Haunting Reminders of the Night: Titanic Artifacts and the Paranormal

Earlier this week, my wife and I were in Las Vegas for a quick little vacation. We decided to visit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition at the Luxor Hotel and Casino. We first went in September 2022, and I’ve been wanting to go back ever since. I’ll write about this recent visit in a future blog post…but given that today is Halloween I wanted to write about something a bit more appropriate for the day.

As we were in line and getting ready to enter the exhibition, I had a random thought. “I wonder,” I mused to Teresa, “if there are any hauntings or ghost stories associated with the Titanic artifacts here.” It’s not as wild as it might sound. History is full of stories about how spirits are sometimes drawn to objects they possessed in life. Why shouldn’t the same be for Titanic artifacts as well? Especially since the disaster was a traumatic experience for everyone who experienced it.

Afterwards, I started looking things up on the Lyft ride back to the hotel. Sure enough…it seems that paranormal experiences are pretty common at the many Titanic museums and exhibits around the world. I’ve done my best to scour the internet for stories, and present a compilation here organized by location. Please note that while I’m including sources from paranormal investigations, I’m focusing purely on eyewitness accounts.

Oh, and no. I didn’t personally experience anything weird at the Titanic exhibition. Nor in September 2022 either. But maybe the next time I visit?

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)

Since I was just there, I think it makes sense to start in Las Vegas.

Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition Las Vegas. Author’s collection.

Since 2008, the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada has hosted Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition. It has drawn over 22 million visitors in the last 24 years, and for good reason. The exhibition features over 250 artifacts recovered from the Titanic, recreations of some shipboard spaces, and even has a piece of the iconic ship itself. The Big Piece is truly something special, and I’ve gotten choked up both times I’ve seen it. You really need to see it for yourself: pictures don’t do it justice.

The Big Piece of the Titanic. Author’s collection.

But it’s the personal objects that really bring the human story home. These belonged to real, living people who experienced the Titanic disaster firsthand on April 15, 1912. Some lived through the ordeal. Many, however, did not. And it’s these personal objects that may be responsible for some of the unexplained happenings in the exhibition.

Perhaps the most famous story involves a portrait of J. Bruce Ismay. The White Star Line chairman infamously survived the sinking, and his picture is on display in one of the exhibition’s first rooms. Sometime before October 2012, staff found the 2’x3′ picture on the floor as they were opening up for the day. It was assumed that it’d fallen off the wall or that someone had taken it down as a prank. Staff reviewed the security camera footage and were amazed at what they saw.

J. Bruce Ismay. Public domain.

The camera had a good, clear view of the room. The footage showed Ismay’s picture slowly sliding down the wall by itself before turning on its side. There was no one in the room.

But other things are also said to happen at Titanic: The Artifacts Exhibition Las Vegas.

In October 2012, the Las Vegas Review-Journal interviewed artifacts specialist Joe Zimmer. “Let me tell you, when you’re closing this place up at 11 p.m., midnight, you hear stuff,” he said.

Zimmer recounted how, when alone at night, he would sometimes hear an orchestra playing despite the exhibition’s music track being turned off. His hair has been touched by unseen hands. The back of his jacket has been grabbed out of nowhere. Zimmer’s also heard his name being called followed by disembodied giggles.

One of the many personal items on display. Author’s collection.

“Isn’t it wild? I think these things are there for everybody to find, eventually. It’s just some people seem to be more in tune to it,” Zimmer said. But he’s far from the only person to have had paranormal experiences in the exhibit.

Marc Lester is another staff member that the Las Vegas Review-Journal talked to in 2012. He recounted how he’d been standing in front of the recreated Third Class cabin and heard footsteps come up behind him. No one was there. He also said how it felt like he’s frequently being watched in the iceberg room and recreated Promenade Deck. Some have suggested that this may be lookout Frederick Fleet: he’s reportedly been seen here as well.

The recreated First Class Promenade Deck. Author’s collection.

