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She was bigger, faster and more powerful than the Titanic. She was the undisputed Queen of the luxurious North Atlantic cruise ships. The Queen Mary was launched, and made her maiden voyage in 1936, and for the next three years, she hosted the wealthy and famous on their travels from New York to England and Europe. Considered by the upper class as the only civilized way to travel, The Queen Mary’s passenger list, in those first years, included the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She was beautifully appointed, and she held the record for the fastest North Atlantic crossing. It’s no wonder that some of her guests just didn’t want to leave her decks, even in the after life.
When World War II broke out, in 1939, all luxury travel ceased. The Queen Mary was refitted, painted grey, and pressed into service as a troop ship. The “Grey Ghost”, as she became known, carried more than 800,000 troops across the Atlantic, and was part of almost every major campaign of the war, including the D-Day invasion. She was originally fitted to carry about 2400 passengers, but her refit increased her capacity to 5500. She holds the record for carrying the largest number of people ever on a floating vessel, when she carried 16,683 troops. She carried the wounded home, and she served as a transport for thousands of German prisoners of war. In 1942, while carrying 11,000 Allied troops, The Queen Mary collided with one of her escort cruisers, the Curacao. She was under orders not to stop, and was unable to save any of the 338 men who lost their lives.
After the war, in 1946, The Queen Mary made thirteen voyages to transport war brides and their children to be reunited with their GI husbands in the United States and Canada. These were nicknamed the “Bride and Baby Voyages”.
In 1947, she was refurbished and returned to service as a luxury cruise ship with weekly service from New York to Southampton and Cherbourg. In the 1960’s, transatlantic cruises lost popularity, as air travel became more affordable. The Queen Mary began occasional cruises to the Canary Islands and the Bahamas, however, she had no central air conditioning, and no outdoor pools, which made her ill-suited to this route. Finally, in 1967, she was withdrawn from service. In that same year, she was sold for $3.45 million to the city of Long Beach, California, where she has become a floating museum and hotel.
Alleged paranormal activity aboard the ocean liner began almost immediately from the time she docked at Long Beach. To date, staff and guests have reported hundreds of encounters with ghosts and other unearthly experiences, making the Queen Mary one of the most haunted locations in the world. The psychic hotspots on the ship seem to include the now-unused swimming pools, where ladies in 1930’s swimming costumes still leave wet foot prints from the empty pool to across the deck. The most active spirit of all the hundreds attributed to the Queen Mary, is Jackie, the spirit of a 6 year old girl who reportedly hugs visitors, plucks at their clothing and pockets, and who sometimes speaks, or sings audibly in the 1st class swimming pool area. A young woman in a beautiful white evening gown is often seen dancing alone in the dark corners of the Queen’s Salon. A young sailor who was crushed during the test of the watertight doors, is sometimes seen below decks, and many of the staterooms have their own permanent ghostly visitors. 
The voices of German prisoners, the cries of spectral infants and ghostly lights and orbs are common reports of both guests and staff on the ship. The staff offers a “Ghosts and Legends” tour of the ship daily, and a special paranormal tour on Friday nights.
At Halloween, the Queen Mary, and it’s immediate surroundings, host a series of haunted mazes and attractions, each with it’s own theme, from pirates to crazy clowns and a vampire village. The Shipwreck, as the Halloween attraction is called, advises that the mazes will each take 8-20 minutes to go through, depending on if you’re walking…or running! The haunted attractions run for 15 days of terror during the month of October and are attended by hundreds of visitors every year.
The recession took a bite out of Halloween spending for 2009. The average family, who spent about $66 on Halloween related items in 2008, only spent about $56 in 2009. Another reason for the reduced spending in 2009 is that the holiday fell on a Saturday, which meant that fewer people stayed home to pass out candy to trick or treaters. Surveys conducted by national retail marketing groups show that fewer people bought new costumes, opting instead, to buy accessories for costumes that they already owned. The largest drop in spending seemed to come from the young adult group. In 2008, young adults spent an average of $86.59 per person on Halloween. That figure dropped in 2009 to $68.56. This may be due to fewer part time jobs available, or parents budgeting teen spending. The theme for Halloween 2009 seems to have been “Be Creative”, rather than spend for new items. Even the number of households carving jack o’lanterns fell from 44.6% in 2008 to 42.4% in 2009.
Hot Dog Mummies:
Billed as the “World’s Largest Halloween Party”, the Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky holds an annual “Be Seen – Not Scared” Halloween party during the month of October. Aimed at children under the age of 11, the Zoo provides a safe trick or treating environment. Costumed characters interact with the children to provide Halloween entertainment that will not frighten or traumatize the young visitors. Live storybook scenes can be found all over the Zoo. If you attend the World’s Largest Halloween Party at the Louisville Zoo, be prepared for large crowds, because this popular event draws upwards of 85,000 visitors each year.
