Long Beach's Queen Mary: Since the 1942 Collision, People on Board Always Say They Hear Water Sounds

On the beach in Long Beach, California, there is a giant old ship moored, with a black hull and a red funnel, called the Queen Mary. It made its maiden voyage in 1936 and was at the time Britain's most luxurious transatlantic liner; it no longer sails, and has become a hotel and attraction.

After World War II broke out, it was requisitioned as a troopship, its hull painted gray, with no lights on. Because it was very fast, German submarines could not catch up, and the soldiers called it the "Grey Ghost." It could carry over ten thousand people at once, many of whom lay in the corridors and slept on the floor.

On October 2, 1942, while sailing off the coast of Ireland, a British escort cruiser, the HMS Curacoa, was leading the way ahead, zigzagging as it went. The two ships were too close, and the Queen Mary's bow slammed into the Curacoa amidships, slicing it in two. At the time, the order on board was that they must not stop under such circumstances, because stopping would make them a sitting duck for submarines. So the big ship sailed past the people in the water, merely throwing a few lifebuoys into the sea, and other ships arrived later to help. More than three hundred people on the Curacoa perished, with only about a hundred surviving.

The British Navy kept the collision secret for several years, and later, over liability issues, both sides went to court.

After the war, the Queen Mary resumed passenger service until it was retired in 1967, purchased by Long Beach, and converted into a hotel. Now tour guides take guests through the ship, and the most frequently mentioned spots are: an old swimming pool, where they say children's laughter can be heard at midnight; a watertight door leading to the engine room, where a young sailor is said to have been crushed to death during a drill; and cabin B340, where guests who have stayed say someone rocks the bed at night.

People living on the ship have written reviews saying they heard footsteps in the corridor at midnight, while others say they heard nothing. Every Halloween, the ship holds a large event; at night, people line up to buy tickets, and those boarding queue from the deck all the way to the pier.

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