Evidence of the hauntings aboard the Queen Mary Hotel are both abundant and compelling. But what watching or listening to a piece of evidence can lack is the experience of the interlude in the first person. What was it like to commune with a soul the other side? Here, we will try to give you cognizance of the paranormal experience with first hand accounts of the encounters on the ship.
"During another investigation on the Queen Mary, Brian and myself again entered the side hall corridor that leads to the first class pool area. We have found this to be very effective in catching Jackie, the little spirit girl who plays in the pool area, singing, talking or chattering. Sure enough, she could be heard doing just that, chattering audibly.
"People always ask me if I believe she is alone in the pool and I would confidently say “definitely not.” I have captured at least five different voices in the pool area. I would guess it is still pretty crowded in there. Brian and I entered the pool area and did a walk around of the top floor of the pool room. Brian then proceeded to the first floor and into the changing rooms, and I into to the room under the stairs. Grumpy ghost was no where to be seen or heard this time.
"I exited the little room and walked over to the wall by the pool's slide and called out to Jackie and she immediately started to talk to us but I couldn't make out exactly what she was saying. Brian and I had two separate audio recorders going at that time and we kept both recorders running the entire time we were in the pool. Jackie continued to talk and answer my questions and even mention Brian had candy in his pocket before he even got it out of his pocket! This entire exchange lasted a full 17 minutes. During much of the exchange it was clear she was directly answering my questions. At one point I tried coaxing her to come closer and, knowing many kids have an uncle Bob, I said, “Come see uncle Bob.” She promptly shot back “You're not my uncle,” to which I replied “You can call me your uncle.” Then she loudly and forcefully yelled, “No!” This exchange went back and forth until I was completely exhausted. This event left even Brian, our team skeptic, a believer.
"One interesting foot note to this story. Upon our review of the audio some of the chatter we could not understand at the time because of the pace of her speech and the echo of the pool room became understandable. The most intriguing was a section of the conversation a few minutes before I say, “Come see your uncle Bob.” Jackie can clearly be heard to enunciate “You're not my uncle.” I had been thinking of saying that at the time but had not yet said it. How did Jackie know I was going to say that? How did Jackie know Brian had candy in his pocket? These are some of the most amazing parts of this entire exchange. It has been mentioned by other researchers that EVP's have been captured giving response to questions not yet asked. Here we have an example of an AVP (audible voice phenomena) seemingly foretelling future events. This leaves much to be pondered and I believe there could be clues as to what happens to us after death. This could give researchers new insight into the flow of time and space in the spirit world and possibly a way to prove the existence of life after death."
Bob Davis
Planet Paranormal Radio
Planet Paranormal Investigations
Queen Mary Shadows
You can hear these audio clips and other evidence on our website on the EVP page.
"During one of my investigations aboard the Queen Mary, I had the pleasure of having a good friend and fellow investigator Rod Shelton of Hauntings Radio along. This would prove to be a very active couple of days on board the ship and we would gather much evidence over the next two days. Rod and I headed to the west entrance of the first class swimming pool. The entrance is a long hallway that leads to the two side doors of the pool. It has become my custom to stop at these doors to get cameras and recorders running, as well as, to give a listen for little Jackie the talking ghost child who likes to call the pool her playground. It is believed Jackie may have drowned in the second class pool but to date no record of her drowning has been found. The second class pool has since been converted to the Royal theater and may explain why she now goes to the first class pool.
"As we approached the double doors we paused and heard nothing. We got our equipment running and slowly entered the doors. As we proceeded into the area, we could hear the faint laughter of a little girl. Rod looked at me in amazement and I said, "That's her; that's Jackie". He just gave me a funny look and we proceeded around the top balcony of the pool room and down to the landing on the stairs. This was a Tuesday night at approximately 11:00 pm and the ship was not busy at all during the two days we stayed there. The likelihood of a small girl in the pool at that time was not fair. Besides, I have been investigating the ship for many years and have heard Jackie at all hours of the day and night. I have long since lost my skepticism of who or what Jackie is. At this time, I called out to Jackie and received the immediate reply of "hello." It was the little and drawn out voice of Jackie. I continued to call out but received no further response from her at that time.