A lady in black has also been seen in the recreated First Class Grand Staircase. Lester, other staff members, and visitors have reported seeing her. She’s been described as wearing a black dress with a white collar, and her hair is done up in a bun. This mysterious woman vanishes when people call out to her or try to interact. No one has theorized as to who she might be.

Titanic Belfast (Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK)

Titanic Belfast opened in March 2012 ahead of the disaster’s 100th anniversary. It sits just steps away from where Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic were built. The museum is expansive and consists of nine interpretive and interactive galleries: Boomtown Belfast, The Shipyard, The Launch, The Fit-Out, The Maiden Voyage, The Sinking, The Aftermath, Myths & Legends, and Titanic Beneath.

Titanic Belfast at night. Courtesy Tourism Ireland.

In 2013, one woman experienced something odd in the Sinking gallery. She described how she grew more and more emotional while listening to the Titanic’s distress call being tapped out in Morse code. The woman noted how anxious and heartbroken she felt. Her heart was pounding in her chest. To her, it felt like she was experiencing what Chief Wireless Operator Jack Phillips might’ve experienced as he sent out the distress call. Before long, she was shaking, feeling sick to her stomach, and crying.

Senior Wireless Operator Jack Phillips. Public domain.

The woman stepped outside to get some fresh air. It was then that a hand touched her shoulder, and she heard a man’s gentle voice in her ear. “It’s okay,” he said softly. Assuming it was her friend, she turned around and realized that she was alone. A sense of calm and warmth washed over her. It’s been suggested that this might have been the spirit of Jack Phillips (who died in the sinking) trying to reassure the woman that he was at peace with what happened that night.

Titanic Museum (Branson, Missouri, USA)

The Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri was established in April 2006. It is the first of two Titanic museums owned by John Joslyn, who funded and took part in the second expedition to ever visit the wreck site. This was the first-ever privately funded venture to the Titanic.

The museum is housed in a two-story building resembling the forward half of the famous ship. It houses over 400 different and unique artifacts. With such a large collection under its roof, it’s probably no surprise that there have been stories of hauntings and other unexplained phenomena over the years.

The Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri. Courtesy Titanic Museum Branson.

On January 6, 2018, the museum’s Facebook page posted a rather interesting video titled “Ghosts at the Titanic Museum?” The security camera footage was taken the day before and shows a fully decorated Christmas tree being knocked over by an unseen force. No one else was in the room. The incident took place at 5:56 pm.

In 2017, Zak Baggans brought Ghost Adventures to the museum. I haven’t watched the full episode for myself (I’m not a huge fan of the show) but found something on the Discovery Channel YouTube page called Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room where the team watches old episodes and add commentary.

One Titanic Museum employee, Jamie Terrell, has repeatedly seen an apparition in the recreated First Class Grand Staircase. She believes that it’s none other than John Jacob Astor IV, the richest passenger aboard Titanic. “I’ve seen him more than one occasion. And it’s always right there…at the top of the stairs.” Terrell added that the figure is seen close to a recreation of Cabin C-62/64’s bedroom that the Astors stayed in during the voyage.

In addition, Terrell noted that some visitors break down crying when they enter the recreated First Class Grand Staircase. “We’ve had people just in hysterics in here. Just crying uncontrollably.” When asked why, she reported that some of them hear screaming.

The recreated First Class Grand Staircase. Courtesy Expedia.

In October 2024, Terrell was interviewed by Springfield, Missouri’s KY3 news channel. She noted how she loves being stationed in the First Class Grand Staircase but has continued to see odd things since Ghost Adventures investigated the museum.

“When I turned around to see what time it is,” Terrell said with her back to the famous clock, “I would turn around and right there at the Newell Post, as quick as I could see it, it was gone. It’s in the shape of a man in a black suit with a top hat.” She added, “I’ve seen them as quick as I can snap my fingers, they’re gone. And it happens so many times. It’s not a coincidence. I have heard my name called. I’ve had the bow on the back of my dress tugged.”

Another museum staff member, Alexis Shetley, recounted her experience at the recreated bridge on Ghost Adventures.

