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Features Archive:

2006 Archive:
The Winchester Mystery House - Ghost Chronicles
December 28, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Investigating Jane Doherty - Ghost Chronicles
December 20, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Shadow People - by Lee Prosser
December 16, 2006

Column - regular feature

The Westford Knight - Ghost Chronicles
December 15, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Haunted Real Estate by Richard Senate
December 13, 2006


Traditions Behind Christmas By Vince Wilson
December 8, 2006


The Haunted Dibbuk Box - Ghost Chronicles
December 6, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Have Ghosts? Will Travel: A Ghostgeek's Guide to the RMS Queen Mary By Jen Brown
December 4, 2006


Thanksgiving: A Day of Forgiveness - by Lee Prosser
December 1, 2006

Column - regular feature

America's Stonehenge - Ghost Chronicles
November 29, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) - by Jeff Belanger
November 16, 2006


Ghost Hunt Seminar - Ghost Chronicles
November 15, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Ghost Photography: Orbs by Robbin Van Pelt
November 9, 2006


Pet Ghosts - Ghost Chronicles
November 6, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Ghosts Haunt the Inn by Richard Senate
November 3, 2006


Japanese Woman Artist - by Lee Prosser
November 1, 2006

Column - regular feature

The Ghosts of the Windham Restaurant - Ghost Chronicles
October 30, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

The Salem Witches - Ghost Chronicles
October 23, 2006

Ghostvillage Radio - podcast

Homan House, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania: A Preliminary Report by John Sabol
October 20, 2006


What Does Halloween/Samhain Mean to You? - Compiled by Jeff Belanger
October 16, 2006


That is the Way of It - by Lee Prosser
October 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Fooling the Ghost Hunter by Richard Senate
October 11, 2006


Jack Kerouac - by Lee Prosser
October 2, 2006

Column - regular feature

Civil War Re-enactors and the Ghost Experience - by Jeff Belanger
September 15, 2006


Who Goes There in the Shadows? - by Lee Prosser
September 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Engagement and Data Analysis in Symmetrical Field Investigations by John Sabol
September 11, 2006


Occult Warfare by Richard Senate
September 6, 2006


Cats and Other Critters From Beyond the Grave - by Lee Prosser
September 1, 2006

Column - regular feature

Chicago's Strange Angles and Haunted Architecture by Ursula Bielski
August 25, 2006


I Have a Hunch: A Look at Psychics, Mediums, and Clairvoyants - by Jeff Belanger
August 16, 2006


Geof Gray-Cobb - by Lee Prosser
August 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Orbs: Have They Become that Boring? by Tuesday Miles
August 14, 2006


A Night on Char-Man Bridge by Richard Senate
August 7, 2006


Five Union Soldier Ghosts - by Lee Prosser
August 2, 2006

Column - regular feature

A Visit With Author and Witch Kala Trobe - Interview by Lee Prosser
July 26, 2006


Perceptual Stratigraphy: Making Sense of Ghostly Manifestations by John Sabol
July 24, 2006


The Trouble With Witches - by Lee Prosser
July 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

A Look at Our Haunted Lives - by Jeff Belanger
July 13, 2006


An Active Ghost Hunt at a Haunted Bed and Breakfast by Richard Senate
July 7, 2006


Lee Prosser, 1969 - by Lee Prosser
July 4, 2006

Column - regular feature

My Theory on Spirits by Edward L. Shanahan
June 28, 2006


Ethnoarchaeoghostology: A Humanistic-Scientific Approach to the Study of Haunt Phenomena by John Sabol
June 19, 2006


Christopher Isherwood & Lee Prosser in 1969 - by Lee Prosser
June 16, 2006

Column - regular feature

ESP, M&Ms, and Reality - by Jeff Belanger
June 15, 2006


A Duel on the Airwaves by Richard Senate
June 5, 2006


Marjorie Firestone and Her Dream Predictions - by Lee Prosser
June 1, 2006

Column - regular feature

Until Death Do Us Part? by Rick Hayes
May 31, 2006


Part Four: the Conclusion: Primrose Road - Adams St. Cemetery - by Marcus Foxglove Griffin
May 22, 2006

Column - regular feature

Folklore, Folklore, Folklore with Dr. Michael Bell - interview by Jeff Belanger
May 16, 2006


Swami Chetanananda and Lee Prosser - by Lee Prosser
May 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Theatre, Sance, and the Ghost Script: Performances at Haunted Locations by John Sabol
May 5, 2006


