Real Haunted House
The Queen Mary
Long Beach Harbor, California
By Shannon Reinbold-Gee
Moored in Long Beach Harbor is one of the most haunted ships in the world. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 1,000 foot long ship’s construction started in 1930, and, being delayed by the Great Depression’s influence, could only take its maiden voyage in 1936. For three glorious years The Queen Mary was the star of the ocean liner industry, hosting people like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, the Gershwins and Sir Winston Churchill—just to name a few. The Queen Mary held the record for the quickest North Atlantic crossing in her hey-day, but with the outbreak of World War II in 1939, her luxury services were set aside and she became known as “The Grey Ghost,” a troop transport.
During the war she participated in almost every important Allied campaign, including the D-Day invasion. It was during this time in her amazing history that tragedy struck. In an attempt to dodge enemy ships, “The Grey Ghost” maneuvered right into one of her smaller companion ships, nearly cutting it in half. Under strict orders, she left the 300 survivors to a watery death. It is said you can still sometimes hear their screams and the pounding of their fists on her fore hull. As the war drew to a close, “The Grey Ghost” took part in the “Bride and Baby Voyages,” carrying more than 20,000 war brides and their babies to the US and Canada. In 1946 alone, The Grey Ghost made 13 voyages of this type.
In 1947 she was refurbished and renewed her job as a luxury liner, running weekly between England and New York. Later she took tourists into the Caribbean, but not being fitted with air-conditioning she was not very popular. In 1967 she was sold to the city of Long Beach, California to be used as a maritime museum and hotel.
Now she is frequently visited by curious tourists. It’s claimed that as many as 150 spirits roam the ship, with the ship herself being the site of nearly 50 deaths over the last 60 years.
The spots where most of the disturbances are located include the engine room, Door 13, the first and second-class pools, the women’s changing room, the first-class lounge, the third-class playroom, the Queen’s Salon and one particular cabin.
In The Queen Mary’s engine room and the boiler room, cameras go dead, batteries get drained and orbs show up in photos. Occasionally cameras simply “give up the ghost” refusing to operate normally until they’ve left the area. In Engine Room 2, people report feeling a sense of dread—perhaps because this was the spot many stowaways believed would be their safe-haven. Instead, when the engines roared to life many were burned. Door #13 in the belly of the boat has crushed two men to death, one a young seaman who lied about his age to get the job he so desperately wanted. People report seeing him, dressed in blue coveralls, hurrying down “Shaft Alley” towards the door before he disappears.
The old swimming pools are also the sites of frequent sightings. Visitors have reported women in wearing swimsuits from the 1930s walking the pool decks. Others have heard splashing or spotted fresh wet footprints. Near one of the pools people have even seen a little girl, sometimes clutching a teddy bear, and at other times calling for her mommy and dolly. Is this the ghost of the little girl, named Jackie, who drowned while the Queen Mary played ocean liner? Or is it the little girl—supposedly quite precocious and a child who enjoyed sliding down banisters—who went for a slide and got bucked off when the ship hit a huge swell, the child’s neck snapping as a result of sudden impact? Perhaps the two have even found each other and play together, as many report hearing childish laughter.
In the third-class children’s playroom a baby’s cries are sometimes heard. Those who know the ship best think it is the sound of the little boy who died there, shortly after his birth. Other ghosts occasionally are spotted in the playroom, too—perhaps parents picking their children up from what was essentially daycare, or maybe the caretakers themselves linger, watching for the children still aboard.
A strange vortex phenomenon has also been reported near the women’s changing room, supposedly the resulting negative force because of a woman being raped nearby.
In some first-class staterooms, a man wearing a 1930’s style suit has been seen and phones are known to ring without anyone on the other end. Faucets also turn on in the middle of the night as if someone is washing up after a late night enjoying themselves.
A beautiful young woman in a stylish evening gown can sometimes be spotted in the Queen’s Salon. Some claim she dances alone in a shadowy corner of the room.
