Do You Believe in Ghosts? Investigating Paranormal Activity, The Queen Mary

The Queen Mary. Once the fastest, most glamorous, and certainly the most popular ship on the sea, has become even more beloved and well known since moving to Long Beach, California.

Historians, Anglophiles, art deco addicts, and cruise aficionados, come from all over the world to visit the Queen. And rightfully so, she is a relic of a bygone era, when Transatlantic travel was the only way to cross the pond. And just to prove how interesting she is, on April 15, 1993, the historic liner was placed in the National Register of Historic Places with Historic Significance.

There are several educational and unusual tours to learn more about the Queen Mary. One tells the tale of the Queen during WWII when she transported troops and outran German submarines. For fans of the royal family, there’s the Princess Diana Tour. And for those seeking something offbeat, how about a paranormal experiences tour? The Queen Mary is said to be haunted.

 

Investigating Paranormal Activity On The Queen Mary

I’m always curious about places that are reported to be haunted, though I’ve never seen a ghost. But I do understand how a building, or a ship, steeped in history, can feel alive. If you can feel the soul of the ship, it’s not such a leap to imagine that perhaps the spirit of former crew members, passengers, or soldiers, may be lingering about the Queen Mary. 

 A personal experience

I’ve even been to a few séance circles… one quite memorable. Not a huge WOW, but interesting. If you’ve never been to a séance the way it usually works is a psychic or medium will attempt to connect with deceased loved ones and friends of the very much alive folks who attend the séance. Some even connect with pets.

On one occasion a medium asked if anyone in the room knew a woman named Lois, which is my mother’s name. I didn’t say anything at first, I wanted to see if anyone else would. When no one spoke up I said, yes, I know someone. The medium said, “She wants me to tell you to stop wearing your hair like that.” Without going into great detail I’ll just say that sounded exactly like something my mother would say.

ParaXplorer Project

The Paranormal Experiences tour offered on the Queen Mary is hosted by Matthew Schultz of Paraxplorer Project. It has received rave reviews and has been written up by Time Magazine, among other notable publications. If I’m honest, I was more than a little curious and a little apprehensive.

There’s something about ships that is especially creepy… perhaps it’s the low, narrow spaces or the many corridors and portals and escape hatches…so many places for a ghost to hide!

According to the Paranormal Xplorer website, “Based in Southern California, ParaXplorer Project is a quorum of independent investigators that applies tech-based monitoring, objective observation, and intuitive disciplines to an ongoing field study of the paranormal.”

What to Expect during the Paranormal Exploration

Matthew brought a very analytical approach to searching for the spirits, including lots of tools of the trade, stuff I’d seen on investigative programs, but never in real life. He also encouraged us to take photographs and record sound, because often things could not be heard in real-time, but would be audible or visible on film or recording (a link to a recording I captured is included in this post).

I tried out the divining rods, which took a bit of getting used to, but once I did, I liked them because they were very responsive to electromagnetic fields. Holding the divining rods, I felt like I might find some evidence of paranormal energy.

I often felt they were trying to pull me in a particular direction, but since I was part of a group, I had to move on before I had a chance to investigate where they might lead me.

Working with the divining rods seemed to require time and some patience so I gave them up for a 21st-century device: my iPhone and built-in voice recorder and camera.

The tour was almost three hours long and wandering around in the dark required a lot of concentration.  Matthew explained that there is no scientific evidence that ghosts exist, as well as how to use all the hi-tech, ghost-busting gadgets he’d brought along for us to experiment with.

There was only one time that I felt truly nervous. We entered a cavernous room, very dark, and Matthew said people had run out on more than one occasion, claiming to have seen apparitions and heard blood-curdling screams. I didn’t want to see anything. I wanted to be able to sleep later, without nightmares about what I’d seen on the tour.

Where do the ghosts like to hang out?

Ground zero for paranormal activity on the Queen Mary is the area that was once the first-class swimming pool and ladies’ changing rooms. There are several recordings in this area, gained by investigations of various members of the Paraxplorer team, which provide evidence of a child spirit known as Jackie and a cat. This was our last location of the evening.

We all tucked into one of the changing room stalls in order to keep the aisle clear and Matthew called to the spirit girl Jackie, asking her if she’d come out and play with us…Nothing.

The group I was with was so noisy I felt Jackie was probably thinking no way, too many loud and unruly adults. I was recording with my iPhone and worried it would be almost impossible to get a clean sound recording. But, we did hear something. 

What does a ghost sound like?

The evening ended with a sound some said sounded like someone’s stomach gurgling, but they couldn’t decide where it came from, or what exactly it was.

I didn’t hear the sound at the moment but I did hear it while listening to my recording the next day. It doesn’t sound like someone’s stomach gurgling to me.

I sent it to Matthew who replied within a couple of weeks and said he couldn’t be sure either,  but it was a great memento from my trip. It was probably just the spirits laughing at us.

I’ve included the recording here for your listening pleasure.

Listen after Matthew says, “Can you say good night?” the second time. It’s at about 53 seconds. You’ll hear a sound, almost like a vibration, or someone talking through water.  I like to refer to it as a hologram sound…like a voice pushing through dimensions. We haven’t been able to discern exactly what it is, but it was not anyone in the room with us that night.

Other Haunted Tours on the Queen Mary

If taking the three-hour late-night tour is not for you,  try the Haunted Encounters Tour, which covers various areas of the ship where spirits have been reported over the years.

One of the most beautiful rooms on the ship, The Queen’s Salon, is said to be haunted by a woman in a white dress who plays the piano. I didn’t see her, but I can see why she’d want to hang out in this room.  Exotic woods, mirrors, and tapestries in pristine condition, recall an era of luxury and elegance. It was my favorite room on the ship. The Queen Mary is wonderfully atmospheric, day or night.

Would I recommend this tour?

If ghost hunting is your thing, or you enjoy the science behind it, then yes! I also think history lovers would like this tour. If you’re not a believer then perhaps the very analytical approach Matthew takes will give you a new perspective. However, if you don’t enjoy wandering around in the dark then this tour is probably not for you. 

Are there ghosts on the Queen Mary? As Matthew tells the group at the beginning of the tour, there is no scientific evidence of ghosts.

Based on the recording I captured, I’d say, maybe. The sound is not human, and it’s not canned. Of this, I feel certain. And if the size of the tour group was anything to go by, I’d say there are plenty of people who do believe in ghosts.

I know there will be nay-sayers and disbelievers but consider this: Thousands of people crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary and she now receives about 1,000,000 visitors per year. Think of all the stories she could tell. If I were a ghost, that’s exactly the kind of place I’d want to hang out–you’d never be bored! Whatever you believe, I’d love to hear from you. Have you taken this tour or any haunted tour? Have you seen a ghost?

If you want to book a haunted tour check out this link.

My tour was provided by The Queen Mary. As always all opinions are strictly my own.