Willard David Firestone and the River Ghost - by Lee Prosser
May 1, 2006

Column - regular feature

When the Spirits Held Sway at the White House by Richard Senate
April 25, 2006


Part Three: Investigation: Primrose Road - Adams St. Cemetery - by Marcus Foxglove Griffin
April 20, 2006

Column - regular feature

Talking Reincarnation with Dr. John Gilbert - interview by Lee Prosser
April 17, 2006


Billy Bob Firestone and the Ghosts of Pythian Castle - by Lee Prosser
April 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Cryptobotany: the Search for Lost Plants by Richard Senate
April 7, 2006


The Mysteries of Druidry Book Excerpt Part 4 of 4 by Dr. Brendan Cathbad Myers
April 6, 2006


Vedanta and Durga - by Lee Prosser
April 2, 2006

Column - regular feature

The Mysteries of Druidry Book Excerpt Part 3 of 4 by Dr. Brendan Cathbad Myers
March 30, 2006


Ritual, Resonance, and Ghost Research: The Play in the Fields by John Sabol
March 27, 2006


The Mysteries of Druidry Book Excerpt Part 2 of 4 by Dr. Brendan Cathbad Myers
March 23, 2006


Celtic This, Druid That, Saint Patrick Hit Me With a Wiffle-Ball Bat - by Marcus Foxglove Griffin
March 21, 2006

Column - regular feature

The Mysteries of Druidry Book Excerpt Part 1 of 4 by Dr. Brendan Cathbad Myers
March 16, 2006


Christopher Isherwood, Time Loops, and Ghosts - by Lee Prosser
March 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Druids - by Lee Prosser
March 3, 2006

Column - regular feature

Natural Selection and the Involution of the Gettysburg Ghosts by John Sabol
February 28, 2006


Part Two: Investigation: Primrose Road - Adams St. Cemetery - by Marcus Foxglove Griffin
February 20, 2006

Column - regular feature

Lights, Camera... Action! by Brian Leffler
February 16, 2006


Divination and Geomancy - by Lee Prosser
February 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Spirit Messages from a Murderer by Richard Senate
February 8, 2006


The Ghosts of Springfield, Missouri - by Lee Prosser
February 3, 2006

Column - regular feature

The Ghost Storyteller: A Dinosaur Among Lemmings? by Charles J. Adams III
January 23, 2006


The Fools Journey: A Magickal Roadmap to Life - by Marcus Foxglove Griffin
January 20, 2006

Column - regular feature

Tarot and Spiritual Alchemy - by Lee Prosser
January 15, 2006

Column - regular feature

Demons from the Dark by Chip Coffey
January 9, 2006


Spooky - by Lee Prosser
January 3, 2006

Column - regular feature



December 4, 2006

Have Ghosts? Will Travel: A Ghostgeek's Guide to the RMS Queen Mary

By Jen Brown

My husband Mark calls me The Ghostgeek. I would eat, sleep and drink all things paranormal if I could. If theres a book about ghosts, I read it. If there is a movie about ghosts, I see it. If there is a television show about ghosts, I Tivo it, to watch again and again. So, naturally, if Im going to be traveling, I make sure I stay at a place that has a history of ghosts and haunting. Imagine my happiness when after a stressful couple of months, I am able to take a weekend off from the husband and kids aboard a cruise ship. Well, it wasnt exactly a cruise, but the stately grand dame of her day, the RMS Queen Mary

The Queen Mary is permanently docked at the port of Long Beach, California, just a short jaunt south from Los Angeles. Launched in 1936, the transatlantic luxury liner built by the Cunard White Star Line (known for building the Titanic), is now a hotel and museum. She was known to host the rich and famous and even more known for her years in military service. 

The Grey Ghost as she was nicknamed during World War II, once served as a troop transport during the war carrying sailors back and forth from Europe. In, 1942 while sailing in her routine zig-zag pattern, the Queen Mary collided with the British ship, Curacoa, splitting the much smaller vessel in half. The Queen Marys wartime orders were not to stop. Hundreds from the Curacoa were lost at sea.

In 1972, the Queen Mary opened her first 150 renovated staterooms as a hotel. If youre expecting her to be plush and modern, you might be disappointed. The ship is in an ongoing state of preservation. On the other hand, if you are expecting to be whooshed back in time to the 1930s and all of its art deco splendor, this is your place to stay. True to all historical places, the ship maintains as many original details as possible. The lobby and the hallways of each deck are finished in dark polished wood. The keys to each stateroom very well could be the original big brass keys used way-back-when. But my favorite detail of its past is the central air system in the rooms. Mine consisted of four large ocular holes that swivel to either cold or warm but constantly-blowing air into the room. If you do not want air blowing on you just simply swivel the round hole up so it blows onto the ceiling. 