But beyond the tragic deaths of children and military men, perhaps the darkest thing still clinging to the Queen Mary is the remnants of one mysterious man’s deeds. Once, a single male passenger checked in, and stowing his luggage, gave a steward some cash to see if he could find a willing female companion to share his cabin for the night. The steward was successful and dropped a woman off for the man. The pair retired for the evening. The next morning, when the steward realized his patron was not at breakfast, he went to see how things had gone. He knocked on the cabin door, but got no answer. Worried, he raced away to find his superior—a man who could open the door. When the door opened they were horrified to find the corpse of the willing woman, her blood spread round the room. They searched for the only suspect—the male passenger—but found no sign of him—no registration information, no luggage… There had not even been a passenger assigned to that cabin. To this day, the man’s identity and method of escape baffles everyone who hears the chilling tale of what happened when two people met for a sudden tryst.
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78 Comments |
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Becca says: |
October 19, 2010, 7:22 pm |
There is someone on youtube named Brittani Louise Taylor that went on the Queen Mary with her youtube friends Joe Nation and Shane Dawson. really cool vid. kinda creepy though
True says: |
October 29, 2010, 6:41 pm |
I stayed there overnight with my 3 children and I felt uneasy the entire time. I couldn’t sleep at all and I did not believe it was haunted until I saw a little boy in our room that didn’t belong to me. He looked about 4 or 5 and dressed like the olden days. He was standing in front of my bed just staring at me-I was so scared. After a little while he disappeared.
long beach local says: |
November 2, 2010, 11:12 pm |
Hey there, everyone. Just wanted to say that I love the Queen Mary. It’s historic and beautiful. I am a believer that there is something on the ‘other side.’ but I don’t really believe the Queen Mary is haunted. I’ve never experienced anything there.
Also, considering that they started the over-dramatic ghost tours and such when they started having decreasing attendance. Add the fact that someone tried to trick the Ghost Hunters into believing there was a ghost there. What really sucks is that the supposed ‘haunted’ sites of the ship are all closed off due to the stupid, fake tour.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you go to the Queen Mary, go out of interest for the beauty and history of the ship rather than the ghosts or else you’ll be disappointed. If you do get activity, at least than it’s just a bonus to seeing this wonderful ship.
SanDee says: |
November 29, 2010, 1:40 am |
Just got back from spending the night at the Queen Mary. There isn’t a time that something doesn’t occur when I visit the ship. This time it was the sound of keys into the door lock trying to open the my cabin door. It was around 3 am . I told my husband to wake up, someone is trying break in. He didn’t stir and I waited awhile looking at the door and then no more sound. I went back to sleep and when I woke up and I mentioned it to my husband and he reminded me that the hotel doesn’t use keys…they have cards. I definitely heard keys. Wow! We were located the floor below the main lobby where it is very quiet. I believe the ship is haunted. The time before that, I was on a tour in the engine room watching their movie overhead and someone kept tapping my shoulder. I thought it was my husband. When I turned around to say something..no one was near me. I was standing alone. I love the Queen Mary and will return just for the beauty of the ship.
bob says: |
December 4, 2010, 1:06 pm |
i live in a big old house in idaho and when you walk around you get bad vibes and sometimes you’ll hear sounds from the bathroom! i hate this creepy old house!
super mario says: |
January 26, 2011, 10:04 pm |
ive been to the quween mary and ive been on the ghosts and legends tour and there was nothing there was fake voices…
OC Resident says: |
April 2, 2011, 3:17 am |
I don’t care what anyone says, I know something’s amiss with the QM.
On 3 separate occasions strange things happened.
1. I went with a coworker after work for drinks at the Captain’s Lounge. It was when they had the Thomas Kinkade’s in the Picadilly Square and there was a vintage can of whale meat in one of the displays. My coworker had her camera and wanted to take a picture of me in the square. I walked to the door of one of the shops, which were all closed and stood in front of the door. She took my picture and we went to bar, had drinks, went home, and returned to work all business as usual until a week later when she got the film from her camera developed. She was white as a ghost when she showed it to me and I could tell by her voice that she was shaken. The photo was of me standing in front of the door on the QM and right next to me, looking at me was a little girl in a dress with a big hat. There was no such girl there, no one standing next to me when she took that picture. I should have been alone, but there she was and there was something grainy, cloudy about her appearance… like she was just slightly out of focus. It made the hair on my whole body stand on end.
2. I attended a convention aboard the QM as a vender representing the company I worked for and our tabletop display had overhead lights. When I arrived and got set up, I went to plug the light in… only there was no outlet and when I realized it I told my boss and he seemed confused by what I was saying because the lights on our display were on. Illuminated!!!! Without any electricity. How in the name of science is that possible???? I saw them too, and as I started to protest (“It’s not possible.”) the lights went out. It was baffling, absolutely baffling.
