Our 5-Night Stay Aboard the World’s Most Haunted Ship—The Queen Mary Part 2
A Look Back At One of Our Top 10 Most Memorable Family Vacations — Part 2
by Kim Hansen, Co-Founder and Artist, JK Hansen Studios
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The Queen Mary — Part 2!
We spent a total of five nights aboard the historic floating hotel and maritime museum—the Queen Mary—the world’s most haunted ship! If you missed Part 1 of our adventure and want to catch up click here.
Our first day aboard the Queen Mary was one our favorites. After we checked in to our stateroom and unpacked, we spent the rest of the day shopping and exploring on and off the ship.
One of the souvenirs we purchased was a book titled QUEEN MARY GHOSTS by Robert & Anne Wlodarski. It wasn’t until we skimmed through the book we learned our stateroom was one of the many first-class staterooms with a tale of its own paranormal activity. Rooms with their own stories include B403, A123, B511, B462, A162, M155, M127, M220, M140, B409, M202, M147, M029, A110, A138, A135 —AND OUR ROOM B401! Ah ha! That explains why the hair on the back of my neck stood up when we first entered the room. Guests have reported sinks and lights turning themselves on and off. Some people claim to hear footsteps and heavy breathing near them. Others claim to have felt unseen forces pull bed sheets off them while they laid in bed.
We were looking forward to nightfall because tonight the Queen Mary was offering to its overnight guests a self-guided ghost tour—which meant we were free to roam the ship alone and explore the deepest, darkest, and most haunted innards of the Queen Mary—with the exception of the ‘RESTRICTED’ areas. Just the words ‘self-guided’ made us giggle nervously with anticipation.
After conducting our research, we were well aware that several strange phenomenons and paranormal activity aboard the ship had been reported throughout the years which included apparitions, sounds of knocking, doors being slammed, high pitched squeals, lights flickering, drastic temperature changes, and aromas of smells long since past — which only fueled our excitement for our self-guided ghost-hunting tour!
John and Destiny Leading the Way!
Isolation Ward!
We started our self-guided ghost tour by heading down to the Isolation Ward. Just the thought of descending the darkened stairwell and seeing the sign above our heads ‘ISOLATION WARD’ filled us with excitement and anticipation of what must lie ahead of us.
The halls were lined with placards describing how the Queen Mary dealt with sicknesses and deaths aboard the ship.
ISOLATION WARDS ~ “International quarantine regulations required that every passenger and crew member had to pass strict medical examinations and receive the necessary inoculations before they were cleared to travel.
These regulations were designed to prevent the spread of such dreaded diseases as smallpox, typhoid, and influenza.”
The isolation wards were located in the after-end of the ship, away from everyone else, and were designed to care for passengers or crew who were diagnosed with a contagious disease. The isolation wards consisted of a male and female ward, each with five beds, a full bath, and an attached cabin for two nursing attendants. In some cases, the isolation wards served as a make-shift prison.
Death at Sea
Occasionally, the Queen Mary’s medical officer was called upon to perform the unpleasant duty of confirming the death of a passenger or crew member.
The Queen Mary began her maiden voyage in 1936 and for the next three years, the luxurious ocean liner hosted the world’s rich and famous across the Atlantic. It has been reported she was the site of at least 41 passenger deaths and 16 crew members deaths.
In 1939, World War II broke out. Luxury travel immediately ceased and the Queen Mary was retrofitted to serve as a troopship and was dubbed the “Grey Ghost.” It carried 810,000 military personnel from 1939-1946. The number of soldiers and POWs who died on board the
Names with an * were buried at sea
Embalming
Well — the tour was certainly becoming more interesting! My stomach became queasy when I saw these original embalming tools. I was overcome with emotion and a sense of sadness while reading all the names of the passengers and crew members who died on board the ship. 41 reported passenger deaths and 16 crew member deaths — not to mention the terrors of World War II and the soldiers and POWs who died on board — it’s no surprise spirits of her vivid past continue to walk amongst the living on board the Queen Mary.
The embalming kit shown above was part of the Queen Mary’s medical equipment during the earlier years of her service. These instruments and tools were used by the ship’s medical staff to prepare a cadaver (corpse) while still at sea.
