The Queen Mary Ghosts: America's Most Haunted Ship

The Queen Mary Ghosts: America

The RMS Queen Mary—a 1,019-foot ocean liner that carried Hollywood royalty, wartime soldiers, and ordinary passengers across the Atlantic for three decades—was once the pride of the Cunard Line. She holds speed records, survived U-boat attacks, and transported 16,000 soldiers at a time during World War II. Since 1967, she’s been permanently docked in Long Beach, California, serving as a hotel, museum, and tourist attraction. But the Queen Mary never really retired. At least 49 people died aboard her during her sailing years, and many of them never left. In the first-class swimming pool, the ghosts of two drowned women walk on wet decks and leave footprints where no one has walked. In the engine room, a young sailor crushed by a watertight door still screams and appears to workers. In Stateroom B340, activity was so intense the room was taken off the market for years. The Queen Mary is America’s most haunted ship, a floating monument to an era when ocean travel was glamorous—and sometimes deadly.

The Ship’s History

The Golden Age

Construction and Launch:

• Built by John Brown & Company, Scotland
• Launched September 26, 1934
• Named by Queen Mary herself
• 1,019 feet long, 81,237 gross tons
• The largest ship in the world at launch

The Atlantic Crossing:

• Maiden voyage May 27, 1936
• Carried up to 2,139 passengers
• Three classes: First, Cabin, Tourist
• Five-day Atlantic crossings
• Competed with Normandie for the Blue Riband
• Won the speed record 1936

The Passengers:

• Hollywood stars (Clark Gable, Greta Garbo)
• Royalty and dignitaries
• The wealthy elite
• But also immigrants seeking new lives
• Soldiers heading to and from war
• Every walk of life crossed on her

The Grey Ghost

World War II Service:

• Converted to troop transport 1940
• Painted battleship grey
• Nicknamed “Grey Ghost”
• Could carry 16,000 soldiers
• Made critical D-Day transport runs

The Speed:

• Her speed was her defense
• 28.5 knots—faster than U-boats
• Traveled without escort
• Zigged and zagged across the Atlantic
• Never hit by torpedoes

The Curacoa Disaster:

• October 2, 1942
• Escorting cruiser HMS Curacoa
• Crossed the Queen Mary’s path
• The liner cut the cruiser in half
• 338 sailors died
• The Mary couldn’t stop to help
• The U-boat threat was too great

Post-War and Retirement

Return to Service:

• Refitted for passenger service 1947
• Returned to Atlantic crossings
• But air travel was growing
• Ocean liners became obsolete
• The Mary’s era was ending

Final Voyage:

• October 31, 1967
• Sailed from Southampton to Long Beach
• Purchased by the City of Long Beach
• Permanently docked
• Converted to hotel and attraction
• She would never sail again

The Deaths Aboard

Documented Fatalities

At Least 49 Deaths:

• Official records confirm dozens
• During her 31 years of sailing
• Accidents, illness, murder, suicide
• Some deaths undocumented
• The true number may be higher

How People Died:

• Drowning (pool accidents)
• Crushing (machinery)
• Falls (overboard, stairs)
• Murder (at least one documented)
• Natural causes (illness, age)
• The ship saw it all

Notable Deaths

John Pedder:

• 18-year-old crew member
• Crushed by Door 13 in the engine room
• July 10, 1966
• Watertight door closed on him
• During a drill
• One of the most active ghosts

The Pool Victims:

• Two women drowned in the first-class pool
• Different incidents, different eras
• One was a second-class passenger
• Who snuck into first-class pool
• Their deaths documented
• Their ghosts remain

The Child in the Nursery:

• A baby died during a voyage
• In the first-class nursery
• Cause unknown (illness likely)
• The nursery is haunted
• Crying heard from empty room

Murder Victims:

• At least one documented murder
• During wartime service
• Details classified for years
• The violence left a mark
• Some ghosts died violently

The Haunted Locations

The First-Class Swimming Pool

The Location:

• One of the ship’s most famous features
• Art Deco design, stunning beauty
• Two levels with a viewing gallery
• Now drained and no longer in use
• But far from empty

The Drowning Victims:

• Two women drowned here
• In separate incidents
• Their ghosts are the most active
• Seen by countless visitors
• Walking the pool deck

What People Experience:

