GHOSTS & LEGENDS OF THE QUEEN MARY SHOW OPEN DAILY ABOARD THE LEGENDARY OCEAN LINER

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LONG BEACH, Calif. - From its beautiful Art Deco salons to the depths of its darkest corridors, the Queen Mary has been a constant source for stories, articles and documentaries about supernatural sightings and other unexplained activity aboard the historic ship. Even as this piece is being written, testimonials from passengers and crew members continue to be reported and documented, all of them wanting answers to what they've experienced. Do ghosts really exist aboard the Queen Mary?

Ghosts & Legends of the Queen Mary, now open daily, is a special effects, walk-through show created aboard the ship that dramatizes actual paranormal and historic events that have been reported over the past 65 years. Ghosts & Legends encompasses a 25,000-square-foot area of the Queen Mary taking guests through locations known for supernatural sightings and other ghostly activity.

As an added bonus, once passengers have experienced Ghosts & Legends, they will be encouraged to tour the rest of the ship and visit areas identified with Ghost Sighting placards that tell about supernatural activity felt or seen in a particular area.

Ghosts & Legends is a $4 million experience that utilizes special effects to blur the line between what is real and what isn't - for skeptics and believers alike. Passengers will "survive" encounter after encounter as they attempt to escape the unexplained phenomena in the ship's eerie lower decks. Then, the shudder of two ships colliding will rock the cavernous boiler room area, sending passengers running for their lives, as a deluge of water seems to burst through the hull of the Queen Mary. It's quite a show and fun for all ages.

Dramatic changes in temperature, ghostly images against weathered ceilings and walls, electrostatic charges and a phenomenal water effect are just some of the experiences that passengers will encounter along the guided tour. Ghosts & Legends is A.D.A. compliant, and construction of the show has been non-intrusive to the historic Queen Mary. The new show is open to the public as part of Queen Mary general admission.

Designed and built by Renaissance Entertainment, Inc., the route through the 25,000-square-foot Ghosts & Legends show leads skeptics and believers alike to particularly haunted areas such as the First Class Swimming Pool and areas never before seen by the public, including working alleyways and the forward boiler rooms.

The first-class swimming pool, which is no longer in use, has been a familiar site for apparitions and other unexplainable phenomena. This elegant, Art Deco pool has been described by paranormal experts as the vortex for ghostly activity aboard the ship and the location where spirits from other realms enter the Queen Mary. Over the years, there have been documented reports of women dressed in vintage bathing suits wandering the decks near the pool, the sound of water splashing, children's laughter and watery footprints leading into the changing room.

During World War II, the Queen Mary was stripped of her finery, painted camouflage grey and transformed into a troopship nicknamed The Grey Ghost. Her great speed enabled the ship to evade enemy forces and she quickly proved to be an important member of the Allied Forces. It is estimated that during her service as a troop carrier The Grey Ghost traveled some 660,000 miles and transported more than 800,000 personnel. From February to September 1946, she carried 22,000 GI War Brides and children to new homes in the United States and Canada. In addition to carrying troops, she also ferried diplomats, business and industrial leaders, wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. The Grey Ghost was Sir Winston Churchill's headquarters at sea. And it appears that some souls never departed.

The ship's speed was her greatest asset as well as her greatest sorrow. In 1942, The Grey Ghost accidentally struck her escort cruiser, the H.M.S. Curacoa (Kir-A-Sow-A), slicing it in half. The Queen Mary sustained sizable damage to its bow, and over 300 men aboard the Curacoa perished. At the very site of this crash, incredible sounds of voices and pounding have been documented.

The thrill of being below the water line and viewing the ship from within the cavernous, six-story area that once housed the Queen Mary's massive boilers is breathtaking and frightening. Most of the areas of the ship that are part of the Ghosts & Legends show have not been seen before by the general public. Even during her sailing days, these areas of the ship were restricted to use by crew members.

The Queen Mary is also home to a 365-stateroom on-board hotel, casual to elegant restaurants, weekly Sunday brunch, banquet and meeting facilities and a wedding chapel, and is open 365 days a year, rain or shine. Attraction hours are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily with extended Saturday hours for 9:00 p.m. fireworks beginning June 30 and continuing through Labor Day.

For more Queen Mary information or hotel, restaurant or group tour reservations, the public may call (562) 435-3511 or visit http://www.queenmary.com. The Queen Mary is at 1126 Queens Highway at the south end of the 710 Freeway, on the water in Long Beach, California.