"Rod and I continued down the stairs to the first level of the pool room. There is a little room under the stairs and I was telling Rod about a spirit I have encountered under there on several occasions. I named him "Grumpy" due to his habit of growling into peoples' ears. As Rod and I began asking for Grumpy to give us some sort of sign, a loud bang came from in between us, and this was captured on our audio recorders. Rod's eyes were as big as saucers and he asked me, "Did you hear that Bob?" I began laughing because he looked so shocked. I had grown pretty accustomed to the spirits of the ship by now but this was all new to Rod as was Grumpy's forceful nature. Suddenly, we both began to laugh. This is one of the things I love most about investigating haunted locations and especially the Queen Mary. I love to see people when they instantly transform from a skeptic to a believer. On the Queen Mary I have seen it several times and I never tire of it.
"On the second night of our investigation of the Queen Mary, we again found ourselves starting off in the pool. We went directly to the room under the stairs this time. Rod had his audio recorder running as well as his video camera. Rod was trying to film back in the room and you could hear him narrating that his camera batteries appear to be dead. He was explaining how it could be a good sign and a precursor to haunting activity because when his batteries die activity usually happens and sometimes quickly. Right while Rod was in mid sentence, Grumpy growled right into my right ear. It was so close it felt like hot, human breath in my ear. I guess I displayed a shocked look on my face. Rod looked at me and asked, "You're getting it again, aren't you?" I shook my head affirmative and again we started to laugh. This was the most active couple of nights I have ever had on board the ship and I was glad to have a good friend along to experience it with me."
Bob Davis
Planet Paranormal Radio
Planet Paranormal Investigations
Queen Mary Shadows
"One night during a paranormal investigation on the Queen Mary, myself and several of my team members from Planet Paranormal Investigations were fortunate enough to be granted access to the cargo hold of the ship. This area is extremely active and usually off limits to most investigators because of the danger posed by climbing down the narrow ladder into the hold. On this night my friend and fellow team member Tom was with me and had never been here before. I have been to this area several times and have never been disappointed.
"We made our way down the ladder and into the hold. The best I can recall there were about 5 investigators with me that night. As we searched for a place to sit, you could clearly hear voices say “Someone is coming” and another voice say “Look, they are right here.” I looked over at Tom who was wide eyed and I asked him if he heard the voices. He shook his head "yes" with a nervous smile that indicated that he had indeed heard the voices. The interesting thing is that the cargo hold does not have areas where someone could hide. The cargo hold is approximately 28 feet below the water line. Voices from the outside will not carry into that area of the ship.
"During other investigations of the cargo hold, I have heard and recorded voices of women and men speaking with British accents, foreign languages, and answering direct questions posed to them. I have heard what sounds like tearing metal and water rushing in to the hold area, which, by the way, is the same area of the ship that struck the British war ship Curacoa (the ship that sank taking nearly three hundred men to their deaths). Myself and other investigators have seen showers of green sparks coming from the roof area of the hold. This section of the ship was used for keeping prisoners during transport to the states and many soldiers died here during these long, hot voyages. This is no doubt another reason that this particular area of the ship is so haunted. I have been investigating the cargo hold since the early 1980's."
