On Halloween night 1967, she made her very last departure to her final resting place in Long Beach, but some passengers never left. She was formerly known as the Grey Ghost during her service in WWII, but today we know her as The Queen Mary. But did you know she is rumored to harbor as many as 150 spirits, making it one of the most haunted places in the world?
The Queen Mary sets a romantic backdrop in Long Beach with her exterior, but it's in the depths of her interior that paint a much darker picture. One of the most haunted areas on the ship are the large indoor swimming pools. In their glory days, they served passengers who wanted to take a luxurious dip. However, some dove in and never resurfaced -- at least in their human form. There are tragic accounts of multiple children drowning in the luxury liner's pools many years ago, and it is said their spirits still make themselves known today.
Image via Pinterest
The ghosts often make their presence known to those who go searching for them under the cloak of dark on the Paranormal Investigations tour led by founder of the ParaXplorer Project, Matthew Schulz. The tour takes you through areas of the ship with high paranormal activity -- like the pool and the boiler room. It's in these areas where guests have actually been able to talk to the spirits. While leading a late night tour, the ship's paranormal ambassador Erika Frost calls out to a resident spirit named Jackie. Jackie is rumored to be a six-year-old who drowned in the pool, and can often be heard giggling or calling out "Mommy" and "Daddy" by tour guests. On this particular night, Frost asks Jackie if she would like to play a game of tag with the group. There is a chilling whisper that replies, "No dear, I don't." Take a listen for yourself on the paraxplorer evidence page. This recording was taken in the women's swimming pool changing room, which has also been rumored to be the sight of a rape and murder of a young woman in the 1930s -- but this account has never been proven. However, it has been said that a woman in a 1930s fashioned bathing suit has been seen walking around the pool before vanishing into thin air.
Another point of interest is the boiler room where the remains of fireman John Pedder were found. Pedder, sometimes also called John Henry, was rumored to have been crushed by one of the watertight doors. He has been seen peering at people through a hole in the ceiling of the boiler room. Many have often heard disembodied voices in this room, which you can listen to on paraxplorer project submissions.
Workers in the boiler room (image via Queen Mary Cruises)
Although I have never been on one of the offered tours, I've visited the Queen Mary and had my own experiences with the paranormal there. About four years ago, I was on the ship with my former boyfriend's band, who was playing a show on-board that night. When I told a couple of the guys this was my first time on the ship they were surprised, and one offered to show me around since they had worked on the ship before. As security guards, they worked graveyard shifts patrolling the shadowy decks and depths of the ship, which is where they not only heard but also saw ghosts. I wanted to know more, but they even felt spooked to tell me the details -- they were adamant that it was haunted. We took a walk through the engine room, and though it was cramped and dim, I wasn't spooked -- at first. The deeper in we got, the heavier my chest began to feel, and my breath became tight and strained. I had felt enough and got out of there.
The Queen Mary's engine room (image via flickr)
I didn't return until last December, when I decided to explore the hallways of the hotel. The elevator just so happened to be out of order, so I took the long stairway down. The hallways were narrow and empty -- or so I thought. There wasn't enough room for two people to walk comfortably side by side down the corridor, so I glanced behind me because I thought I heard fast footsteps behind me -- but there was no one there. I felt like I was being watched and followed all the way up the stairs, until I reached the lobby shaken up. It may not have been a voice or an apparition, but I didn't want to stay long enough for one to come along.
You've heard my story, and there are plenty more legends and paranormal sightings strewn over the web, but the best way to find out more about these ghost stories is to go on a tour yourself. If you're brave, or some might say foolish, enough to dip your feet into the haunted cruise liner, you're in luck, because the Queen Mary offers several different night time tours. You can find out more and book a tour on their website. There is even one called Dining with the Spirits that includes a three-course dinner at their award winning restaurant and lounge, which is guaranteed to bring the spirits to you, even if it's in the form of a glass of wine.
Would you embark on a paranormal investigation on board the Grey Ghost?
