The RMS Queen Mary launched in 1936 and was the largest ship in the world. It was decommissioned in 1967 and is now permanently docked at Long Beach in California.

In it's hay-day it carried its fair share of celebrities, artists and politicians, which included the likes of the Kennedy's and Elizabeth Taylor. It also ferried soldiers during World War 2, but today it is more of a tourist attraction and a hotel.

With its history comes a lot of paranormal activity and stories about ghosts aboard the RMS Queen Mary it attracts many ghost hunters, and today we are going to look at some of these stories!

Little Jackie

Jackie is the spirit of a young girl that has been seen the most. She is known for her lively exchanges and answering questions. She has also left wet footprints on the poolside.

Her full name was Jacqueline Torin and she was around 5 or 6 years old when she was believed to have drowned in the second class pool. 

She likes to play in the pool area which is now the Royal Theatre. Jackie has been wandering the ship for 60 years and can be heard singing, laughing and calling for her parents.

Sarah

Sarah is another young girl that drowned on the Queen Mary. She also drowned around 1949 and is believed to protect Jackie. She has been heard singing with Jackie and can be quite aggressive. 

It's also believed the two girls were actually murdered by another ghost on the ship by the name of Grumpy.

Grumpy

Grumpy the Growling Ghost got the name because they have the strange habit of growling at people in their presence. Their true identity is unknown and he can be found in the pool area, but he has been heard in the boiler room. The smell of cigarette smoke has been reported too.

Image credit: David Jones @ Flickr

Dana

Dana was a young woman that was on the ship with her family. Unfortunately, she was murdered along with the rest of her family in their room. 

The murder took place in room B-474 and she was found in the bathroom with a gunshot wound. Her mother and sister were found strangled in the room too. She has been heard calling for her mother and sometimes found with the children at the pool.

The Lady in White

She loves to dance to music that nobody else can hear in the Queen's Salon. She wears a white gown as her name suggests, and she has been witnessed floating in the lobby where she entered an elevator and disappeared.

There is also photographic proof of The Lady in White, and you can see it here.

John Pedder

John was an 18-year-old member of the crew that was crushed to death in the shaft alley at door 13. He was playing a game of chicken with a colleague when the accident happened. It is a very popular place for ghost hunters to visit, and they say he leaves greasy handprints in the places he roams in. 

Final Thoughts

I can believe that there may be spirits on the Queen Mary due to its long history. I researched this quite a bit and the stories can be upsetting, but there is not much information on the people they believe still haunt the ship.

I did find a brilliant website full of information, and there is one website full of EVP evidence. I have spent some time listening, but if you are interested you can find it here.

What are your thoughts on the hauntings? Do you believe the stories or are you sceptical? Let me know in the comments! 

Image credit: Glen Bowman

A Brief History of Chillingham Castle

Chillingham Castle is located in Chillingham, Northumberland and was originally a monastery in the 12th century. The castle was in a very good place strategically, located between Scotland and England. Because of its location, it was used by King Edward I during his war against William Wallace and the Scottish military. 

Then in 1344, the castle was fortified and it is reported that some of the walls were made 10ft thick in places. In its long history the castle has been used as a stronghold, a royal residence, and during the second world war, it was even used as an army barracks. 

It has since been restored and some areas have been opened up to the public. Since the public has been able to visit there have been many reports of paranormal activity and ghost sightings. In this post, we are going to go over the most popular ghosts that have been seen at Chillingham Castle and their stories.

The White Lady

The White lady haunts the pantry area within the castle. The most documented sighting is from a footman that was guarding the silver in the pantry. He recalled being approached by a frail woman in white asking for a drink of water. As he turned to do so he remembered that the pantry was locked and nobody could possibly get inside. When he turned around again she had disappeared. 

It has been suggested that the reason why the white lady was seeking water was that she had been poisoned.

The Blue Boy

The Blue Boy is also known by the name The Radiant Boy, and he is the ghost that haunts the pink room in the castle. People have reported hearing a young child crying in fear at the stroke of midnight. Some say that he is a little boy dressed in blue surrounded by blue light, and others describe seeing a blue orb. 

It is thought that the manifestation is connected to the remains of a child found walled up inside the castle. The body was found while renovations were taking place, and the link was made because there were pieces of blue fabric found with the bones.

After the remains were found they were given a proper burial, and it appeared to have stopped the manifestations for a while. However, there have been new reports made by visitors saying they have seen a blue orb.

John Sage AKA John Dragfoot

Image credit: Derek Voller

The next ghost I am covering has the most gruesome story and he was called John Sage. John is described as a sadistic ex-soldier that became a torturer at the castle. He was also known as Dragfoot because of an injury he got when he took a spear to the leg. Even though his story is quite horrible there are no records that show John existed at all. Nonetheless, visitors have reported hearing Sage dragging his foot around the castle.

As mentioned above John became a torturer and he loved his work. He would take great pleasure in causing pain to others, and he would always try to find ways to improve his technique. His favourite way to torture prisoners was to put them into a cage and hang them over a fire.

Image credit: Glen Bowman

When the war of the Scots ended John gathered all of the adults and older children together and burnt them in the courtyard. He then gathered all of the young children together and hacked them with an axe.

John's downfall began when he accidentally strangled his girlfriend to death while they made love. When her father found out he threatened to gather an army to attack the castle, and he demanded that John is punished for what he did.

As a result, John was put to death and hung from a tree along the Devils Mile in front of a large crowd. His death was particularly gruesome, which you could say is fitting looking at his occupation. While he hung from the tree onlookers from the crowd started to cut off his toes, fingers, and even his testicles to keep as souvenirs (while he was still alive). 

Lady Mary Berkeley

Lady Mary Berkeley is a ghost that has been reported numerous times. Mary was married to Lord Grey of Wark and Chillingham, and sadly her husband ran off with her sister. When he left she was alone at the castle with their very young child. She waited there wandering the castle, hoping that he would return.

Visitors to the castle have reported hearing the rustle of her dress followed by a cold chill. People believe that this is Mary and that she still wanders the castle waiting for her husband to return to her.

Final Thoughts

I was both intrigued and saddened by these stories, especially when I read about The Blue Boy and Lady Mary Berkeley. Knowing that a little boy was found within the walls of the castle is sad enough, but reading the reports of a child crying really breaks my heart. It was the same when I read about Mary and the possibility that she is still waiting for her husband to return to her even in death.

The story of John Sage is very interesting and violent, and even though there is no proof he actually existed it is still fascinating to think a man like that could be haunting the castle grounds.

Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever experienced anything you couldn't explain? Please share your stories below! 😊I would also love to hear suggestions, so please tell me what you'd like to read about!

Image credit: Wikipedia

The History of Borley Rectory

Borley Rectory was located in a small village called Borley in Essex. The rectory stood for less than 80 years and was built in 1862 opposite Borley Church. It was built for Reverend Henry Bull, his wife, and their 14 children when he became rector of the parish. It had 23 rooms and was said to have been built on the site of a 13th-century monastery.

The new rectory was built as the previous rectory was destroyed by a fire in 1841, and locals warned them that the site was haunted.

There is a story told about a nun and a monk that fell in love with each other and planned to elope. Unfortunately, their plan was unsuccessful and they were apprehended. They were both punished, the nun was walled up in the convent and the monk was beheaded. Locals say that this is the reason why their spirits haunt the area.