The Haunting of the QE2

The Queen Mary isn’t the only Cunard ship that’s said to be haunted. It’s said that Queen Elizabeth 2 also has a very healthy amount of ghostly activity.

After the ship arrived in Dubai in November 2008, reports of weird activity began emerging. One of the workers aboard QE2 was interviewed by the Daily Mail in March 2010. He talked about how the spirit of “an elderly white lady” had been seen roaming the ship’s corridors at night. He also spoke about the sounds of children’s voices can sometimes be heard in the long-abandoned hospital.

But reports of ghostly activity certainly date back to QE2’s sailing days.

Shaft Alley Ghost

One of the most lasting stories revolves around an accident that supposedly occurred during QE2’s major 1986-1987 refit. This was when the ship was re-engined and converted from steam power to diesel power.

QE2 during her 1986-1987 refit. Courtesy Queen Elizabeth 2.

The story goes that one worker was accidentally sealed up inside one of the ship’s propeller shafts. Over the years, engineers reported many weird feelings and sensations around that area. Some even reported seeing odd shapes and forms that they couldn’t explain. But so far, I’ve not been able to find any evidence of such an accident ever taking place.

That said, however, one engineering crew member recalled how, before he joined the ship in 1984:

[There was] a store man that passed and there were reports that he came back and used to walk around the engine stores, steering gear space and No3 hold. I must admit there was something around and I was not the only person to feel a presence on more than one occasion whilst working in the holds and the steering gear.

Could this have been the reason for the reports of odd sensations and sightings in QE2’s engineering spaces? Or was it the result of boredom and overactive imaginations?

Personally, I’ve seen and experienced a number of weird things in the Queen Mary’s engineering spaces over the years: everything from shadow figures to odd sensations. I know what I’ve experienced, and I definitely believe that the same could be the case for QE2.

Cruising in the Afterlife?

Reports of paranormal activity extend beyond engineering, however. There has also been reported incidents in the passenger spaces as well.

A stateroom aboard the QE2. Courtesy Queen Elizabeth 2.

A good friend of mine was aboard Queen Elizabeth 2 shortly before her retirement in 2008. He once told me that his cabin was haunted by something “evilly sinister.” He described it as being a very foreboding presence, and it was felt several times during the voyage. I really don’t think that he was pulling my leg: he’s not the type of person to make a story like this up.

One former crew member has also noted:

Whilst working on the ship in 1991 I was told that there was a haunted cabin at the stern end of 5 deck portside!

It was occupied at the time by a couple of the band members. Despite the noise and vibration in that area of the ship they had occurances [sic] of objects being moved around, doors opening and closing and strange noises.

Apparently it got so bad that a priest was called in to perform an exorcism.

Another former crew member reported that they stayed aboard the ship during her 1994 refurbishment in Hamburg, Germany. He noted that he was “walking along the passenger corridors at night with no workers around and almost in complete darkness” and heard “music and people chatting away.” Though, he also conceded that this could’ve been the result of a very different type of spirit (gin).

Could the spirits of QE2’s former passengers still be hanging around the ship? Again, based on what I’ve experienced aboard Queen Mary, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.

Final Thoughts

There will always be those who say that Queen Elizabeth 2 isn’t haunted. This includes her last master. “There are no ghosts aboard the QE2,” Captain Sir Ian McNaught said in a 2007 interview, “but I know where there’s a man’s finger. It’s in a little store in the fc’stle. Somebody lost a finger in an accident and nobody will go and get it out.” The Queen Mary has a ghost, though,” he added.

But ghost stories persist. Queen Elizabeth 2 sailed for 40 years and sailed more than 4.5 million nautical miles and carried over two million passengers. Then there’s the fact she served as a troopship during the Falklands War in 1982. Through peace and war, there’s bound to have been at least some energy that’s stuck around the venerable old ship.

British troops board QE2 in 1982. Courtesy Queen Elizabeth 2.

I’m sure there are many more stories than what’s been mentioned above. Have you ever experienced anything weird aboard QE2 either at sea or in Dubai? Please let me know in the comments below.

Note: I wrote about this topic on the earlier version this blog. You can read it here.

References