Ghost Train

Blackwell, Mo

This train is said to have crashed and killed a young boy back in the 1930’s. It was called the “Sunshine Special.” It is rumored that you can still hear the young boy’s voice crying "help me" nearby. The train is sometimes heard and not seen as well as seen and not heard and come up on you when you least expect it.

Dock Street Theater

Charleston, South Carolina

It was originally called Planter’s Inn. In the early 1800’s it was recognized as the finest hotel anywhere in the south. Presidents and dignitaries from around the world graced it’s halls. Later to become the Dock Street Theater, many still grace it’s halls. Among the most intriguing and often sighted is a beautiful lady with flaming red hair. Actress, hotel patron, or “soiled dove”? No one knows. Her identity is lost to history. She is always seen on the upper levels of the theater. Junius Booth, the father of John Wilkes Booth, is reported to haunt here as well.

Dock Street Theater

The soiled dove

U-Boat 65 The Ghost On The Prow

Early submarines were dangerous places to work, and most men who served on them died at sea, it was said the sailors who served on one particular vessel, U-65, were more terrified of the ghost that haunted their ship than they were of confronting enemy forces at sea. It was during construction that bad fortune began to dog this particular boat. A heavy metal girder that was being lowered into position to be welded into the hull, slipped from the crane tackle and crashed down into the partially constructed boat, killing a German workman instantly. A second man was so seriously hurt in the accident he died in a hospital a few days later. Before U-65 was launched, three men died in the engine room when they were overcome by poisonous fumes. Thus a total of five workers died before this boat ever was put to sea. While on her sea trials, a seaman who was sent forward to inspect hatches was swept overboard and lost at sea. When U-65 made its first test dive, instead of leveling out at 30 feet the boat dropped to the bottom of the sea when a forward ballast tank fractured. She remained trapped there for 12 hours while flood water got to the batteries and flooded the sub with toxic fumes. By the time the boat freed itself from the sea bed and broke to the surface again, the entire crew was violently ill. Two of the sailors died in a hospital from the poisoning. When the boat was commissioned in February, 1917, U-65 was placed under the command of Oberleutuant Karl Honig. While torpedoes were being loaded for the boat’s first patrol, a warhead exploded, killing the Second Officer and eight seamen. Nine other sailors were seriously wounded. This is where the ghost first makes its appearance. While the vessel was being towed back into dry dock for repair, a seaman hysterically reported that he had seen the ghost of the Second Officer standing on the prow, his arms folded. Another sailor named Petersen said he also saw the ghost.

The day before U-65 was to set off on her first patrol, Petersen deserted. While on that patrol, several men on that boat reported seeing the ghost of that Second Officer. They said one night the duty officer was found on the bridge, sobbing. He said he saw the ghostly figure standing on the ship’s prow.  In February, 1918, after a patrol in the Dover Straits, U-65 had just docked at Bruges when the port came under attack by British aircraft. Captain Honig was decapitated by flying shrapnel as he stepped on the gang plank. His headless body was thrown back on the deck. That night nine men, including an officer, saw the ghost of the Second Officer standing beside the canvas shroud of the captain’s corpse. After this incident, the entire crew requested a transfer from U-65 and the boat was placed in reserve at Bruges. The problem was so serious, a German Naval minister, the Rev. Franz Weber, conducted an exorcism of the ship. On June 30 she set out on what was to be her last patrol. As the story is told, U-65 was spotted by U.S. submarine L-2 while patrolling off the coast of Ireland. While L-2 was at periscope depth, the German U-Boat was traveling on the surface. T The American moved his submarine into the attack position and was about to give the order to fire two torpedoes when there was a shattering explosion that ripped the U-65 from stem to stern. The captain was later to report that immediately before the explosion he was amazed to see the solitary figure of a German naval officer standing on the prow of the U-boat.

The Queen Mary

Long Beach, Ca

One hears of claims of one place or another as being the "most haunted" whatever, be it a house, school, castle, or hotel. The Queen Mary does not officially make any of these claims, but if the stories and history behind this magnificent hotel/museum are true, it would have to be one of the most haunted places in the world. The Queen Mary, now permanently docked in Long Beach, California, and acting as a hotel and tourist site, was originally launched in 1934. She was, and is, twelve decks of art deco splendor. Known as “The Queen of the Atlantic,” she also served as a soldier transport during World War II. She was retired in 1967 after 1001 crossings of the Atlantic, but some of her former passengers are said to have never left.

D Deck OR Door #13 in Shaft Alley- This is one of the few ghosts that actually has a name to go with him, but I found two somewhat conflicting areas of his hangout. (Unless Door #13 is on D Deck, but I’m not sure.) Anyway, the ghost is that of John Pedder, an 18-year-old who was crushed to death in a watertight door as he tried to slip past it during a routine drill on July 10, 1966. At the time of the ship’s renovation into a hotel, a guard claimed to have had a paranormal experience by the door where Pedder was killed. Seems that while patrolling with his dog late one night, the dog went wild with fear and would not go past the door. The guard then heard a “metallic” rolling sound that seemed to be coming at them at a great speed. The sound got so loud that the guard fled in terror. The door is no longer in place, and there is an escalator where it once stood. A tour guide claims that once as she left the escalator area, she noticed a darkly clad figure in back of her. He disappeared when she turned away briefly. She was later able to identify him as Pedder from photos.

