We Tried It: I Spent a Spooky Night Aboard the Queen Mary — One of the Most Haunted Hotels in America

For years I’ve been trying to find a way to marry my love for the paranormal with my day job interviewing celebrities for PEOPLE.

Yes, I’m well aware it’s not the norm, but I regularly go on ghost hunts with two of my closest mom friends, Liz Beedle and Emily Penke, who happen to be sisters. We met when we were all kindergarten parents and along the way, we realized we shared a genuine curiosity. Now we’re known as the Ghost Moms on social media and we try our best to carve out time in between our kiddos’ soccer games and activities to investigate spooky sites around the country.

So what better way to indulge our passion than to stay at hotels and B&Bs known for being haunted for PEOPLE’s We Tried It series? The list of places with hauntings is surprisingly long but The Queen Mary in Long Beach, Calif., was one of the first we wanted to check out.

Now a floating hotel, attraction and event and wedding venue, the cruise liner, which was permanently docked in December 1967, has become an icon in southern California. It’s quite impressive when you drive up, let alone stroll beside it to the hotel’s entrance where an elevator brings you up to the lobby.

Walking into the massive ship, you immediately pick up a Titanic meets The Shining type vibe. The décor is timeless, and you can almost imagine setting sail during its heyday. We checked in and wandered down the very long hallways (in one, you can see all the way from bow to stern) to our room on the B deck.

We had requested the most notoriously haunted room, B340, but it was being renovated for overnight stays when we visited. (It's now available for booking again).

The legend of the room runs the gamut of everything paranormal. What is known is that in the 1940s, a passenger died in the room. A woman who later stayed in it, claimed the covers were pulled off of her in the middle of the night and she saw a man standing at the foot of the bed. When she yelled for the steward, the man apparently disappeared.

Over the years, guests and housekeepers have reported the bathroom faucet turning on and off by itself and knocking sounds are heard on the walls. The room was just down the hall from ours and we were fine keeping our distance.

We’d been up late the night before so decided to take a quick nap before we went to dinner on the main deck at Chelsea Chowder House & Bar. We always set up some equipment when we sleep because you never know when something might happen. We placed a motion detector in front of the door and another on the opposite side of the room near the window.

No less than five minutes after we'd closed our eyes, the one by the door was triggered by some unseen force. Here’s where I’ll tell you that it doesn’t have to be pitch dark for us to be terrified. Even with the lights on, it’s impossible not to feel some measure of fear if something is making its presence known. Fortunately, we were already in our beds and everyone knows under the covers is always the best place to face anything scary.

We then turned on an app that scans radio frequencies at a high rate (it is believed voices of spirits can be heard through the white noise). It was a little unnerving to hear “to be ready” when we asked if there was anything we needed to know for the night ahead.

While we were listening, the motion detector by the window went off, again for no obvious reason. As soon as our heart rates calmed down, I went over and put my hands in front of the sensor. Immediately all the hairs on both of my arms stood straight up.

At dinner we asked our server, who had worked there for 20 years, if he had ever experienced anything paranormal. He told us about a young girl they call Jackie, who is often spotted running around the ship. Her legs have even been seen dangling from the bench behind a piano only for the staff to walk around and find it empty.

During our meal, I saw what looked like the shadow of a shorter person behind the frosted glass door of an adjacent room. It moved to the right and appeared to walk away. Our server told us the room was locked with no other way in or out. When we poked our heads inside, no one was there.

Afterwards, we met up with Rebecca Knight, who leads The Grey Ghost Project tour. For three hours, we were taken around and given access to areas usually restricted to guests. She brings a gear case and sets up various tools that participants can use to try and entice the spirits.

Even though it was relatively quiet during the tour, Rebecca’s knowledge of the ship and its ghost stories was extraordinary. She clearly cares about its history and those who might still be dwelling on it.

The now-abandoned, first-class pool with its decrepit fountain, mosaic tiles and mother-of-pearl ceiling was by far one of the most eerie places we were allowed to see. While it’s no longer in use because of state code issues, it has become one of the hotbeds of ghostly activity. Guests have caught glimpses of apparitions of young women as well as a little boy and girl before they vanish into thin air.  

In the bow and the grand ballroom, we did an experiment where we took turns putting on noise-canceling headphones while listening to a piece of equipment that also scans radio stations. At one point, Liz asked, “How old are you?” and even though Emily could not hear the question, she heard a voice say "90" through the static. 

The engine and boiler rooms felt sad and heavy.

In 1966, the watertight doors were ordered to be closed and an 18-year-old crew member was crushed in the door of Hatch 13. People now report the sound of someone running behind them and whistling. Others have seen an apparition of a bearded man who looks like the crew member. As we were walking past the door, Emily stopped because she heard a clear cough behind her, but we were alone.

We said goodbye to Rebecca and took the long way back to our room. The halls were still and quiet. We called it a night a little after midnight but of course turned on a few gadgets.

All was well until 6:20 a.m. when the music on the motion detector by the closet started to play. We had no need for our alarm clocks after that. Nothing will wake you up faster than a frightening adrenaline rush. We even opened the closet door but saw nothing that could be triggering it.

Early morning travel and sleep-deprived mom-ing when we get back home is just a small price we’ll happily pay for these trips together—and this adventure did not disappoint.

If you’re a history buff, love cruises and boats or you’re perhaps intrigued by even the idea of ghosts, you should definitely check out The Queen Mary.