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! 

Kristy Bamu was a 15-year-old boy that visited his sister and her partner for Christmas in 2010 and was found dead on Christmas Day at their flat in London.

The case we are discussing today reminds me of the Sylvia Likens murder that I wrote about previously, and is just as horrific.

Attention! The content of this article or section may seem obscene or offensive to some readers.

The Nightmare Begins

Christmas is about spending time with loved ones and spreading joy. Unfortunately, the Bamu children their Christmas would not be a happy one. Kristy travelled from Paris with his 2 sisters and 2 brothers to Manor Park, East London. They travelled there to spend the Christmas holidays with their sister Magalie Bamu. 

Magalie aged 29 lived with her partner Eric Bikubi aged 28 in a flat in London. Her siblings were excited to spend time with their sister and enjoy Christmas with her. However, this is when the nightmare begins.

Kristy travelled to London from Paris, France.

It all began when Kristy wet himself and left the underwear in the kitchen. Bikubi insisted that the pants were sorcery and that the children were practising magic. 

He threatened to throw them out of the window to see how they would fly and started to torture them all until they admitted to practising witchcraft. Whenever their parents called to speak to them they were forced to lie, as they would have a blade held to their throats. 

They were starved and beaten until they admitted they were witches. In the end, the children admitted to the practice to avoid more beatings, except for Kristy. He continued to deny it, which meant Eric continued to punish him. 

The Murder of Kristy Bamu

The couple continued to torture Kristy and would use pliers, a metal pole, knives, a hammer, and planks on the defenceless and terrified boy. In total, they inflicted 130 injuries to his body and Kristy begged to die. They even forced his siblings to take part in the beatings. 

On Christmas Day they placed Kristy into the bath for what they called a ritual cleansing. At this point, Kristy was very weak and when they left him alone he slipped under the water and drowned.

When Eric found him he tried to resuscitate him but he was already gone. 

When the police and paramedics got to the flat they found blood everywhere and the children were hysterical. They tried to help Kristy too but was unable to save him. 

All of the children were hysterical. One of the sisters told them that they had been hurt, and another said they were forced to hit Kristy in the face with a hammer. 

Kristy's face and head were covered in cuts, his teeth had been smashed out with a hammer, ceramic tiles had been smashed over his head, and his ear had been twisted with pliers.

Magalie and Eric were arrested for the torture killing of 15-year-old Kristy Bamu.

The Trial

They stood trial at the Old Bailey and the defence argued that Bikubi suffered from mental illness and Magalie said she was forced to take part. However, evidence proved that she hit Kristy and encouraged his violence. 

The Old Bailey. Image credit: TQ3181 @ Geograph

They were both found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 25 years.

Their parents felt betrayed and could not believe what happened to their son. They said they have forgiven them, but they want to raise awareness for cases of torture involving witchcraft.

Final Thoughts

This case was shocking to me because it only happened in 2010, which is not really that long ago. I was upset by what I read, especially as it was his sister and her partner committing the crime. They were trusted to take care of the children but they did the exact opposite. 

Kristy was one of many children that died in voodoo rituals in the London African communities. I have read about the English witch trials and the Salem witch trials, but to think this kind of behaviour still exists baffles me.

What are your thoughts on this case and ritualistic murders? Please share in the comments below.

Today's case took place in Devon, England and has inspired murder mysteries by the likes of Charles Dickens. We will be looking at Constance Kent, who she was, and why she committed this crime in 1860.

Her Family

Constance was born on the 5th of February 1844 in Devon, England. Her parents were Samuel Saville Kent and Mary Ann Kent. The couple had ten children but five died at a young age. After Mary Ann gave birth to their tenth child she went insane.

Not long after this, Samuel hired Mary Drewe Pratt as a governess and housekeeper, but they fell in love.

After the death of his wife Mary Ann, Samuel got married to Mary Drewe and they had three more children. While she was pregnant with their fourth child their youngest, Francis, was murdered.

The Crime

On the 29th of June 1860, Francis was put to bed in the nursemaid's room. Elizabeth Gough was the nursemaid at the time and in the middle of the night, she woke up to find he was gone. She just assumed that he was with his mother and went back to sleep.

