Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Ghosts of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California

haunted cruise ship

When the ship was retired in 1967, three third class rooms were combined with to create a larger hotel room — B340. The Curacao was zig-zagging in front of the Mary, hoping to throw off any potential missile attacks, when the 82,000-ton ship mistakenly plowed into it, breaking it in half. Others drowned or succumbed to hypothermia in the freezing water. This show was originally produced as a Halloween special for NPR Los Angeles area affiliate KLON and Central Coast NPR affiliate KCBX, airing October 31st, 1989.

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In October of 1942, the famed ship accidentally collided with the HMS Curacao, a much smaller cruiser that was escorting her around the Irish coast. Britain believed her size and speed would keep her safe from German U-Boats, and they were right. It’s rumored that Adolf Hitler offered a $250,000 reward to any submarine captain who could successfully sink her.

Haunted Locations around the Queen Mary

Many of the people who’ve been aboard it have claimed to see the ghost of deceased officer William Eric Stark. As the story goes, Stark stole a bottle of gin one night to liven up his watch. But when he started to drink it, he realised it wasn’t gin; it was a powerful cleaning fluid called ‘tetrachloride’. I just came back from a trip to California, and we did actually did the Haunted Encounters tours on the RMS Queen Mary. My daughter (who is 24 years old) felt like the back of her hair was tugged at a little bit in the engine room before we even started the tour. I took many pictures in the same spots (where our guide told us there had been apparitions-I need to take a closer look at my pictures).

haunted cruise ship

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This freaked both of them out, as the remote was sitting on the bed untouched. This hatch door is known as Shaft Alley, and it was the site of a gruesome accident that saw a crewman crushed to death. As the employees started to call security, the guest faded into thin air right in front of them — a feat all three women reported seeing at the same time. The room was closed to guests for many years, but it has since reopened for anyone looking for an evening of creepy fun.

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Some even claim spying a shadowy figure hanging out in the location, or a mysterious face peering down at them from a hole in the ceiling. One of the full-bodied apparitions that famously haunts the ship is The Woman by the Pool. He then shot his remaining daughter in the bathroom, and took his own life. Many believe that daughter is Dana, who continues to haunt the ship to this day.

One example of a haunted luxury cruise destination is the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Known for its voodoo culture and rich history, New Orleans is a hotbed for paranormal activity. Visitors can take a haunted cruise along the Mississippi River, where they might catch a glimpse of the infamous ghost ship, the SS American Queen.

It would sure be an experience to run into one of these spectral beings on a cruise. Since reopening in April 2018, Room B340 (now part of a two-room suite) comes complete with Ouija boards, tarot cards, and a crystal ball. Or see the ship up close if you’re taking a Carnival cruise from Los Angeles! The Queen Mary‘s mooring is adjacent to Carnival’s Long Beach cruise terminal.

The theatre was completely empty so they took a seat towards the back. In the years since, guests have reported hearing someone knocking on the door in the middle of the night and seeing bathroom lights mysteriously turn on. Even the hotel's maids have made reports — of bathroom water running when no one had stayed in the room for days, and, on one occasion, of bed covers being pulled off right after the bed had been made. When ghost hunting on a luxury cruise, it’s important to keep an open mind and be respectful of the spirits you may encounter. Remember to ask permission before entering any potentially haunted areas and to always follow the instructions of the cruise staff.

Wine Enthusiast Tour

On that May morning, the Queen Mary was still innocent and hopeful. With the exception of a few modern updates, the Mary still looks like she did in her heyday — grand and glamorous. It’s known as the “ship of woods” due to the impressive number of mixed woods used in its construction. Other haunted areas include the former First Class Swimming Pool, Boiler Room #4, and the doorway where John Pedder was tragically crushed during an emergency drill. The Mary never stopped to rescue them, as it would have compromised the thousands of soldiers on board, and an estimated 329 men died as a result. The truth of what happened was sealed until the war ended — three years later.

Perhaps it's Al Capone, who received special permission in his twilight years to practice his banjo. Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, these ghost stories are sure to add another layer of intrigue to your pre-cruise planning. Time your visit right, and you can book a ghost tour to go looking for paranormal portside activity... This now-abandoned onboard pool was once the epitome of luxury with an illuminated fountain, a mother-of-pearl ceiling, and elaborate mosaic tiles. The pool is no longer in use because of California code issues, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the hotbeds of paranormal activity on the ship.

The luxury liner RMS Queen Mary sailed the seas from 1936 until she retired to Long Beach California in the fall of 1967 as a permanently berthed attraction. I'm your trusted confidante, your travel bestie, the one who whispers secrets about hidden luxury destinations. When World War II broke out, the Queen Mary was recruited because of its power and speed to transport Allied troops to war zones. Other phenomena throughout the ship are the sounds of distinct knocks, doors slamming and high-pitched squeals, drastic temperature changes, and the aromas of smells long past.

Queen Mary features a hotel, a shopping arcade, and three restaurants. More good news arrived in late September 2022, when Long Beach announced a five-year partnership with a hospitality group to reopen and operate the ship’s hotel and attractions. The deal includes $1.5 M in funding from the city, so Queen Mary fans are hopeful. Although the area was later transformed into a dressing room for performers at the Boiler Room Stage, visitors to the former boiler room sometimes hear unexplained tapping and clanging on the wall.

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One woman said she was woken when the bedcovers were ripped off of her in the middle of the night. Others heard phantom voices and complained that the faucets turned on by themselves. Long ago correspondent Tom Wilmer spent time on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. He arrived on the heels of Queen Mary’s management lifting the gag order, forbidding any employee from mentioning ghosts and ghostly encounters. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, embracing the thrill of the unknown and sharing ghostly encounters with fellow passengers can be a truly memorable and unforgettable experience.

In the area of this heavy door in the Engine Room, we got some very creepy feelings,Kathy Alexander. Resting in Long Beach Harbor is the RMS Queen Mary, a colossal ship that was bigger, faster, and more powerful than the Titanic. The 1,000-foot ship began her life when the first keel plate was laid in 1930 at the John Brown shipyard in Clyde, Scotland.

Later, in 1966, a woman staying in the room reported that she was woken up when the bed covers were pulled off of her and she saw a man standing at the foot of her bed. She screamed and rang for the steward, but the man apparently vanished into thin air. But of all the twelve decks on the ship, B deck seems to have the most reports of paranormal activity. Jackie’s ghost reportedly is also the source of splashing and giggling sounds coming from the first-class pool.

The old, dark places you'll visit are spooky in their own right – whether you believe in ghosts or not. The Queen Mary’s engine room is located 50 feet below water level, which is said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. Used in the filming of the Poseidon Adventure, the room’s infamous “Door 13” crushed at least two men to death at different points during the ship’s history. During a routine watertight door drill in 1966, the most recent death crushed an 18-year-old crew member.

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