Bob Davis
Planet Paranormal Radio
Planet Paranormal Investigations
Queen Mary Shadows
"One evening in December of 2004, after finishing up a ghost tour, my daughter Katrina and I were standing in the lobby near the front desk discussing the paranormal events of the evening with others who had taken the tour. It was around 3:30 am and the ship was very quiet by that time. I noticed a man and woman coming down the main stair case; I glanced up at them and noticed a beautiful blonde woman in a ball gown following behind them. She was very pale but I found myself captivated by her beauty. When my eyes met hers I was startled by the fact that she seemed to be looking right through me with a cold stare. There were dark circles around her eyes and for some unknown reason I said to my daughter “there is your ghost”. Katrina responded back “who, those two people”? I told her I was referring to the the young lady behind them. Katrina seemed puzzled by this and told me that there was no young woman, just as the couple was coming down the stairs. I was amazed that my daughter could not see the young woman. It was an extremely foggy night and the fog was wafting into the lobby doors. I had noticed that the woman had exited the ship through these doors and tried to follow her after Katrina had said she could not see her. The couple was standing by the elevator waiting for it to arrive but there was no sign of the young woman anywhere. I asked the man and woman if they had seen the girl but they told me they were alone and that they had seen no one else. They looked at me as if I were crazy so I quickly thanked them and went back inside.
"A year later I was again visiting the ship to conduct an investigation with Planet Paranormal Investigations. We were in the Paranormal Research center and I was looking around at the exhibits when I came to a glass display case and was nearly bowled over when I saw the depiction of the Lady in White. The mannequin in the case was wearing a ball gown almost exactly the same as the one worn by the beautiful young woman with the lost stare The detail was amazing right down to a broach worn at the breast line.
"Think what you will, but the face of that young lady will be forever etched into my memory and I long to see her once again."
Bob Davis
"I worked on the ship from 1991-1994. I did tours in 91-92. I'd stand at the guest services podium at the top of the stairs. That lady in white was more of a residual haunting. She would come walking towards me from the portside hall confidently, then lose her balance at the first step. She just fell straight towards the Queen's Seal, and vanish through the bulkhead. It happened several times a week.
"A few other times I didn't see exactly, but I felt a woman walk through me as I headed towards my locker on B deck aft. It normally happened on A or B deck, usually accompanied by a strong smell of perfume. I worked swing shift hotel operator from 93-94, I'd had phone calls from people asking if we still had a Mae West impersonator working on the ship (at 10:00 PM?). I told people she hadn't been on the ship since summer of 92. They said they saw a blond woman in a white evening gown strolling the hallways. If I worked morning shift, I'd get calls from people if we had a night auditor or manager fitting the description of the lady in white. I later read in the book by Steele, that First Class had it's regular share of high-end "ladies". When loud fights errupted on board late at night between men and women, a paid lady could sometimes be to blame. There were suspicions that their customers chose the fastest way to silence them under the threat of their relationship being exposed to wives, etc. The suspicions arose because some of the ladies boarded, but didn't disembark.
"My favorite story was told to me by the front desk manager at the time. There was a couple staying in a room on A deck. As they were sleeping, the wife had her sheets pulled back. She woke up her husband and accused him of doing it. He said it wasn't him, and they soon fell back asleep. Moments later, the husband had his sheets pulled away. He made the accusation to his wife she was paying him back. They were both tired, and fell back to sleep. A while longer, and all the sheets were pulled from the bed. There was an attractive woman, in a white gown, at the end of the bed staring at them. The terrified husband ran to the front desk in his underwear to check out, and the wife gathered up their belongings and left."
Cornelia Davidson-Heun
"I went to the first Ghostfest in 2006. I sat in on Peter James's afternoon lecture, 2nd row. After a few minutes, I kept turning around and looking at the back of the room. Peter noticed, and got this big smirk on his face. After about 20 minutes, the pressure on the back of my head turned to a warm, burning sensation. I had this perturbed look on my face, and there's Peter just smirking at me because I couldn't figure out who was staring me down so bad at the back of the room. When Q&A opened up, someone asked, "Is there someone in the room with us?" Peter says, "Yes. It's William Stark." Then it all became clear because William Stark never did like all the pranks I played with the people on my tours. Lost track of how many times he cleared his throat in my ears, or shook his head in sheer disgust. There were a few times a spirit walked through me in the hallways of the hotel. Nothing too out of the ordinary."
Cornelia Davidson-Heun