However, when she awoke again she realised he was still missing. By 8am she had alerted the family and there was a search underway to find the young boy.

After an hour of searching a local farmer and shoemaker checked the disused servant toilet. When they lifted the lid they found a blanket covered in blood. They had found Francis' body.

When they picked his body up to move him his head almost fell off and his mouth appeared to be black as if he had been suffocated. 

At first, the main suspect was the nursemaid Elizabeth Gough. The local Superintendent believed that the child could not go missing without her knowing. His theory was that she was with her lover when Francis woke up and disturbed them, so they suffocated him and mutilated the body to hide the true cause of death.

Jonathon Whicher. Image credit: Wikipedia

Eventually, Scotland Yard joined the investigation and sent Detective Inspector Jonathon Whicher. He didn't agree with the Superintendent and suspected 16-year-old Constance. His theory was that she was jealous of the younger children, which made her commit the crime.

When she was put in front of magistrates there was not enough evidence to charge her, so Elizabeth Gough was charged with the murder.

The Confession

Constance spent time abroad at a convent in Brittany, and when she returned in 1863 she went to Brighton and joined a religious retreat. It was there that she confessed on April 25th 1865. She told Reverend Arthur Wagner that she murdered her stepbrother. She handed a noted over to the magistrates when she confessed to them. It stated:

"I, Constance Emile Kent, alone and unaided on the night of the 29th of June 1860, murdered at Road Hill House, Wiltshire one Francis Saville Kent. Before the deed, no one knew of my intention, nor after of my guilt; no one assisted me in the crime, nor in my evasion of discovery."

She said she murdered him because he was her stepmothers favourite, and she wasn't happy she had replaced her mother. 

Constance Kent. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Even after her admission of guilt people did not believe her, as parts of her story didn't match the facts. She said she had used a razor to kill the boy, but the wounds were caused by a knife. Francis also weighed 35 pounds and Constance said that she held him in one arm as she climbed out of the house before she killed him. She also said she thought the child was not dead, but he had almost been decapitated. 

Even though there were many anomalies in her stories, they were never brought up in court and she pleaded guilty. She was sentenced to death initially, but it was commuted to life because of her age at the time of the murder.

She spent 20 years in prison and was released at 41 years old. She moved to Australia to join her brother William and changed her name to Emily Kent. She lived in Australia until she died in 1944. She lived to be 100 years old and never recanted. 

Final Thoughts

Some believe that she never committed the murder and she was possibly covering for her brother or father.

William was equally resentful of their stepmother and at the time of the murder, he was 15 years old, and he would have been more capable of the murder. Some also believe her father could have been the killer, as he was a known adulterer and could've been sleeping with the nursemaid.

I think it is very possible she was covering for someone else the whole time. However, I am not sure why she decided to do it. The one thing that surprised me was that she never recanted even after her brother and father passed away.

What do you think of this case? Who do you think did it? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Today's post is slightly different! Think of it as a break from the spooky and macabre for us all!

You may have seen YouTubers and bloggers completing their own version of the Vogue's 73 Questions, and today it is my turn! I find it so hard to talk about myself so I hope you enjoy this! 😂

I have been tagged by the lovely Naomi and Ashlee, so please go and check out their posts too! They are amazing!

Let us begin!

1. What is your usual Starbucks order? 

Hmm, I never go to Starbucks! However, If I go to a cafe I tend to just have tea. How very British of me!

2. What does your workstation look like right now? 

Quite tidy for a change! Haha. I have a rainbow mug with my pens in it, a sloth stuffed toy next to my monitor, an owl lamp, and my current notebook. I need it to be tidy to feel productive.

3. All-time favourite food? 

I say this all the time but if you really were what you ate I would be a cheeseburger!

4. Favourite author? 

I have always loved reading Jane Austen books, and they are my go-to for holidays. 

5. What do you think of open relationships? 

Not my cup of tea, but I know there are people out there that are in open relationships. As long as all the parties involved are happy then I don't see any issues with it.