Shetley noted how one night, after hours, she cleaned the bridge windows like normal. “So, I went to the other side of the Promenade Deck. That’s the only room where I feel genuinely creeped out, and there were two kid’s handprints on the window. And I tried to clean them, but they were on the other side that I’d just cleaned.”

The recreated bridge. Courtesy Expedia.

As Jamie Terrell noted for KY3, “It’s never been anything malevolent. It’s just like they just want us to know, ‘Hey, I’m here.’”

Titanic Museum (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA)

Established April 2010, the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is similar to its Branson, Missouri counterpart. It also contains over 400 artifacts and is the largest permanent Titanic museum in the world. It too has had odd things happen over the years, although stories and accounts seem to be harder to come by.

The Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Courtesy Expedia.

However, paranormal investigator and YouTuber Colin Browen visited the Titanic Museum in 2022 and did a little investigation on his own. What’s great is that, as he’s checking in, Browen asked a museum employee (offscreen) if she’d ever had any paranormal experiences in the museum.

“Quite a few,” she responded. When asked what she’d experienced, she said, “Full bodied apparitions. Unfortunately.”

When pressed for more information, the employee went into greater detail. “Well, there is a very tall demonic looking man in Interactive. There was a headless Second Class passenger who saw me twice.” Yikes!

The museum’s interactive area. Courtesy Expedia.

“Then this room that’s in the back, there was a lady’s voice who came over and said, ‘We’re here.” On the stairs, I was by myself inside, something grabbed me on the bridge.” She added, “And I saw a shadow man on the Promenade Deck. There’s a little girl who plays hide and seek in the Children’s Gallery with a lot of us, not just me. And she likes watching the movie in the movie gallery.”

The Children’s Gallery Courtesy Expedia.

“Children’s laughter by the stairs,” the employee continued. “There’s also been a little boy in suspenders and a white button down who just likes to be on the cases downstairs.”

The unseen employee concludes by saying, “Nothing’s really scary here except for that really tall guy in Interactive. That, I don’t think, is a passenger.”

Wow, and I think I’d had a lot happen to me aboard the Queen Mary!

Traveling Titanic Exhibits

Then there are the traveling Titanic exhibits.

The Queen Mary has hosted a few exhibitions over the years.

In 1997, Titanic: The Expedition was aboard and was the first time that recovered artifacts were being shown on the West Coast. I was 10 years old and remember it all quite vividly: I’ll never forget it for as long as I live. It was also my very first time aboard the Queen Mary too. Looking back at the whole experience, I can remember feeling something powerful while walking around the exhibits. However, this may have had less to do with the Titanic and more to do with the Queen Mary calling to me (and I’m still heeding that call).

In 2006, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition came to the Queen Mary for six months. I unfortunately never made it to this but heard about it after I got hired as a tour guide in 2009. Coworkers told me how the Queen Mary’s already-robust paranormal activity really went into high gear during that time. I kick myself for not asking for more details at the time, but apparently there was increased activity all throughout the ship. I definitely recall hearing something about a lot more shadow figures.

In 2009, Ghost Hunters went to the Titanic: Aquatic exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia. About 190 artifacts were on display: 40 or so for the very first time. Almost right away staff and visitors reported odd occurrences: shadow figures, cold spots, and eerie feelings. One volunteer reported feeling pressure from an unseen force on the top of her head.

The Ghost Hunters team at the Titanic: Aquatic exhibit. Courtesy SyFy.

When Titanic: Aquatic was in Athens, Greece prior to the George Aquarium, disembodied voices were common occurrences. The spectral figure of a man in black wardrobe was also seen throughout the exhibit. This apparently led some visitors to think that he was a costumed actor.

Final Thoughts

The many Titanic museums and exhibits in the world speak to the fascination that people have with the disaster. It’s a tragedy of epic proportions that touches us over 112 years later. Seeing recovered artifacts really drives the human element home: they’re haunting reminders of that cold night in April 1912. Some of these objects, in turn, may still literally connect the past to the present.

I had such a great time writing this post that I really want to keep exploring this topic. Have you ever experienced anything weird or odd at a Titanic museum or exhibition? If so, please let me know in the comments below.

Happy Halloween, everyone!

References