Over the years, the sightings of apparitions haunting Queen Mary Ship have increased to quite a number. The Queen Mary Ship, once a premium ocean liner that sailed the North Atlantic Ocean between the 1930s to the 1960s, is now a famous world tourist attraction, not just because of its ferrying history but also because of the paranormal guests that are supposed to be aboard and haunting it.
During World War II, the Queen Mary Ship ferried troops instead of catering to tourists, keeping in mind the topmost priority. The fastest ship of its era, reaching a size of up to 1000 feet long, the Queen Mary Ship plied its last voyage in 1967 and, after that, has been docked in Long Beach, California, as a permanent tourist attraction.
History
On May 27, 1936, the Queen Mary departed from Southampton, England embarking on her maiden voyage. She boasted five dining areas and lounges, two cocktail bars and swimming pools, a grand ballroom, a squash court and even a small hospital. The Queen Mary had set a new benchmark in transatlantic travel, which the rich and famous considered as the only civilized way to travel. She quickly seized the hearts and imaginations of the public on both sides of the Atlantic, representing the spirit of an era known for its elegance, class and style.
The ship carried some 2.2 million passengers in peacetime and 810,000 military personnel in the Second World War.
For three years after her maiden voyage, the Queen Mary was the grandest ocean liner in the world carrying Hollywood celebrities like Bob Hope and Clark Gable, royalty like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and dignitaries like Winston Churchill. During this time she even set a new speed record, which she held for 14 years.
As World War II started, the Queen Mary’s transformation into a troopship had begun. She was painted a camouflaged grey color and stripped of her luxurious amenities. Dubbed the “Grey Ghost” because of her stealth and stark color, the Queen Mary was the largest and fastest troopship to sail, capable of transporting as many as 16,000 troops at 30 knots. After the end of WWII, the Queen Mary began a 10-month retrofitting process, which would return the ship to her original glory. On July 21, 1947, the Queen Mary resumed regular passenger service across the Atlantic Ocean, and continued to do so for nearly two more decades.
The increasing popularity of air travel helped signal the end of an era for the Queen Mary. By 1965 the entire Cunard fleet was operating at a loss and they decided to retire and sell the legendary Queen Mary. On October 31, 1967, the Queen Mary departed on her final cruise, arriving in Long Beach, California, on December 9, 1967. She has called Southern California her home ever since.
Deaths
There have been 57 reported deaths on board the Queen Mary since the ship launched in 1936. The majority of these deaths were from natural causes, but others include accidental poisoning, accidentally crushed, man overboard, and skull fracture. Death records were not kept during world war two so in reality the true number is likely to be higher. At least 16 of these were crew members.
On July 10th, 1966 an 18-year-old crew member called J. Pedder was crushed to death by a watertight door. The mechanical door was located in the engine room and the ship was sailing across the Atlantic at the time.
The accident happened during a routine safety drill.
This area of the ship is claimed to be one of the most haunted placed on the ship, the mechanical door was removed when the Queen Mary was converted into a hotel.
At least 41 passengers died on board the Queen Mary, mostly of unknown reasons or natural causes.
In 1942 The Queen Mary Sank The HMS Curacoa Causing 300 Deaths.
The following deaths didn’t occur on board the Queen Mary but were caused by the Queen Mary.
At the time of the accident, the Queen Mary was carrying 10,000 troops and was sailing in a zigzag pattern to evade submarine attacks.
Both the Queen Mary and the HMS Curacoa thought that they had the right of way.
The Ghosts
There have been reports of over 150 ghosts in the Queen Mary Ship, and going by the regularity in the sightings of these paranormal beings, there seems to be a lot of truth in them. People seem to have experienced drastic temperature changes when they entered certain parts of the ship, such as near the second-class pool, the haunted stateroom, the shaft alley and the adjacent bathroom.
The stateroom is said to smell of cigars and perfume sometimes. Another weird phenomenon is the creaking of doors, knocks, sudden squeals, laughter, sounds of people talking, whistling in an empty room etc.
A sighting of a crewman in blue coveralls whose face is bearded is a regular apparition. This ghost’s appearance refers to a well-known incident in the Queen Mary Ship where a fireman was killed by getting crushed underneath a watertight door during a regular fire drill. This apparition is of the same crew member who was killed and now haunts the doorway which was responsible for his death in the first place.
The appearance of wet footprints on the floor near the first class swimming pool when no swimming activity can be possible in the first place is also a spooky happening that tourists have mentioned quite often. Apart from these two events, children crying and laughing in the third class playroom nursery and the sighting of a little girl who drowned in the second class swimming pool have also been reported.
It is said that the ghost of an engineer who died in the engine room, a woman wearing white clothes and children near the first class pool are also seen by visitors. Hence, Time Magazine voted the Queen Mary as one of the most haunted places in America.
Queen Mary Today
Now permanently stationed in Long Beach, CA, the Queen Mary is not just a floating museum—the ship also offers top-notch dining, dazzling city skyline views, overnight accommodations in original first-class staterooms, and a full calendar of performances and events.
The ship’s current owner purchased her for $3.45 million back in 1967.