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| 1126 Queens Hwy, Long Beach, CA 90802, USA (Long Beach, California)
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The Queen Mary
The ship known as the R.M.S. Queen Mary was retired in 1967. It has since been turned into a stationary attraction. The Queen Mary now serves as a museum and hotel as well as featuring multiple restaurants and clubs. The ship was launched on September 26, 1934 and, while not the largest ocean liner on record, immediately wrestled the speed records away from the largest on record, as well as top rival, S.S. Normandie. The Queen Mary also proved to be more popular among the public and boasted a higher passenger payload.
The Poseidon Adventure
One of the early passengers of the Queen Mary was author Paul Gallico. In 1937, Gallico was on a trans-Atlantic voyage sitting in the First Class Dining Saloon when the ship suddenly listed over to port from a series of large waves. The list was at such a sharp angle that all of the plates of food on his table were thrown to the ground and he reportedly spied the ocean close to his window. The incident would make an impression on Gallico and would serve as a major inspiration years later for his 1969 novel, The Poseidon Adventure.
The book concerned a luxurious ocean liner by the name of the S.S. Poseidon that is capsized by a large tidal wave and the various survivors struggling to reach surface before the craft sinks. While making little impact at the time of its release, its major impact would come in 1972 with a film adaptation of the same name that starred Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowall, Shelly Winters, Leslie Nielsen, and many others. Interestingly enough, the R.M.S. Queen Mary served as a model for the construction of the Poseidon and was even used for filming in the early scenes prior to the fictional ship capsizing.
The film was a box office smash and it earned the honor of the top grossing film of 1972, which made it a notable entry in the 1970s all-star disaster films. It spawned a sequel in 1979 titled Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, which despite its all-star cast, could not match up to the critical reviews and box-office success of its predecessor. It would also be remade as a television movie in 2005 and again in 2006 as Poseidon. For that remake, the filmmakers modeled their ship on the Queen Mary's successor, the R.M.S. Queen Mary 2.
World War II
The ship was briefly docked at the onset of World War II until Allied commanders decided to utilize it as a troop carrier, since its speed meant it could out run German U-Boats. As part of the transition, the ship was painted in grey for camouflage and it (along with its running mate the R.M.S. Queen Elizabeth) earned the moniker of The Grey Ghost. During this run, it had the honor of transporting British Prime Minister Winston Churchill over the Atlantic to meet with fellow Allied officials. During one run in South American waters, officials picked up a radio intercept that a German U-Boat had received word of its voyage and was waiting in line for the chance to sink it, but the Queen Mary simply changed course and avoided the fate. However, the adventures of the wartime Queen Mary were far from over.
H.M.S. Curacoa
On October 2, 1942, the H.M.S. Curacoa was escorting the Queen Mary off the Irish coastline. The ships were following the procedure of zigzagging in the water to avoid enemy fire when something went horribly wrong. The Curacoa found itself in front of the Queen Mary's bow and had no time to escape. The large luxury liner hit the Curacoa at a speed of 28 knots and severed the ship in two and also creating a 40-foot gash in the Queen Mary's bow. Because of fear of U-Boats, the Queen Mary's Captain C. Gordon Illinsworth was under strict orders not to stop for any reason, so the ship was forced to continue on at full-speed. Instead, other destroyers in the convoy were ordered to double back and try to help the survivors. The amount of survivors reported varies from 26-100, but the casualty count is universally listed as 338 lives lost. The Queen Mary was docked in Gourock, Scotland and 70 tons of cement was used to temporarily patch the 40-foot gash.
The Haunting of the Queen Mary
Multiple ghosts are said to haunt the Queen Mary. A spectral woman haunts the lobby of what is now the hotel on the ship. Engine room number two is said to be inhabited by spirits of unfortunate stowaways that perished due to hiding in such a dangerous spot. Another engine room ghost is of a young engineer who was crushed to death during a fire. The ship's swimming pool is a focal point of haunting, with a vortex and sightings of multiple ghosts, including two spectral children. There are even more areas of the ship that are reportedly haunted and the Queen Mary offers guided tours of the haunted sections. Some parts of the tour feature special effect simulations of supernatural events witnessed on the ship. Ironically the FX are believed by some to have scared off ghosts from these paranormal hotspots.
The legendary haunting of the R.M.S. Queen Mary has also attracted the attention several paranormal-themed television shows over the years. The ship has been featured on the likes of Haunted History, Sightings, Scariest Places on Earth, Is it Real?, Most Haunted, Ghost Hunters, and more.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Queen Mary hosts a weekly Rocky Horror Picture Show viewing on Saturday nights.
The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor
Every Halloween season the Queen Mary is transformed into the haunted attraction - The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor (see The Queen Mary's Dark Harbor) - formerly known as Shipwreck at the Queen Mary. The haunt plays off the ship's haunted reputation and offers an assortment of spooky mazes, live bands and shows, a dance floor, and much more. With over a decade of service, it has quickly grown to becoming one of the most popular Halloween haunted attractions in the United States of America |
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| Related Sites |
Queen Mary
The official Web site for the Queen Mary, haunted ship, Halloween attraction, lodging and tourist site. |
Shadowlands: Queen Mary
Shadowland's entry for the haunting of the Queen Mary. |
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| The Halsey House |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Dark Destinations in the News (12/24/07) |
| Dark Destinations in the News (10/31/07) |
| Dark Destinations in the News (10/17/07) |
| Dark Destinations in the News (10/9/07) |
| Dark Destinations in the News (10/10/07) |
| Blog: Is Tourism Harmful to Paranormal Sites? (05/11/08) |
| Blog: All Aboard the Queen Mary! (09/26/08) |
| Blog: Survey: Paranormal Locations (02/12/09) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
Ghost Encounters: The Queen Mary |
Ghosts of the West Coast: The Lost Souls of the Queen Mary and Other Real-Life Hauntings (Haunted America) |
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