6. What is your favourite video game? 

I don't know if it would be classed as a video game, but my favourite game ever is World of Warcraft! Played it for 10 years and I plan on going back for the vanilla servers soon.

7. Guilty pleasure treat? 

I love watching corny romance films from the '90s. I remember watching She's All That, Never Been Kissed,  and even Josie and the Pussycats.

8. Favourite movie? 

10 Things I Hate About You is my all-time favourite. I could watch it over and over and never get bored. In fact, I may watch it now!

9. Favourite book? 

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I always pack it when I go on holiday. 

10. Twitter or Instagram? 

Twitter hands down. For the longest time, I didn't use it because I had no idea how it worked. It is now my favourite way to connect with people. 

11. Desktop or laptop? 

Desktop. For some reason, I feel I get way more done when I work on my desktop. When I used my partner's laptop I never get anything done! 

12. Best advice you’ve ever received? 

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I always try to keep out of the drama and not be negative. I'm not perfect by any means but I try my best to stick to this advice. 

13. What project are you working on right now? 

 I am working on a few things but my blog is my main project, and I can't wait to see where it goes.

14. Favourite colour? 

I love the colour green! Sometimes I wish I had green eyes. 

15. Did you get good grades at school? 

I did well at school, but I would never call myself super intelligent. I left school with good grades and finished college with good grades too.

16. Dream job? 

I would say my dream job would be a criminal profiler. If you couldn't tell by my blog content I am slightly interested in true crime and the people that commit the crimes.

17. Played any sports? 

I have played many in the past but don't anymore. I really enjoyed playing netball at school but also played football and rugby.

18. Do you have a degree? 

No, and I do regret not going to University to get a degree. However, I can always do one part-time via the Open University, which I plan on doing very soon.

19. Nationality? 

British!

20. What is your favourite kind of blog post to do? 

I like to do blog posts about true crime, especially the ones that require research so I am learning about as I write!

21. What do you like to collect? 

I collect fridge magnets and Funko figures with my partner. 

22. Describe yourself in three words

Sarcastic. Empathetic. Silly.

23. If you were a rapper what would your rapper name be? 

Not a clue! I have tried to think of something, but I am at a loss.

24. Who was the last person you DMed? 

It was my makeup artist for my wedding. Which I am freaking out about haha.

25. What’s on the top of your wishlist right now? 

I'd say a new pair of skate shoes if I think materialistic. Honestly, I don't have anything else in mind.

26. Hogwarts house? 

After doing the test I am a Slytherin. 🐍

27. How many tattoos do you have? 

As I write this I have three, but I am planning a sleeve to hopefully have completed next year.

28. What are you most grateful for this year? 

My family, friends and fiance. They are all supportive and accept me for who I am. That is all I want and I am happy.

29. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you this month? 

We had our engagement photo shoot and my wedding dress fitting! 

30. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today? 

I have had a pretty chilled out day, but maybe the fact it is a lot cooler than it has been this week!

31. What’s the best thing ever? 

Just being happy.

32. Favourite season? 

Autumn. I love the colours, wearing jumpers, and cooler weather. I am not a fan of the heat.

33. Favourite holiday? 

Halloween! I love horror movies and anything scary, so this holiday is my favourite. I haven't dressed up for a long time but I have thought about trying out face paints.

34. Which fictional character do you relate to most? 

I'm not so sure about this, to be honest. I relate to a lot of fictional characters, but maybe Daria would be the one I would say I relate to the most.

35. Do you like surprises? 

Noooooo. NO, no, no. I freak out at the thought of it haha.

37. What’s a surprise that made you cry? 

Surprises don't really make me cry, which I know sounds bad. I freak out mostly.

38. What’s the best surprise you’ve ever given anyone? 

I tend to get my fiance surprises every now and then because I want to. I have a terrible memory but I think getting him a Funko Pop of CM Punk was the best. They are hard to get hold of and it took a long time online to get haha. He was so happy when I got it for him. 

39. Do you like muffins? 

They are okay, but I wouldn't say they are my favourite.

40. Do you cook often? 

I cook a bit, but I am more of a baker if I am honest.

41. What’s your favourite dessert? 

I love a good apple crumble with a ton of custard! 

