She once carried the Allied war effort across the Atlantic. Now, the RMS Queen Mary sits permanently docked in Long Beach, California, and she may not be as empty as she looks.

The RMS Queen Mary was launched in 1934 by the Cunard White Star Line and entered service in 1936. At the time, she was the largest ocean liner in the world, stretching over 1000 feet from bow to stern. Her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York was a cultural event, and she held the Blue Riband, the informal prize for the fastest transatlantic crossing, from 1938 until 1952.

During World War II, she was requisitioned by the British government and repainted a dull, flat gray color to make her harder to spot from German U-boats. This gave her the nickname of “The Grey Ghost”. She was then converted into a troopship capable of ferrying up to 16,000 soldiers at one time. Adolf Hitler was so concerned about her efficiency that he reportedly offered a bounty of 1 million Reichsmarks and Oak Leaves to the Knight’s Cross (one of the highest German military honors) to any U-boat captain who could sink her. None ever succeeded. Over the course of the war, the Queen Mary transported more than 765,000 troops across the Atlantic, and Winston Churchill credited her contribution as helping to shorten the war by a full year.

On October 2nd, 1942, the Queen Mary was traveling in a convoy near Scotland when she accidentally struck and sliced through her own escort vessel, the HMS Curacoa. The smaller ship broke apart and sank in under three minutes. Strict wartime protocol forbade the Queen Mary from stopping—she was too valuable a target to slow down for any reason—and so she kept moving as 338 sailors drowned in her wake. Only 99 survived. The decision not to stop haunted the crew for decades. Reports of unexplained sounds near the bow of the ship—the sound of metal scraping, of voices in the water—began not long after.

The Queen Mary returned to civilian service in 1947, and her glory days resumed briefly before the jet age made transatlantic ocean liners obsolete. In 1967, Cunard sold her to the city of Long Beach, where she has been permanently moored ever since, operating as a hotel and tourist attraction. She never sailed again. And that, according to many, is when the strange occurrences truly began.

The ship’s most frequently reported haunting centers on the first-class swimming pool, which was drained long ago and is now used only for tours. Guests and staff have reported seeing wet footprints appearing on the dry pool deck, with no swimmers in sight. A woman in a white bathing suit from another era has been spotted poolside and then vanished. Two women are said to have drowned in the pool during the ship’s active years, and many believe their spirits have never left.

Then there is Door 13.

Located in the engine room, Door 13 is a heavy watertight door that was used during routine drills. In 1966, during one such drill, an 18-year-old crew member named John Pedder was crushed to death when the door closed on him. Today, guests on engine room tours report cold spots near the door and the sensation of being watched. Some have reported seeing a young man in blue coveralls walking near the machinery before disappearing. The ship’s paranormal tour guides refer to him as “Half Hatch Harry.”

Perhaps the most unsettling reports come from the second-class children’s playroom. Psychics and ghost hunters who have visited the ship over the years claim that a young girl named “Jackie” haunts this area, a child who drowned somewhere aboard the vessel. No clear historical record confirms her identity, but electronic voice phenomenon recordings taken in the playroom have allegedly captured the sound of a little girl’s voice asking for her mother.

The Queen Mary has leaned into her haunted reputation with characteristic flair. She now hosts official paranormal investigation tours, overnight ghost hunts, and a seasonal Halloween event called “Dark Harbor” that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. The ship has been investigated by numerous paranormal television programs and has been named one of the most haunted places in the United States by publications ranging from Time magazine to the Travel Channel.

Kaylee Fowler