Saturday, April 19, 2014

Hauntings: Queen Mary


Queen Mary (California)

The RMS Queen Mary sailed the seas from 1936-1967, making 1,001 trips across the Atlantic, acting as a troop ship in World War II, and hosting hundreds of thousands of passengers.  Along with her colorful history, she’s had her share of tragedies.  Now, she stays docked and hosts tourists -- and ghosts.

Watertight Door #13.  In 1966, a worker in the engine room named John Peddar was accidentally trapped and crushed to death by the massive Watertight Door #13.  Since his death, John's ghost has been seen many times in the engine room.  On one occasion, a tourist couple visiting the ship heard about the ghost, and the man joked, “John Peddar, would you like to join us?”  He and his wife laughed, but shortly after, the man felt something brush across his face.  When they reached the sunlit deck, his wife noticed a smear of grease on his face where he’d felt something brush him.  Neither of them had any grease on their hands or clothes.  Although grease was abundant in the engine room when the ship was operational, it’s kept clean and grease-free since it was retired and docked.  There's no logical explanation for the grease, and the couple is sure it was John's ghost.

Promenade Deck.  Another area on the ship where ghostly sightings have occurred is the Promenade Deck.  Once, when two employees were there, they saw a woman walking toward them wearing 1930s clothing.  She was lost from sight when she crossed behind a pillar. When she didn’t emerge from the other side, the two employees went to look.  No one was there.  The woman had vanished.

The Lower Bow.  During World War II, the Queen Mary was a troop transport.  Adolf Hitler offered a $250,000 reward to any captain who could sink her.  To maneuver through the submarine-infested waters of the Atlantic, the Queen Mary had to travel in a zigzag pattern.  Unfortunately, during one of her crossings, she collided with a smaller British ship, the HMS Curacao, causing that ship to sink.  Most of the Curacao's 300 passengers drowned.  The Queen Mary, however, was only slightly damaged at the lower bow.  She was soon repaired and put back in service.  Since then, many people in the lower bow area have heard the sound of the two ships as they collided and the frightened screams of the crewmembers aboard the HMS Curacao.

The Boiler Room.  During the ship’s operation, the boiler room was probably the most dangerous area on the ship.  One day, pipes containing high-pressure steam exploded, killing several crewmembers.  After the ship was permanently berthed in Long Beach, California,  the boiler room was gutted,  but many ghostly sightings of the dead men have been reported in that area to this day.






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37 comments:

Unknown said...

I had no idea the ship was haunted--how cool!

betty said...

We honeymooned on the Queen Mary years ago; I remember taking the tour and these hauntings being talked about; we didn't experience anything though :)

betty

Andrew Leon said...

Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that about the Queen Mary, either.

Sophie Duncan said...

Life and death contained in an enclosed space, it must give the odd scare to tourists, but imagine when the ship was operational and you could be working down there with the ghosts on a regular basis!
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

D..J. Kirkby said...

Yikes, these experiences would terrify me!

Michelle Wallace said...

Such a majestic vessel... with all these wandering souls... eeeeek!

Shah Wharton said...

Spooky! I loved the movie Ghost Ship. It wasn't the best movie ever, but it was a great horror.

shahwharton.com

Unknown said...

Lexa, I loved that bit about the grease smear. These stories you tell are fascinating, but I especially dig the little details.

Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2014, My Latest post

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

Thirty years ago, on my first trip to California, we stayed on this ship. We heard the stories, but had no unusual sightings or grease spots during our two evenings there.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

It would be fun to take a tour of it. None of the ghosts sound malicious.

Leandra Wallace said...

Wow, the history that ships has to tell. And wanted by Adolf Hitler? There's some true horror there! =0

Ava Quinn said...

Whoa. I didn't know such a famous ship had ghosts!

Unknown said...

I've always been infatuated with old hotels and ships... I've never walked through a haunted ship but I have stayed at a haunted hotel which was believed to have had apparitions and ghostly occurrences. Thankfully, we didn't experience anything at night!
I would definitely go on a tour of this ship=)

Bish Denham said...

My husband's mother was a WWII Army nurse and sailed on the QM!

stephen Hayes said...

I knew the Queen Mary was considered a hot spot for paranormal activity and figured you'd get around to her sooner of later. Fun read.

cleemckenzie said...

I stayed overnight on the Queen Mary a few years ago. I didn't see one ghost. Sorely disappointed.

Robin said...

That first story of the couple who encountered John Paddar's ghost... wow. It is those kinds of encounters that make me a believer.

SK Anthony said...

Wow! The grease bit was creepy and cool. See? I don't know why but Queen Mary I would visit.

messymimi said...

Sailing on a haunted ship would concern me.

Unknown said...

A haunted ship is just creepy. I don't like the idea of being stuck on water, let alone with ghosts. (Even though it's now docked, but still.)

Jennifer Hawes said...

I've seen a tour of this on one of those ghost shows:) They spent all night looking for paranormal activity and experienced some! I'd die of fright;-)

Luanne G. Smith said...

Creepy, creepy, creepy. I write about ghosts but I don't want to meet one in real life. No.

Rajiv Sankarapillai said...

Oh, very creepy !

Kate Larkindale said...

I had no idea the Queen Mary was haunted. Fascinating!

Inger said...

This great ship is the perfect place for ghosts. I think ships are more prone to ghosts than many other places. I will now go and read yesterday's story.

Inger said...

This great ship is the perfect place for ghosts. I think ships are more prone to ghosts than many other places. I will now go and read yesterday's story.

Vanessa Kelly said...

OOOH a ghostly A-Z love it. I think I watched a ghost hunters show where they investigated the Queen Mary. I love me some paranormal!
Stopping by from A-Z
http://brokenwings1313.blogspot.com/2014/04/q-is-for-quippet.html

Cathrina Constantine said...

Very interesting about the Queen Mary.

GSMarlene said...

Ooh, a haunted ship, awesome!

Too answer your question about arabs vs warmbloods for endurance, it comes down to muscle type (fast twitch vs slow twitch) and ability to shed heat. Heavier muscling holds heat in, arabs have veins closer to the surface so they can cool faster. But there are many warmbloods doing endurance, just not the typical.

Marlene at On Writing and Riding

Sean @ His And Her Hobbies said...

I was just reading about the history of the Queen Mary the other day but I never knew about the hauntings.

Sean at His and Her Hobbies

Anonymous said...

Eerie. I wouldn't want to be on this ship.

Al Diaz said...

I heard of this ship but not of its ghosts!

Melancholy and Menace said...

I'd love a tour of this ship :)

Loni Townsend said...

Who is the 1930's woman?! How did she get tied to the ship? I want to know!

Stephsco said...

I don't think I knew about the hauntings here either, though I'm familiar with the ship because The X-Files filmed an episode on it.

Rhonda Albom said...

Interesting. The story about the man with the grease rubbed on his face is really creepy.

Unknown said...

I didnt know the Queen Mary was haunted... how cool.

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