Stokercon Day 2: Haunted Ghost Ship

 My second day at Stokercon was even better than the first. I attended a few panels, one by Michelle Belanger on the Occult in Writing was fan-freakin-tastic. She's appeared on numerous television shows, including Paranormal State, but what was even more impressive, was the the extensive knowledge into ancient religions, the occult, and the paranormal. It was more than obvious that she has studied up on all those things, and had a detailed, well-educated answer for any question that arose. 

Another highlight of the day, was ghost tours. I took a one-hour tour during the day that explored some of the history of the ship, as well as some of the urban legends surrounding the hauntings. The tour guide was amazing and I learned a lot. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know much about the Queen Mary before coming here. During its heyday, it was the largest fastest ship of its time. It carried English Royalty as well as many celebrities before being converted into a troop transport during the war. During normal operation, it carried 2000 passengers and 1200 crew members; however, during its military service, it carried many more, and at one point it carried over 16k troops in preparation for D-Day.

It was so infamous and fast, that Hitler had put out a 250k bounty for any submarine captain that could sink her. The Queen Mary was under orders to not stop for anything, and that was put to the test when it collided with the HMS Curacoa in 1942. The Queen Mary cut the other ship in half and didn't stop due to fears of German ships in the area. 337 crew members of the Curacoa died while only 101 survived. During the ghost tour, the tour guide stated sometimes people could see ghosts of Curacoa crew members walking around the bow area and the propeller area. 

I didn't get to see the propeller area during the day tour, but I did get to see it when I took the two-hour long night tour, which was just as awesome. Below you'll see the bow area that still shows damage from the collision as well as the massive propeller. Didn't see any ghosts on my tour though. Another story brought up during both tours, was the crew member who was crushed to death when when of the water tight seals closed. Throughout the ship, they had a series of doors that were steam operated and meant to close and seal off sections of the ship. Apparently during one of the closings, a young man got trapped in the doorway and was killed. His ghost is said to roam the area from time to time. Here is a picture of the door that killed him. Finally, what's a ghost tour without some creepy hallway shots?