold air that made everything groan. The Duluth Haunted Ship marks its 30th haunt this Halloween season, since it had to be canceled in 2018 for seawall repairs, in 2019 for ship restoration, and 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: Dress in Layers — you may be in line for a bit, or you could purchase a FAST PASS Wear Sturdy Shoes — it’s a historic freighter and not the place for stilettos Come on a Thursday — it’s less busy, making for more intense scares! Plus it’s a discount day ツ Open: Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through October, including Halloween The More the Scarier — Come with your crew, just like in every horror movie! Pair with a Movie — Spearking of ..there are some horror/thriller films playing at our neighbor Marcus theater that could really cap off your night, and hey, you’ve already parked ツ Wanna be a Scare Actor? — Come to the Ship Gift Shop two hours before opening and you’ll be assigned a lead actor!