3. During one of the tours (not the ghost tour) I was in one of the cabins and more specifically in one of the original bathrooms. I was fascinated with all the dials on the bathtub and deducing what they’re function was, salt, fresh, hot, cold, and something else I could determine. Anyway the group was leaving and I was part of the group, so I started to leave and when I stepped just outside the bathroom door it sounded like the water came on and I spun around and partially blurted out “Oh” but stopped before saying “excuse me.” because there was someone there in the bath but it was like a flash there and gone just long enough to register and my initial reaction was to say excuse me. I had to convince myself that there wasn’t someone there and remind myself that I had just been in there ALONE so there couldn’t possibly have been someone else… but my eyes told a different story and it was hard to reconcile because I wasn’t even thinking about people or ghosts of people, just how the faucets worked. Weird.
IceMaiden says: |
May 28, 2011, 12:56 am |
The propeller room is haunted I felt this when I was a kid. While visiting the ship I had a very hard time breathing in certain parts. This ship is the home of many spirits & ghosts.
Xyla says: |
June 3, 2011, 5:34 pm |
Never been on Queen Mary before
Never believe if there’s actually a ghost on that ship
Never known it was quite frightening for viewers
But.. I don’t have fear in paranormal activities for some odd reason..
Janet says: |
July 17, 2011, 1:20 pm |
The queen mary is haunted !!!!! Big Deal. There are lots of places that are haunted ! Leave it alone, Go ahead and say it’s really scary and that there are shadows and noises ! Check out this site. It maybe help you.
ana says: |
August 24, 2011, 7:08 pm |
i herd that a little girl sings in the pool room its rrly scary
Nicole says: |
October 14, 2011, 11:37 pm |
I just have to say that those of you that think the Queen Mary is Not Haunted well it is, I work on the ship, and I have had my expereince’s on the queen mary…
bsr33 says: |
October 30, 2011, 3:49 am |
it’s not haunted, people hide and bang on pipes and they have speakers to play sounds.
steven sartain says: |
November 6, 2011, 10:55 pm |
My wife and I stayed a couple of years ago on the queen mary,and we booked a room on the fourth of july,we had a good time we saw danny bonaduce from partridge family,sitting on the deck next to us and chatted a little with him,he being from the valley,where I grew up,I now live in manteca in northern cawell after the show we had dinner and went to our room to bed down,about twenty minutes after turning out the lights,we heard very clearly some tapping on our porthole window,I got up and checked,and it stopped,and the funny thing is our room is starboard side facing long beach and is about eighty feet up,so we thought it was a little styrange,but we were not scared,it was cool.
Allie_2cute says: |
December 5, 2011, 10:58 pm |
Queen Mary is haunted. My boyfriend and I visit long beach last week, and thought it’s cool to check out Queen Mary. The ship is very interesting, until I went to the bathroom. I felt like a cold wind on my back, and someone whisper outside near the sink. I come out and no one was there. I got so sick afterward, and we rush home. That place is definitely haunted, and it ruined our trip.
Debbie Ramirez says: |
February 11, 2012, 4:09 am |
I believe the Queen Mary IS haunted. I went to a charity event there back in 1987, at which time I had no idea the ship was haunted.
During the event I visited the Ladies room and was immediately overwhelmed with a feeling of dread. It also seemed as though someone was in the room with me but in all actuality I was alone. I felt movement as though this “someone” was standing behind me or walking by. It freaked me out and I fled. Couldn’t wait to leave.
I dare say I’d rather not go back there.
Debbie Ramirez says: |
February 11, 2012, 4:17 am |
@bsr33: That is probably true, but this was not the case many years ago back when I visited. The news of the ship being haunted was not public at that point.
@Allie_2cute : My experience was just like yours, it really happened and I’ll never forget it.
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Linda Simonton says:
October 10, 2010, 6:07 pm
I don’t know if the ship is haunted or not. My family visited it many years ago. We didn’t have any strange occurences. My comment is more about the postings I’ve read today. People, your grammar, spelling, and writing in general are so terrible that I would have a difficult time believing anything you wrote. Take a little more pride in what you put your name to.