A Halloween Queen Mary? By Commodore Everette Hoard
A Halloween Queen Mary?
By Commodore Everette Hoard
Well, it is the season, and it is true that there is “something about Mary.” She is just a little haunted! But why not? She is British and nearly a hundred years old, and she has sailed 3.8 million nautical miles upon the oceans of the Earth in war and peace, and in fair weather and foul. In the Second World War, the Queen Mary would shoulder some 810,730 military personnel in the pursuit of peace and freedom from Nazi tyranny. On one of those wartime voyages, the superliner would shatter all records by carrying 16,683 souls from New York to Scotland! So, I am sure if you check you will find the ghosts of soldiers crowding her hallowed decks.
Queen Mary arriving in Long Beach December 9, 1967.
Queen Mary arriving in New York at the conclusion of the Westbound portion of her Maiden Voyage June 1, 1936.
The First Class Pool. One of the most active areas for paranormal activity in the Queen Mary.
Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy chat with fellow passengers on the Sun Deck.
John F. Kennedy with his father Joseph traveling First Class in 1939.
People are fascinated by this great ship’s history, legacy and lore. The questions I have answered most are these: “Did anyone die onboard? And have you had any paranormal encounters?” The answer is YES to both! Like any other place where people have lived, people have died onboard the fabled vessel. Close to sixty deaths occurred in the ship during her 1,001 peacetime crossings of the North Atlantic Ocean. The first death occurred on the Eastbound leg of the maiden voyage in June of 1936. A sailor fell from the Sports Deck to the Sun Deck below and fractured his skull. While most of the deaths in peacetime were from natural causes there were some that were unusual and unique. On one voyage, a second officer was told by the staff captain that he could drop into his cabin and help himself to a gin when he got off watch. The officer took the staff captain up on his gracious offer. Finding the gin bottle, the second officer poured himself a generous portion. He was suffering from a cold and had downed most of the beverage before realizing it wasn’t gin, it was tetrachloride! The staff captain’s steward had used a gin bottle to store the toxic fluid for cleaning spots on his boss’s uniforms. The second officer died from drinking the poison.
Another incident happened in July 1966 when the vessel was at sea in fog, running with all watertight doors closed on bridge control as was normal for these conditions. Shortly before dawn, the ship’s doctor was called to shaft alley to watertight door 13. A young greaser of the Engineering Department had been found trapped in the watertight door. He later died without regaining consciousness. The door was tested and found to be in perfect working order. Apparently, the young fellow was doing his routine checks and opened the one-and-a-half-ton door and attempted to pass through but was unsuccessful with the door closing on him. His ghost has been sighted in that area over the years. While not particularly afraid, I always pass through door 13 with reverence.
There is not an accurate number of recorded deaths in the Queen Mary during her war service. I can tell you there were many. Some of the harshest environmental conditions the ship would ever endure were in the early days of the war, when the ship was working in the Red Sea carrying Allied troops to fight the Germans in Northern Africa, and then later when evacuating Allied troops and German POW’s
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother visits some off duty crew members in the Queen Mary’s working alleyway with Staff Captain (later Commodore) Geoffrey Marr.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor pause for a photo outside the First Class Garden Lounge
The Commodore of the Cunard Line welcomes Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden aboard the Queen Mary.
Elizabeth Taylor with her adored poodles outside the kennel on the Sports Deck.
Carry Grant takes in the sea breeze in mid-Atlantic. Grant considered the Queen Mary to be the Eighth Wonder of the World!
Audrey Hepburn boards the Queen Mary for an Atlantic crossing.
A ship built for 2,000 passengers and 1,200 crew to operate in the cool climes of the North Atlantic became a cauldron of deadly heat only meant for the damned when packed with 10,000 troops and prisoners. The temperature outside was over a hundred degrees. The interior of the unairconditioned ship with all her windows and portholes closed and painted with blackout paint, and with her steam boilers raging below, became an inferno. The German POW’s that were quartered in the cargo holds, where ventilation was practically nil, were dying of heat prostration. Burials at sea became a daily routine to keep disease from breaking out in the ship.
After the D-Day invasion of Normandy, Eastbound crossings carried badly needed troops to support the Allied war effort and Westbound crossings carried thousands of wounded and broken men. One can be sure that many would draw their last breath on the Queen Mary.
The last death to occur in the Queen Mary’s seagoing career was on the 14,500-mile voyage from England to Long Beach in 1967. A chef died from a heat stroke while off the coast of Brazil. According to the chef’s last wishes, Captain Treasure Jones laid him to rest at sea where he had spent most of his life.
Let me tell you right here and now - I have never wanted or sought to have a paranormal experience! In my first year with the Queen Mary, a kind security guard gave me the behind-the-scenes crewmember tour of the ship that has been and still is the love of my life. While down in dark eeriness of the boiler rooms he said, “You know this ship is haunted.” I did not know that! I was insulted that he would say that about such a magnificent thing as the Queen Mary. I quickly discarded the notion. I crawled all over that ship for at least three or four years and never had anything unusual occur. And then things would change. My first encounter happened forward of the boiler rooms. I was showing a couple of VIP guests the ‘collision bulkhead,’ a mighty steel wall that is close to bow and forms the first watertight compartment called the forepeak. I was telling the story of the unfortunate wartime collision where the Queen Mary accidently rammed and split in half one of her Royal Navel escorts, H.M.S. Curacoa, and that 338 of the cruiser’s compliment had died. As I was telling the story, I began to hear a shallow breathing sound. The sound was getting more noticeable as I spoke, and finally, I could feel a breath going down the back of my neck! My guests were looking at me strangely, and I wasn’t keen to say anything as I thought they would think I was nuts! Fortunately, one of them said, “do you hear that?” At that point we all quit the area at a fast trot and it must have been amusing to see us climbing up ten decks -at speed- and sitting on a bench looking at each other with pale faces, wondering what just happened to us.