• Wet footprints on dry deck
• Footprints appearing before the eyes
• Figures in 1930s swimsuits
• Splashing sounds from an empty pool
• Women’s voices calling for help
• The smell of chlorine (the pool has been dry for decades)

The Changing Rooms:

• Adjacent to the pool
• Intense activity reported
• Figures seen in mirrors
• Cold spots
• Locker doors opening
• The women changing for a swim they never took

The Engine Room

Door 13:

• Watertight door in the engine room
• Where John Pedder died
• Crushed during a drill
• His ghost is the most documented
• Nicknamed “Shaft Alley”

What Happens:

• Knocking on metal
• Footsteps on catwalks
• A young man in coveralls seen
• Disappearing through Door 13
• The sounds of machinery
• When nothing is running

Engineer Experiences:

• Modern workers report encounters
• Feeling watched
• Tools moved
• Voices calling their names
• The engine room never sleeps
• Even though the engines do

Stateroom B340

The Infamous Cabin:

• First-class stateroom
• Where a murder may have occurred
• So haunted it was taken off the market
• For years, no guests could book it
• Paranormal activity too intense

What Happened There:

• Reports vary
• Possibly a wartime murder
• Possibly natural death with trauma
• The records are incomplete
• But the room remembers

The Activity:

• Bedcovers pulled off
• Faucets turning on
• Knocking on walls
• Figures appearing
• Guests demanding to leave
• Staff experiences

Current Status:

• Now available for booking
• Marketed as “most haunted stateroom”
• Paranormal seekers request it
• Activity continues
• You can stay if you dare

The First-Class Nursery

The Baby:

• A child died here during a voyage
• The crying never stopped
• The nursery is now an office
• But the sounds continue

What Staff Report:

• Crying from an empty room
• Cold spots
• The feeling of being watched
• A presence
• The child never left

The Promenade Deck

The “White Lady”:

• A woman in white evening gown
• Seen dancing alone
• On the promenade deck
• Near where parties were held
• She vanishes when approached

Who She Was:

• Unknown
• Possibly died aboard
• Or loved the ship so much she returned
• She seems happy
• Still dancing after decades

The Queen’s Salon

The Grand Room:

• Former first-class lounge
• Now an event space
• Beautiful Art Deco design
• And very active

The Presence:

• A woman in 1930s dress
• Sitting alone at tables
• Disappearing when approached
• Cold spots throughout
• The feeling of a crowd
• When the room is empty

Paranormal Investigation

Research History

Early Documentation:

• Reports began immediately after docking
• Staff noticed activity
• Guests complained
• The ship was different at night
• Something remained aboard

Formal Investigation:

• Multiple paranormal teams have investigated
• Ghost hunters, TV shows, researchers
• One of most-investigated haunted locations
• Results consistently support activity
• The Queen Mary delivers

Evidence Collected

EVP Recordings:

• Voice recordings from empty areas
• Names, phrases, screams
• Voices speaking in period accents
• Responding to questions
• Consistent across investigations

Photographs:

• Anomalous figures in images
• Mists and orbs
• Faces in portholes
• The “1930s woman” photographed
• Multiple independent captures

Video Evidence:

• Movement caught on camera
• Doors opening on their own
• Shadow figures moving
• Temperature anomalies visible
• The footage accumulates

Physical Evidence:

• Temperature drops documented
• EMF spikes in specific locations
• Equipment malfunctions
• Battery drains
• Consistent trigger points

What Investigators Say

Professional Assessment:

• One of most active locations in America
• Consistent, repeatable phenomena
• Multiple types of haunting
• Residual (repeated events)
• Intelligent (responsive entities)
• Poltergeist-like activity

Visiting the Queen Mary

The Hotel

Staying Aboard:

• 347 original staterooms available
• Sleep where passengers slept
• Wake where they woke
• Some rooms more active than others
• B340 now bookable

What to Request:

• First-class staterooms on B-deck
• Near the pool if possible
• B340 for the brave
• Tell them you want haunted
• They’ll accommodate

The Tours

Standard Tours:

• Daily ship tours available
• Cover history and hauntings
• Visit key locations
• Good introduction
• Family-friendly options

Ghost Tours:

• Specific paranormal tours
• After dark, smaller groups
• Access to restricted areas
• More intense experiences
• Book in advance

Paranormal Investigation Packages:

• Overnight investigations
• Professional equipment provided
• Access to the engine room, pool
• The serious ghost hunter’s choice
• Sell out quickly

Dining and Events

Restaurants:

