Haunted Queen Mary in Long Beach California

The Queen Mary is an Art Deco luxury ocean liner with a rich history. After 1001 transatlantic cruises, including leisure vacations and wartime duty, The Queen Mary has been permanently docked in Long Beach, California. The ocean liner is now a floating hotel. The ship is a hotbed of paranormal activity, with up to 150 spirits haunting the ship.

Ghost Stories

The Queen Mary is considered to be a haunted spot, with unexplained activity that has been reported and investigated for decades. There have been many ghostly sightings reported on the Art Deco liner.

The historic floating hotel is considered by some to be one of the most haunted places in the world. There are reported to be as many as 150 spirits on the ship. In the past 60 years, the Queen Mary has gone through the terrors of war and has been the site of at least 49 reported deaths. With this amount of trauma, it is not surprising that the ship could be haunted.

There have been sightings of former crew members and of previous guests. The first and second class swimming pools seem to be especially popular for the ghosts on the ship. Though the pools have been closed for decades, women have been seen wearing 1930’s style swimming suits and wandering the decks near the pool. There have also been reports of the sounds of splashing and wet footprints on the deck leading to the dressing rooms.

The Queen’s Salon once served as the first class lounge. A beautiful young woman has been seen in the Queen’s Salon in an elegant white evening gown dancing alone in the shadows.

A tall dark man in a 1930’s style suits has been seen in the first class staterooms. The man turns on the water and the lights in the middle of the night. Mysterious phone calls ring in the early morning hours…with no one on the other end of the line.

Paranormal researchers have investigated the “Hot Spots” of the Queen Mary. Researchers can usually capture some form of paranormal activity, including audible sounds, smells, temperature changes and visual activity.

History of the Queen Mary

The Queen Mary was a gigantic ship that was bigger, faster and more powerful that the Titanic. The 1,000 foot ship began when construction was started in 1930. The Depression delayed construction between 1931 and 1934, but the Queen Mary was finally completed. The great ship made her maiden voyage in 1936.

The Queen Mary ocean liner was host to many of the world’s rich and famous as they traveled across the Atlantic. High profile passengers included the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, David Niven, George and Ira Gershwin, Mary Pickford and Sir Winston Churchill. The grand ocean liner was considered by the upper class to be the only civilized way to travel.

World War II broke out in 1939 and luxury travel ceased immediately. The luxurious ocean liner was transformed into a troopship. The elegant Queen Mary became known as “The Grey Ghost.” By the end of World War II the ship had carried more that 800,000 troops and traveled more than 600,000 miles. “The Gray Ghost” played a significant role in almost every major Allied campaign. During her World War II career, the ocean liner participated in the D-Day Invasion, carried a record number of people and survived a collision at sea.

As the war closed, the ship transported over 22,000 war brides and children to the United States and Canada, in what was known as the “Bride and Baby Voyages.

After the war, the Queen Mary was refurbished and once again was an elegant ocean liner, with weekly services between New York, Cherbourg and Southampton. By the early 1960’s transatlantic cruises were falling out of fashion. Travelers were choosing air travel. The ship was used for some occasional cruises, but did not have the amenities of the more modern ships. In 1967 The Queen Mary was withdrawn from service.

After a maritime career of over 1,000 cruises the Queen Mary was sold to the City of Long Beach, California for $3.45 million. The Queen Mary was permanently docked and became a luxury floating hotel.

The Queen Mary is now a floating hotel with 365 staterooms spanning three decks. The luxurious ocean liner features restaurant including Sir Winston’s Restaurant, Chelsea Restaurant, The Promenade Cafe, The Observation Bar and Tibbies Cabaret. The Queen Mary is located in Long Beach, California.

Reference:

• www.queenmary.com