As a girl on a budget, my reservation was for an inside stateroom. I wasnt sure if it was going to be something I would feel comfortable in because of its lack of windows and I can sometimes get claustrophobic. I was elated when I got to my door to find a cute room with period details on the port side of the ship. I even had a porthole that opened for the sea breeze. I must admit, I never think to take a picture of my room until after I have made a mess in it so pardon my junk. Notice the light colored round thing above the mirror and chest of drawers? Thats my central air system.


The accommodations aboard the Queen Mary range from opulent first class suites down to inside staterooms with twin bed arrangements. Even though she is a classic, she does offer modern amenities like wireless Internet. My room was rather small but it was perfect for just me. I did take a peek into some of the larger rooms and was amazed at the space.

I didnt just pick to stay at the Queen Mary at random. The weekend I planned for had a purpose. I attended the Ghost-Fest Expo 2006. The Ghost-Fest Expo was hosted by Queen Mary tour guide Erika Frost, Psychic Jack Rourke, Beyond Investigations Magazine, and the Learning Light Foundation. It was a weekend filled with lecturers from every aspect of the paranormal, classes, investigations, and lots of booths selling a wide array of goodies. 

Prior to my arrival for the weekend, I had signed up for two nights of investigating some of the most haunted parts of the ship. The investigations were hosted by staff from Beyond Investigations Magazine, a great bunch of guys and gals. Our first stop of the haunted hot spots was the infamous Room B340. If this room sounds familiar its the room in which the alleged video fakery occurred on the Ghost Hunters television show. The room is no longer used as a stateroom and was sparsely decorated, only giving the effect it was ever a stateroom at all by the fact that it had a bed and a couple of small tables.

According to Brian from Beyond Investigations, there is no particular information as to why there is ghostly activity in this room, yet it has been reported by quite a few guests through the years. When it was used as a stateroom, the common complaint was of the covers being yanked off the bed. There was a story circulating that once a murder had taken place in the room, but I do not know the validity of that story. Its a creepy room just by looking at it, but personally I didnt have any particular feelings attached to it. I also didnt witness anything out of the ordinary.

I did however feel just a little creeped out when my back was toward a dark corner of the room, but I chalk it up to nerves. I prefer my back up against something. Im weird that way.

The next stop on my haunted tour brought me to the most popular ghost spot on the ship; the pool. The indoor pool, decorated floor to ceiling in art deco tiles, once was filled with salt water and no doubt the social gathering spot of the ship. Today it hosts a myriad of spirits as well as a vortex in the changing rooms. The most reported spirit hanging around is a little girl named Jackie. It is not known exactly why Jackie is there, although some of our group did attempt to ask her. You do get a strange feeling in and around the pool. The lighting does lend to the freaky atmosphere. Although there are many light fixtures its surprisingly dim which makes picture taking difficult. Of course, you cant very well take a picture in that lighting without the flash but the shiny tiles reflect back extremely easy. Im sure everybody had the dreaded orbs in their photos. Here is my best photo of the stairs leading down to the pool.

The changing room area consists of a narrow corridor filled with tiny alcoves that once were covered by curtains. When I went inside, I didnt see anything unusual but the air does feel different than the air outside. Is it because of the lack of circulation? Could be, however the air did seem to feel electrically charged. Besides the fact that the changing rooms supposedly have a vortex allowing spirits to come and go, there is also one spirit who likes to hang around back there all the time. He is described as an angry aggressive man. I walked the narrow hall of the changing area and was unnerved that every time I walked past an alcove, there was a dark figure standing inside. Unfortunately, the dark figures were people from our group trying to capture any ghostly evidence. Even if it wasnt haunted, it would be a great place to hide and scare somebody. 

Our third stop on the investigation was the Mauritania Room. The room, named after another well known Cunard White Star luxury liner, is located near the bow of the ship and used for private functions as well as business meetings. It has a strangeness about it because of its location so close to the front of the ship, the floor is bowed upward. The room does not lend itself to the art deco feel. It felt more like it was renovated during the 1970s with big rectangular florescent boxes on the ceiling.

The story about the room seems to focus more on a residual haunting. Cleaning ladies have seen women in period dress dancing about in the room. While a few people attempted to make some kind of contact with any spirits in the room, most, myself included, used it more as a rest stop between haunted locations do to the lack of feeling anything strange. We drank the water provided for us, and sat in the burgundy dining chairs waiting for our next stop.