42. Is there a dessert you don’t like? 

I don't like sticky toffee pudding at all. I just don't like sticky desserts...

43. Cake or pie? 

Cake! It's my biggest weakness.

44. What’s your least favourite food?

I don't like red meat and steak would be my least favourite food. 

45. What’s your favourite condiment?

Salad cream is 100% my favourite condiment. Could have it on anything!

46. It’s 4am on a Saturday night, what would you eat?

Biscuits. I can never get enough of them.

47. If you could teach a college class what would it be called? 

Procrastinating 101. 🤣

48. Best animated film? 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit and I found out they are planning another one! 

49. What has a guy done or said to impress you? 

My memory always fails me with questions like this. I don't think anyone has tried to impress me before.

50. The best thing to do on a first date? 

Do something fun you'll both enjoy and make sure you are still able to chat and get to know one another. My fiance and I went to play crazy golf and it was nice!

51. The worst thing to do on a first date?

Probably putting your date in an awkward situation. The worst dates I have had is when someone I just met has taken to me to a friends BBQ or their home for a coffee. It's far too soon and it made me feel super uncomfortable.

52. What’s the funniest pick-up line a guy could use on a girl? 

"Did you sit on a pile of sugar? Cos you have a sweet ass!" Cracks me up every time I hear it.

53. Best comic book character? 

My all-time favourite is Spiderman! 

54. What are three things that are always in your purse? 

Body spray, true crime books and a selection of pens.

55. Favourite drink? 

A good old fashioned cup of tea! 

56. If you could play a historical character who would it be? 

I am so bad at this kind of thing! I have no idea who I would be. 🙁

57. Kittens or puppies?

Both. I love them equally, so I feel bad picking just one. 

58. Favourite sushi roll? 

Not a fan of sushi. I have tried it before and it wasn't something I enjoyed.

59. What kind of lipstick do you use? 

I don't use it because I have really tiny lips, but I have tried to use it and it frustrates me. I recently bought a NYX lipstick, so we will see how it goes!

60. What kind of foundation do you use? 

I love full coverage! With my oily skin, I have started to use Estee Lauder Double Wear and it's amazing!

61. Blow-dry or air dry?

Blow-dry if I am going out, but I let it air dry if I am spending the day inside because it does my hair good to not be blow-dried every day. 

62. Who is your fashion icon? 

I don't have one. I am never on-trend or fashionable! Haha.

63. Favourite Disney character?

Copper the Hound in Fox and the Hound. His little howl melts my heart.

64. What are you doing tomorrow?

No idea! I don't tend to plan much on a Sunday, so based on my usual Sundays I will be writing, eating and drinking tea.

65. Movie you laughed the hardest through?

White Chicks comes straight to mind because I just remember Terry Crews raving with a whistle and glow sticks. That film was great!

66. A movie that made you cry? 

There are so many. It wasn't a movie, but Stranger Things 3 had me blubbering.

67. If you could sing a duet with someone who would it be? 

I am obsessed with Billie Eilish right now, but I can't sing so it would be awful on my part haha.

68. If your life was a song what would the title be? 

I've been thinking about this so much and I cannot think of anything. I suck!

69. What’s your favourite animal? 

I love pretty much all animals and it would be impossible to pick one single favourite. To list a few I like bears, anteaters, koalas, aardvarks, and giraffes.

70. Favourite illustrator? 

I don't know any illustrators. Sorry! 😕

71. The person you want to have coffee with? 

My grandmother because she passed away when I was a baby. I would love to meet her and get to know her. Sometimes I wonder what it would've been like if she was in my life, as my father always tells me stories about her.

72. A country you wish to visit? 

Canada is a country I have always wanted to visit and I finally get to see it in September! 

73. Best way to decompress?

To be on my own and watch something interesting or read.

My Nominations

I would like to nominate the following awesome bloggers to do complete this! They are as follows: 

1. Jackie
2. Charli
3. Tamra
4. Lauren
5. Millie 
6. Chloe
7. What's in my Wonderland

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post! It took a long time to answer this because I suck at talking about myself! I can't wait to see my nominations do their own!