What happened
Queen Mary crossed the Atlantic from 1936 as the pride of the Cunard Line. During the war, painted grey and nicknamed the “Grey Ghost,” she carried thousands of soldiers. On 2 October 1942, off the Irish coast, she sliced through her escort, the cruiser HMS Curacoa – more than 300 sailors died, and the liner, under orders not to stop for fear of U-boats, sailed on. In 1967 the ship was bought by the City of Long Beach; she arrived on 9 December to be permanently moored as a hotel and museum. Staff and guests describe many apparitions. In the engine room, by watertight “Door 13,” a young sailor is said to appear – one who, according to guides, was crushed by the door in the 1960s. In the former first-class pool people have seen a woman in an old-fashioned swimsuit and small wet footprints. One cabin was withdrawn from use for years because of guests' complaints, and in the bow there is said to be knocking and screaming – where the hull struck the cruiser.
Witnesses
Hotel staff, security guards, guests and participants in night ghost tours; the ship has been visited by many paranormal programmes.
Explanations and hypotheses
The loss of HMS Curacoa and the ship's wartime history are facts, but the stories of specific ghosts come mainly from guides and promotional material, and their details vary. An old steel hull is constantly at work: it expands and contracts, it creaks, and sounds travel in unexpected ways through the empty spaces of the engine room. Night ghost tours are an important part of the hotel's offer, which encourages accounts to multiply.
Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.
Sources
- National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Queen Mary (National Archives, 1992)
- The Queen Mary – Ship History
- Legends of America – Ghosts of the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California
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