Come Stay At This Haunted Boat Hotel In California!
Hauntings and ghost stories do miraculous things for the tourism industry. People are quick to flock to a place that features a checkered past with claimed supernatural occurrences, likely in the hopes of seeing something paranormal in person.
Long Beach, California doesn’t need any help with getting more tourists, what with their beautiful beaches and thriving city life. Besides those things, though, it’s also become one of the most popular locations in the country for “haunted tourism.”
One site in Long Beach specifically is drawing droves of people to it, and that’s the Queen Mary. The ship is also called the Gray Ghost for the sheer number of haunted tales associated with it.
If you’re looking for a fun adventure and enjoy investigating the paranormal, then you should definitely check out the Queen Mary!
The Queen Mary used to be an ocean liner that traveled the Northern Atlantic, but it currently sits retired to shore. It had a long tenure from 1936 to 1967, and it was originally constructed Clydebank, Scotland.
The Queen Mary was very active in the second World War. It acted as a troopship for allied soldiers, often harboring thousands of American soldiers. After the war concluded, the Queen Mary returned to its normal duties as a transatlantic passenger ship. The above photograph shows the Queen Mary in 1945 arriving at the New York Harbour.
The Queen Mary become less and less profitable in the 1960s and it officially entered retirement on October 31, 1967. The last journey was to Long Beach, California, where it currently resides. It broke the thousand mark with that trip, officially clocking in at 1,001 total journeys.
The ship now rests at harbor full-time, but in the past, it’s been the center of many tragic incidents. In its full history, the Queen Mary was host to more than 50 deaths.
These days the Queen Mary is a popular attraction for tourists, and it has a museum, restaurant, and hotel onboard. Most of the original equipment and machinery required to travel has been removed. In the above photo, the ship’s top-rate dining room, the Grand Salon, can be seen. The ship has earned great honors, even being titled one of the most Historic Hotels of America, but it’s still well-known for its eventful past…
The engine room is perhaps one of the most haunted places on the ship. It can be found 50 feet below sea level, and the room’s infamous Door 13 has crushed two men to death on two separate occasions. One of those men, an 18-year-old sailor at the time, is rumored to still roam the ship.
Although the swimming pools on the ship have long been removed, it seems like somebody forgot to tell the ghosts! People claim to see female ghosts in their bathing suits and even hear the cries of a little girl who is reported to have drowned in the swimming pool at one point.
Whether you go out of paranormal curiosity or to enjoy the ship’s amenities and history, the Queen Mary is well-worth a visit! Many festivals and art expositions take place on the ship, along with an assortment of other events.
Would you be interested in checking out the Queen Mary or will its haunted past scare you away? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!