Records in the ship’s archives do not contain results of autopsies or inquests.
Burial at Sea
Burials at sea might also be cremated remains of those whose last wishes were to be committed to the deep. Before booking passages, relatives and friends of the deceased were required to get the Captain’s permission for
Three of the Queen Mary’s former captains were buried at sea. The ashes of Captain Donald Sorrell on July 13, 1958, Captain Andrew MacKellar on September 12, 1959, and Commodore Cyril Illingworth on October 29, 1959.
Joseph Maguire, a former medical officer of the Queen Mary, described a typical crew burial at sea as follows:
“Next morning we committed him to the deep… At a signal from the Captain, the First Officer on the
“That was an unspoken command. The bosun and an able seaman tilted the bier. From below the flag, the weighted canvas shroud slid down to the depths.”
The Capstan Room
No. Those aren’t apparitions. They are my children. LOL
Our next stop was the Capstan Room. A capstan was used to raise the ship’s anchor. It consists of a drum driven by steam or electricity, that rotates about a vertical axis to wind in the chain of the anchor. The invention of the capstan made hard work quite a bit easier.
As we were leaving the capstan area, we couldn’t help but notice this old stairway which led to a restricted area. I wonder what was down there??
Engine Room
Located 50 feet below water level is the Queen Mary’s engine room, which is said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity. Parts of the 1972 movie the Poseidon Adventure
Our Fearless Son Leading the Way!
The Infamous “Door 13!” When approaching the door we all got an unsettling feeling. In 1966, an 18-year-old crew member was crushed by “Door 13” during a routine watertight door drill. Wearing blue coveralls, the bearded ghost of the young man has often been seen walking the length of Shaft Alley before disappearing by the infamous door #13.
One of our last stops was the Propeller Room. This is another room that is reported to be a hot spot for hauntings. As soon as I saw the propeller chills ran up and down my spine. On October 2, 1942, during World War II a horrific tragedy happened. The Queen, carrying nearly 20,000 U.S. troops from the 29th Infantry Division, collided with one of its escorting vessels, the HMS Curacoa, in the North Atlantic. The Curacoa was carrying 338 crew members. In an effort to confuse Nazi submarines, the Curacoa proceeded in a zigzag pattern in front of the Queen. It was then that the Queen struck the HMS Curacoa broadside, cutting the Curacoa in half. Some members were killed instantly, while others were thrown into the freezing waters or trapped inside the remains of the sinking vessel. It is said that for those who remained in the water who didn’t die of hypothermia, the current of the Queen Mary carried them into the propeller—chopping them up. Only 99 of the Curacoa’s crew reportedly survived. It is said to this day you can hear the screams of the Curacoa members in the boiler room of the Queen Mary. The accident was not publicly known until after the war.
Children’s Playroom
Next on our stop in our self-guided ghost tour was the children’s playroom. Back in the day when the Queen Mary was in service she had three children’s playrooms—one in each class area. A stewardess was assigned to oversee the youngsters. The First Class playroom was located on the starboard side of the Promenade deck corridor leading up to the Observation Bar. The Second Class was located adjacent to the second class cocktail lounge on
This photo above is a replica of the First-Class children’s playroom in the original location. The artwork is original and came from the Second and Third Class Playrooms. The furniture is
It has been reported that in the third class children’s playroom, a baby’s cry has often been heard, which is thought to be the infant boy who died shortly after his birth.
The Queen’s Salon
The last stop on our self-guided ghost tour was the 1st Class Lounge, now renamed the Queen’s Salon. It was in this room where my daughter had a ghostly encounter. She felt someone brush up against her — but no one was there.
Although we didn’t see any apparitions, our self-guided ghost tour was thrilling enough for us. We did hear several unexplained noises, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, my daughter felt someone brush up against her, and we all had an unsettling feeling in many of the rooms we explored on board the Queen Mary, including our stateroom B401.
We spent the rest of our vacation sightseeing and exploring both on and off the ship. The Queen Mary offers something for every generation. It’s the perfect place for a friends’ vacation or a multi-generation trip with extended family. With all of the dining, shopping, and scenery the Queen Mary and
It really was the perfect family vacation.
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