Forward Storage Room – Sounds of children playing can sometimes be heard from this area of the ship where the archives are kept.

First Class Suite Area – Members of the staff claim to have seen inexplicable balls of light and the ghost of a man in a 1930’s suit.

Shaft Alley- A ghost dressed in blue overalls with black hair and a long beard has been seen by many people in the long space in the engine room that provides access to the propeller shafts.

First Class Swimming Pool- The dressing rooms in this area are thought by mediums and psychics to be the center of ghostly phenomena. Many people have felt a presence and heard voices. The pool area is supposedly haunted by two women who drowned here. One is in 60’s garb, the other in 1930’s attire. The sad ghost of a boy who died when he fell overboard near the pool is said to have been seen. People have heard the shouts and laughs of people having a good time, only to investigate and find the place empty. Wet footprints of unknown origin have appeared. The area is one of the most original and unchanged places on the boat. It is no longer open to the public except via the guided tour.

Tourist Class Swimming Pool – Haunted by the presence of a woman who drowned in it. There is a girl who asks for her mom or a doll. The girl is thought to have been a precocious child from third class who liked sliding down bannisters and was doing so when the ship hit a swell and pitched so that the bannister went straight down and she hit the wall, breaking her neck. The girl is also commonly seen around the third class stairwell, near the door to the old nursery.

First Class Lounge (now Queens Salon)- The ghost of a woman clad in a white flowing dress has been seen here.

Bosun’s Locker- Inexplicable pounding sounds emanate from this area occasionally.Cabin

B340 – This cabin is no longer rented out due to unexplained disturbances. It is thought to be the haunt of a murdered purser.

Morgue – There are a few ghosts here, but considering that 2 GIs 16 crewmen and 31 passengers total have died on the ship, they really could be anybody.

Kitchen – A cook was murdered here during WWII. His cooking was so bad that it caused a riot, and he was stuffed into the oven and killed. It is said that his screams sometimes startle visitors. There is also poltergeist activity here.Another crew member that haunts the Queen Mary, but isn’t specified where, is 2nd Officer William Stark, and he was accidentally poisoned in 1949 when he drank tetrachloride that was kept by the staff captain in an old gin bottle. (Why in the name of God would anyone keep such a lethal substance in such an enticing container?) Another of the accessible haunting areas is the front desk of what is now the hotel portion of the ship. Sightings include a mysterious woman in white who will be sighted walking until blocked from view by a pillar and never coming out from behind. Also, a couple has been seen walking down the hall to either side of the main entry to the first class rooms, but are never seen in the hallways themselves. Some other areas that you have to take the behind the scenes tour to get to include the engine room number 2.

Many stowaways died every time they would fire up the boilers to leave port, and sometimes a feeling of vast despair can be felt on the catwalk and sometimes also on the shuffleboard deck above.There are two other locations that are haunted. One is for to the fore of the ship and is characterized by a man screaming for help and sometimes just by his moaning in pain. This comes from during WWII. The ship wouldn’t publish it’s sailing patterns to avoid possible attack from German submarines. During one of these trips heading to Europe, the Queen Mary hit another, much smaller ship, broadsiding it. The other ship was cut nearly in two by the force. The Queen Mary itself sustained little damage. When the ship reached port, it was sent to dry dock to repair the hull, the outer section of which had been badly torn. When the drained the water, the found the body of a man who had been thrown through a hole torn in the hull above the water line from the other ship and had died of exposure.

Many techs who work in that area don’t like to go alone, or at night.The other is a cabin. The story behind the room is that during one crossing, a man checked in at the desk, and his luggage was stowed. That night he asked one of the stewards if they could find a female companion for the night and gave the steward a small wad of bills. The steward found a willing companion and she and the passenger retired for the night. The next morning when the man didn’t come to the dining room for breakfast, the steward knocked at his room. After receiving no answer, he fetched the head steward who opened the room. The walls and bed were covered in the blood of the woman, who had been murdered. A check of the registrar revealed that there had been no passenger assigned to the room, and when they looked for his luggage, there was none to be found, even though many people remember it being checked and stowed.

The official website claims there is no record of anyone ever drowning in any of the ship’s pools.

Middle Street Haunted Trailer

Bonne Terre, Mo

The spirit of a woman named Helen, who died in 1980’s has been seen and is known to interact with the residents. She has been known to tuck people in, tickle people’s feet, call them by name and even remind them to go to bed. The trailer sits on the site where a house had burned down in the early 1990’s. A shadow man has also been seen here.