The breathing was only the start. I’ve heard it often over the years. Sometimes it is only a sigh. Perhaps it is the Queen herself remembering the ‘Glory Days’ when she reigned as the supreme expression of ocean travel. I spent a good bit of time visiting with Captain Treasure Jones, her last Cunard Line master, at his home in England until his passing in 1993. One thing he often mentioned to me was, “the Queen Mary is the closest thing to a living being that I have ever commanded; she even breaths.” I loved to hear him say this but never mustered the courage to share my experiences with him. I left it as I’m sure he meant it, and that is ‘his great ship more than any other, is a ship with a soul.’
Over my 40-year association with the Queen Mary, I have heard and felt many things. The ghosts often touch people, and I’ve heard them call my name. I clearly heard one speak to me in cabin M001 in May of 2011. My wife and I spent a few nights onboard to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the maiden voyage. It was about 8:00 in the morning and Cyndi had gone on deck to get coffee while I lay in bed lightly dozing. Out of the blue, the bed shook for a few a seconds like we were having a mild earthquake. I raised up and everything in the cabin was still. Nothing swinging or swaying as we Californians expect after a temblor. It became unusually quiet. There were no sounds at all that are characteristically associated with being onboard the Queen Mary, so I laid back down. No sooner than my head hit the pillow I clearly heard a young lady’s voice whisper into my left ear and say, “I’m so cold, so very, very cold.” I was wide awake after that! A wag in our crew later said to me, “Did you get her a blanket?!”
I could go on with more of my own experiences, but that should suffice for this writing. The best way to learn more is by visiting the magnificent ship and making your own memories with her.
Many ask me if I’m afraid of the Queen Mary’s vibrant presence. I’m not afraid at all, but I do stand in awe, and there are certain areas I’d rather not visit alone! For me, I’m not sure that the spirits on the ship are only those who died there. With a history as rich as the Queen Mary’s, one must take into account all the millions of happy times that have been lived in the ship. Whether you were a student traveling tourist class to Europe, or a member of Royalty or a Hollywood star traveling in First Class, the happy spirit of adventure that is unique to an ocean voyage abounds. And here in Long Beach, this remarkable vessel has reigned as Southern California’s very own Queen of attractions, special events, and hotels for more than 50 years. Her popularity is unabated seeing presidents, Royals, and surely the most famous luminaries of the entertainment industry. The ship herself has starred in nearly 400 feature films, television shows, and commercials! It is estimated some 55 million people have visited the ship in her current role as perhaps the most unique landmark afloat! Surely, the Queen Mary carries the reflection of all these happy people and events in her DNA, and just maybe, this is what we are experiencing that is so compelling.
Halloween has become a tradition with the Queen Mary. Over the last twenty or so years there has been a month-long celebration, most recently called, “Dark Harbor.” It is one of the most popular seasonal events in the country, drawing thousands upon thousands from near and far. One Halloween was one of the most poignant and important days in the Queen’s long life for another reason. At the conclusion of her career as a Cunard superliner, the Queen Mary left England forever, bound for a new, even longer career in Long Beach California on October 31, 1967. Nearly all her trans-Atlantic peers have vanished from tangibility; they only live in pictures, memories, and hearts. But the Queen Mary remains as a singular living reminder of the glamor years of the golden age of ocean travel.
Maria Regina in saecula saeculorum!!!
(Queen Mary unto the ages of ages!!!)
· The Queen Mary was temporarily closed in May 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic and remains closed at this writing. For any official news regarding the ship and reopening please follow the City of Long Beach on the web as well as The Queen Mary.
Commodore Everette Hoard began his career aboard the retired Cunard Liner Queen Mary now permanently docked in Long Beach California in 1981 at age 20. Throughout the years he has played many roles in his beloved ship including nautical consultant and maritime historian. His current position as Commodore is chiefly an ambassadorial role and includes officiating wedding ceremonies, entertaining VIP’s, extensive media work, lectures, and historical research. Commodore Everette, in addition to his job with the Queen Mary, is an avid writer on the subject and maintains a close friendship with the esteemed Cunard Line. He has lectured in the Cunard liner, Queen Victoria, and has made several presentations in the Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth 2, and the new Queen Elizabeth. Everette has spent much time in the United Kingdom and met many captains of both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, including Captain Treasure Jones and Commodore Geoffrey Marr, their last masters. “They were my mentors,” says Hoard. “They taught me that an ocean liner has three sides: port, starboard, and social! I only need to command the social side of the Queen Mary, a job which I enjoy immensely. I can’t take our passengers on an ocean voyage, but I can take them across the oceans of time on an unforgettable journey.”
Email: commodore.everette@aol.com
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