Scaring Up Some Business

In a dark, narrow corridor in the bowels of the Queen Mary, a tuft of cold air sends chills up your spine. You feel a tug on your shirt but no one is there. A little girl in a dress and a little white bonnet--but without legs--giggles and waves as she floats by.

Stories of paranormal activity on board the Queen Mary have been surfacing almost since the ship first was launched in 1934.

So, in an effort to boost attendance--particularly among young people--the folks who operate the ship as a tourist attraction in Long Beach have turned that lore into a new, special-effects-enhanced tour.

At midnight on Friday, “Ghosts & Legends of the Queen Mary” debuts, taking many of the well-documented sightings that have unnerved guests and employees of the ship for decades and making them materialize for visitors who prefer a little terror in their tour. The half-hour attraction is included with the regular price of admission. (The traditional tour of the ship is still available too.)

“Ghosts & Legends” ventures into parts of the ship that have not been accessible to the public since the Queen Mary opened as a hotel and attraction in 1972. Add to these naturally musty areas a few cobwebs, low lighting and a little smoke and mirrors, and it’s the kind of place where goose bumps will abound.

The ocean liner has never tried to compete with Southland theme parks for the fastest ride (how could it, since the boilers and engines were removed in the 1960s), the biggest drop (although a leap into the bay might qualify) or the best special effects. Until now.

Creaking Hatch Leads to Creepy Happenings

The new attraction begins in a cozy room with a briefing about the strange happenings aboard the ship. Then a door slides back and guests enter a creaking old hatch that appears not to have been opened in decades. From that point on, they may not want to stray too far from the group.

“It’s an undeniable thing,” tour guide Lee Fox said. “The ship is creepy.”

In his two years on the vessel, Fox claims to have had two paranormal experiences of his own. Both encounters happened in the first-class swimming pool area, one of the central locations for the “Ghosts & Legends” tour.

“I saw someone look around the corner and heard a child just jabbering,” he said of his first experience in 1998. “I got to the staircase and heard a girl, not saying anything comprehensible.”

Fox looked for the source of the noise in the changing room at the end of the pool, but no one was in sight. He had a similar experience in October.

“There’s only one way in and one way out, so it’s kind of hard for anyone to hide in there,” Fox said, adding that, at least once a month, cameras and video recorders will stop working in the pool area. “It happens often enough to make you think.”

Emphasizing the eerie aspects of the ship is a way to attract young, adventurous guests, said Lovetta Kramer, a spokeswoman for the Queen Mary. “The Queen Mary has been perceived as being for older people. [‘Ghosts & Legends’] could be more for young people, but the paranormal transcends age groups.”

“Ghosts & Legends” consists of five interactive effects, all either based on actual incidents that resulted in deaths or set in areas that have a reputation as a hotbed for uninvited apparitions.

Effect Based on Story of Crewman’s Tragedy

One of the effects, dubbed the Return of Half-Hatch Henry, is based on the story of a young crewman named John Pedder who was crushed to death by the hatch in a doorway to the engine room in 1966. There have been occasional reports since then of people seeing a young, bearded man in blue coveralls wandering the corridor, then disappearing at door No. 13--the one that killed Pedder.

Another effect, the Boiling Boiler Room, is based on a wartime collision between the Queen Mary and the HMS Curacoa, resulting in the death of several hundred men on the latter ship. Visitors venture onto the scaffold-like walkways and into the boiler room, which is actually flooded during the tour.

The boiler room is one of the areas that previously has been off-limits to guests. Now, the operators are taking advantage of these huge, empty hulls.

“It would have cost $20 million if we would have had to build this,” said Mike Eggert, manager of attractions. The steel bulkheads and vast vacant spaces are “the perfect sound stage for an attraction like this.”

BE THERE

“Ghosts & Legends of the Queen Mary,” Queen Mary, Long Beach. For the grand opening Friday night, the ship will open at 8 p.m., offering live entertainment and, at 10 p.m., fireworks. “Ghosts & Legends” tours begin at midnight and will continue for 24 hours. Thereafter, regular hours for the Queen Mary are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Ship admission: adults, $17; seniors and military, $15; ages 3-11, $13. Parking, $8. (562) 435-3511. https://www.queenmary.com.