Our final stop of the night is where I had my most profound experience aboard the ship. The boiler room no longer holds the ships huge boilers. It is now is a cavernous empty hull with rusty walls. There is a large wooden platform with a stage-like rise in the center of the room. This would surely be a great place for a Halloween party. On the other side of the stage, there is a wooden walkway that leads to a caged door. On the other side of that door is a small 10 x 10 sheet-rocked room with a large square cut-out in the ceiling. This small room is known as the Green Room. Its not green, but during the 1980s The Walt Disney Company leased the Queen Mary and used the Boiler room as a staged production area. The little room was used as a back stage waiting area for guests of the productions hence the name. 

As the legend goes, a violent spirit resides in and around the green room. No one knows exactly why he is there, but psychics have claimed his name is John Henry or Hank. During the days of the green room, it was reported that people, or women in general, were attacked in this small space. They were punched, scratched, even shoved into the wall. Most of the reports nowadays involve strange dark shadows that dart, movement, banging against the walls, and footsteps coming from just above the hole in the ceiling.

I was in the Green Room with some of the investigators when I began to feel very strange sensations. While the others were egging the spirit on to show himself, I literally felt like the air was so heavy around me, it was smothering me. My head was swimming and I began to instantly feel nauseous. When asked, no one else claimed to feel as I did, although they did say that the air felt rather heavy. I tried to lift my arm and it felt like I was lifting a huge weight in my hand. I began to get a little scared at the thought of almost passing out. But I was more afraid of walking out of the room and being alone and more vulnerable to the anry spirit. I was so happy when it was time to leave. I still felt sick in my room but it disappeared by bedtime. I did check for any scratches or markings the next day. Thank Goodness there were none.

The next night we ventured into the Engine Room where another famous ghost sighting occurs near watertight door 13. As the story goes, a young workman was practically cut in two while playing a game of chicken with the watertight doors during a fire drill. He has been seen in the engine room lurking about where he met his demise. I didnt feel or see anything out of the ordinary in the Engine Room. It is surprisingly clean because it is included on the ships self-guided tour. Door 13 has even been altered to accommodate the people walking through. 

Unfortunately, I was unable to visit the Cargo Hold of the ship during my weekend. The Cargo Hold is another spot with ghostly activity. I dont know too much about this area other than what I was told by the Beyond Investigation team. Apparently this is the area that was damaged while colliding with the Curacoa. It also may have been a hold for prisoners during the war. Dark shadows and apparitions of soldiers have been seen as well as hearing German spoke when no one is speaking German. No one alive that is!

In between all my investigating at Ghost-Fest, I did take time out to listen to quite a few interesting lectures, purchase some books, meet some wonderful (and famous) people, and even say hello to a few old friends. When my weekend was over I felt exhilarated and sad at the same time. I had a wonderful weekend aboard the classic ship but I was sad my weekend was at a close. I plan to come back very soon and explore more of what the ship has to offer. 

Though I visited the ship during a ghost conference weekend, the ghosts of the Queen Mary are there every day of the year. The Queen Mary offers a variety of ways you can experience the ghosts yourself. A Haunted Encounters passport includes a full day ghosthunting, including a walking tour, a Ghost Encounters video, a visit to the Paranormal Research Center, a scavenger hunt, and the Ghosts & Legends show, a special effects walk-through show that recreates some of the most popular ghost sightings. The Queen Marys Attractions @ Night, feature a few more in-depth ways to investigate the spirits after dark including fine dining at Sir Winstons restaurant. 

The Queen Mary does have more to offer besides her ghosts. Currently there is a black and white photography exhibit taken by MGM Studios photographer, George Hurrell, that captures the essence of the gilded age of Hollywood. Also coming in 2007 is a World War II exhibit. 

For more information on accommodations, rates, and all the Queen Mary has to offer go to www.queenmary.com


Jen Brown is a freelance writer and ghost research living in Santa Rosa, California.



2014 Haunted New England Wall Calendar by Jeff Belanger photography by Frank Grace
Check out the 2014 Haunted New England wall calendar by Jeff Belanger and photography by Frank Grace!


Paranormal Conferences and Lectures
Don't miss the following events and lectures:

Jeff Belanger and “The Bridgewater Triangle” at Dedham Community Theatre - April 6, 2014 9:00PM

The Spirits of the Mark Twain House - Hartford, Connecticut - April 12, 2014

Paracon Australia - East Maitland, New South Wales, Australia - May 10-12, 2014