Is the Queen Mary Haunted?

[June Ingram]

I think it is so disrespectful to commercialize Queen Mary by having all of these "haunted" events.   

[Bob van Leeuwen]

Why does the feeling go stronger that the whole haunted thing was made up by the management in order to sell more tickets during those stupid events the hold on here?

[cunardqueen]

There are times even l bang my head against a brick wall with Queen Mary. But the whole idea is to make money and at times sentiment is best left at the door. The Ink festival. the bar sales alone make it worth while and allowing for any "trouble" its a good source of revenue. The haunted thing can be seen as tacky.  The same might be said of the Scottish Festival, is that really how Americans see Scotland...?

The latest fiasco with the shops you have a lovely high end wine store that is closed because they dont have a license...
While some of the previous shops really should have been blown up (along with that Submarine) they had to get rid of everyone to be fair. and while its anyones guess how the new shops are doing.

For what its worth. lm heading there on Christmas Day for their Christmas Day brunch (which really is a stunning affair, and one of the best there is for any number of reasons ) and to stop over night.  No doubt l will be eager to share my views to anyone who is listening on my return..    

[June Ingram]

And photos, please, Myles, many photos !   

[Alan Snelson]

No doubt l will be eager to share my views to anyone who is listening on my return..    

Myles, it's always interesting to hear your views

[Stowaway2k]

I don't have a problem with Queen Mary's "Shipwreck" haunted house as an annual attraction.

What does bother though is that much of the haunted house is permanent.... thereby making significant areas of the Queen Mary closed to the public year-round and kept in a deliberately dilapidated and neglected condition.   

Areas that could and should be open for the public to enjoy are not and areas that could and should be restored are not... all for the sake of a few weeks for the Halloween haunted house.

This includes the stunning 1st class swimming pool, which could be the jewel in the crown of the Queen Mary but it is left in a permanently neglected state.

Furthermore there has never been any accountability as to the haunted house profits.  Where does this money go?  For some reason this is treated as a state secret, no matter that the Queen Mary is a public asset.

As someone who for most of his life lived within a short drive of the Queen Mary and visited regularly over the years....Is the Queen Mary haunted?  Yes. 

Haunted since 1967 by a series of operators and management entities who bring no regard for the physical being of this former Ship of State and her varied role at the forefront of history.  I have witnessed the piecemeal destruction of the Queen Mary, disappearing forever bit by bit.   The Halloween Shipwreck attraction brings publicity and attention to the Queen Mary but this annual attraction seems to be of no benefit for the crucial big picture of Preservation and Restoration.

[Hank Hargrove]

There are times even l bang my head against a brick wall with Queen Mary. But the whole idea is to make money and at times sentiment is best left at the door. The Ink festival. the bar sales alone make it worth while and allowing for any "trouble" its a good source of revenue. The haunted thing can be seen as tacky.  The same might be said of the Scottish Festival, is that really how Americans see Scotland...?

The latest fiasco with the shops you have a lovely high end wine store that is closed because they dont have a license...
While some of the previous shops really should have been blown up (along with that Submarine) they had to get rid of everyone to be fair. and while its anyones guess how the new shops are doing.

For what its worth. lm heading there on Christmas Day for their Christmas Day brunch (which really is a stunning affair, and one of the best there is for any number of reasons ) and to stop over night.  No doubt l will be eager to share my views to anyone who is listening on my return..    

Great to hear of your trip! It's always good to lavish some money on the old girl.

[Hank Hargrove]

Well, on the positive side (Sort of), Long Beach is stuck with the Queen Mary. The bottom of the ship isn't in very good shape, which isn't so much of a problem so long as the ship isn't being moved anywhere. If they were to move her without fixing the bottom, she wouldn't go very far. I suspect that they will fix the bottom someday, but I don't see them spending more money to move her somewhere. She also can't be scrapped on the spot due to asbestos in some parts of the ship (some books have talked about the asbestos problem, but I've also read that all the asbestos has been removed), so the asbestos would need to be cleaned out. And there is always the hurdle of the Queen Mary putting LB on the map. She is a staple of the city and many people wouldn't be too keen on seeing her leave. Thankfully, due to these factors, I can't see the Queen Mary going anywhere for the near future. Of course that doesn't preclude some catastrophic event (God forbid), but it's comforting to know of the Queen's longevity. It's hard to believe the ship is going on 50 years in Long Beach.

Of course, that does't solve the problem of the deteriorated pool and the fact that the ship needs a fresh coat of paint.

[kevinh]

Morning y'all!

How was your last week/weekend? Mine was a blast: school went well, I had Friday off and all to myself, I finished my Seabiscuit DVD and watched Gun Runner win his finale in the Pegasus World Cup on Saturday, and I finished everything I needed to on the last second on Sunday.

So first question of the day, now that school literally just let out about 10 seconds ago. Do you believe the Queen Mary is haunted? Personally I don't, as I see no reason for why a ghost would stick around in such a famous and accomplished ship, but as a believer in the afterlife and God, the possibility can't be ruled out.

What do you believe?

[Thomas Hypher]

Morning y'all!

How was your last week/weekend? Mine was a blast: school went well, I had Friday off and all to myself, I finished my Seabiscuit DVD and watched Gun Runner win his finale in the Pegasus World Cup on Saturday, and I finished everything I needed to on the last second on Sunday.

So first question of the day, now that school literally just let out about 10 seconds ago. Do you believe the Queen Mary is haunted? Personally I don't, as I see no reason for why a ghost would stick around in such a famous and accomplished ship, but as a believer in the afterlife and God, the possibility can't be ruled out.

What do you believe?

I do believe that she's home to spirits/ghosts of people and maybe creatures (think ship's cats) long passed on as she did such a lot for a ship and has been around for so long. I think this because of the experiences of family members such as my Dad (who isn't religious either and is somewhat cynical when it comes to spirits/ghosts like I can be too, depending on the context/situation) in different situations, such as where me and my parents used to live. However, I think the Ghostbusters type stuff that happens on her is ridiculous and is disrespectful to a degree - a more subtle approach being more appropriate in my opinion.

Thomas

[Rob Lightbody]

She was famous for lots of things - lots and lots of things - but none of them were about her being haunted.

its a fictional creation by desperate marketing people in Long Beach, who clearly had no comprehension of what they had.

And now, in Long Beach, for many people, its what she's famous for, its what she is.... and it obscures her real, incredibly story and makes her forbidding, which she never was.

That's my view.