• Several dining options
• Original art deco spaces
• Some are haunted
• The Sir Winston’s restaurant
• Fine dining with spirits

Special Events:

• Halloween events
• Paranormal weekends
• Special investigation nights
• Check schedule
• Book early

What Guests Experience

Common Reports

In the Rooms:

• Knocking on doors
• Footsteps in corridors
• Voices through the walls
• Feeling watched
• Covers disturbed

Throughout the Ship:

• Cold spots
• Shadow figures
• Period-dressed people who vanish
• Names being called
• The sense of not being alone

Staff Testimonies

“After working here for ten years, I’ve accepted it. The ship has other residents. We just share the space. They were here first.”

“The engine room at night—you’re never alone. I’ve heard my name called so many times. There’s no one there. I just say ‘hello, John’ and keep working.”

“Guests check out early sometimes. They don’t always say why. But we know. B340 does that.”

The Queen Mary Legacy

Why She’s So Haunted

The Factors:

• 31 years of constant occupation
• Thousands of people living aboard
• At least 49 deaths documented
• Wartime trauma (338 Curacoa victims)
• Emotional imprint of travel, war, death
• She absorbed human experience

The Theory:

• Ships have personalities
• The Mary was beloved
• People invested emotion in her
• Some never wanted to leave
• And didn’t

America’s Most Haunted

The Recognition:

• Consistently ranked #1 haunted ship
• Among most haunted locations in America
• Featured in countless programs
• Studied by researchers worldwide
• The gold standard for ship hauntings

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people died on the Queen Mary?

At least 49 deaths are documented during her sailing years (1936-1967), including drownings, accidents, murder, suicide, and the tragic loss of 338 sailors when the escort cruiser HMS Curacoa was accidentally cut in half by the Mary during World War II. The true number of deaths may be higher due to incomplete records.

Can you stay in Stateroom B340?

Yes, though it was removed from booking for years due to intense paranormal activity. It’s now marketed as the ship’s “most haunted stateroom” and is available for guests who request it. Activity reportedly includes covers being pulled, faucets turning on, and shadowy figures appearing.

What’s the most haunted area of the ship?

The first-class swimming pool and the engine room are consistently reported as the most active. The pool features the ghosts of two drowned women, with wet footprints appearing on the dry deck. The engine room is haunted by John Pedder, the sailor crushed by Door 13, whose ghost is frequently seen and heard.

Are the ghost tours worth it?

The tours vary in quality and intensity. Standard tours cover history with some haunting stories. The specialized paranormal tours offer after-dark access to restricted areas and smaller groups. Overnight investigation packages provide the most immersive experience. Book based on your interest level.

Is the Queen Mary genuinely haunted or is it marketing?

Staff, guests, and investigators have reported activity for over 50 years—long before paranormal tourism was popular. The consistency and volume of reports across decades, the physical evidence collected, and the ship’s documented death toll all suggest genuine phenomena. Whether you call them ghosts or unexplained events, something happens aboard the Queen Mary.

The Ship That Never Emptied

What the Queen Mary Teaches

This floating monument shows us:

Death Creates Attachment: 49+ deaths left permanent marks

Emotion Imprints: Three decades of human experience remain

Ships Have Souls: The Mary feels alive to those aboard

The Past Persists: 1930s elegance and 1940s trauma coexist

Still Sailing Through Time

The Queen Mary will never cross the Atlantic again. Her engines are silent. Her propellers don’t turn. She’s been docked in Long Beach since 1967, a monument to an era of ocean travel that no longer exists.

But inside those 1,019 feet of steel and mahogany, time moves differently. Women in 1930s swimsuits walk to a pool that’s been empty for decades. A young sailor makes his rounds in an engine room that no longer functions. Passengers dance in lounges where no music plays.

They booked passage on the Queen Mary for a five-day crossing.

For some of them, the voyage never ended.

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1,019 feet of Art Deco elegance. 31 years of Atlantic crossings. 49 documented deaths. The first-class pool where women still drown. The engine room where John Pedder still works. The Queen Mary: America’s most haunted ship, permanently docked but never at rest.

Sources

• Wikipedia search: “The Queen Mary Ghosts: America”
• Society for Psychical Research — SPR proceedings, peer-reviewed psychical research since 1882
• Library of Congress — American Folklife Center — American folklore archive
• Chronicling America — Historic US newspapers (1690–1963)