Ghost tours « Thread Started on May 30, 2007, 10:17am »
Well vacation time is here at last!! I am trying to talk my husband into going on a tour guided ghost tour. My son Zachary is really wanting to go too. I've never been on one so I was wondering if any of you out there had any ideas or comments on them. We live in Virginia and I have been researching the ghost tours of Jamestown and Williamsburg. I hear there are several good tours in this very haunted area. People have reported quite often there that they have seen entire ghost armies marching in confederate attire! If any of you have been on any tours I was interested in hearing if you feel it was actually authentic or just a tourist attraction. Thanks in advance, AmyG
Re: Ghost tours « Reply #1 on May 31, 2007, 10:12am »
Amy,
I envy you. I have always wanted to do just that. Take a week or two and hit four or five really good locations. I am sorry that I know nothing about Virginia. However, if you go to Google and punch in Ghosts of Virginia, or Haunted Hotels of Virginia you will find a lot to chose from. I live in Southern California and we have a lot around her. I have spent many nights aboard the haunted Queen Mary ship, which is very close to me, and I can tell you I have indeed had some good encounters. I recommend old hotels as being best. And, given the Civil War activity in the southern states, I'll bet Virginia is an exciting state to explore. Good hunting... Ron
Re: Ghost tours « Reply #2 on May 31, 2007, 11:25am »
Hi Ron,
Virginia is rich in history including ghost history! I'm looking forward to checking out some of these locations. There is an old plantation about 5 miles from where I live that is reported to be haunted. The owner is buried standing up. He wanted to be buried like this so he could 'always be able to watch over his slaves'. You can see his mausoleum from the road. Very creepy! I have heard lots of stories about the Queen Mary! What are some of your encounters there? I've heard a lot of stories about the swimming pool and I've watched the web cam site. I didn't see anything unusual in that location, but I think I saw something like an orb float by in the boiler room. It was a small glowing ball of light. I would love to stay there sometime, another place on my list is the Myrtles Plantation down in Louisiana. I almost had my husband convinced to go down there and stay the weekend but then Katrina hit so we haven't talked about going again. If you feel like sharing your stories I'd love to hear them! AmyG
Re: Ghost tours « Reply #3 on May 31, 2007, 6:37pm »
Hi Amy,
I know the Queen has been profiled on a lot of programs. I don't know if you are aware but the company that ownes the boat really plays up the "ghost" stuff. But, I will tell you it is mostly true. She is haunted. They have refurbished most of the rooms on the boat and it is an actual hotel. I have stayed on her on four different occassions. Twice I have taken private tours with a physic named Peter James. who is also a bit famous and claims to have the "real" deal when it comes to making contact with spirits on that boat. Yes, the first class swimming pool is the center of the activity. In fact James says there is a portal in the woman's dressing room. And, when he takes you in there, a definite cold air is felt coming up right out of the floor. In that area I have personally heard a child laughing and seen wet foot prints on the deck of the pool. ( Of course the pool is empty. ) And the foot prints evaporate immediately. The ship was hardly used as a passenger ship, as it was built just before the war and it served as a troop carrier. Then as the war was ending it served as an ambulance. It is said to have been so fast that the German Navy ( submarines ) were offered a bounty on her by Hitler. But no one could catch her to put torpedos in her. Ironically, my own father was aboard her as a young Army soldier going to France, and he came back on her wounded when she was an anbulance. During these times, during one foggy night, trying to run away from u-boats she apparently rammed another smaller ship, cutting her in half and killing more than a thousand sailors. Today, the sound of that crash and the screaming of the sailors can be heard occassionally on certain nights, way down deep in her bow. The one tour I took went down there, and I swear I heard people screaming. Others around me said the same thing. After the war, she only served as a cruise ship maybe for five more years. She was sold to the city of Long beach and has been there a very long time. Overall, she is really fun to visit. I felt one night while sleeping on her, my covers being pulled off slightly. But when I sat up in bed, it stopped. So, if you ever get out this way, I do recommend her for a visit.
Also, coincidentally, Tuesday I was contacted by The Myrtles Plantation and asked to send them 10 copies of my book, The Lorelei. which will be marketed in their gift shop. That is derinitley a place I will visit someday. However, your man being burried standing up sounds exciting too. I know that there are many Civil War places in your vacinity that I think would be really interesting to visit. So, have fun. Ron
Re: Ghost tours « Reply #4 on Jun 1, 2007, 7:11am »
Ron,
The Queen Mary sounds like a great place to visit! There was a lot of things that happened on that ship. No wonder its haunted! My grandfather worked on a hospital ship in WW2. The terrible sights he saw there taking care of the men drove him to become an alcoholic when the war was over. I guess that he just couldn't deal with what he saw there. I'd also heard a story about a young man who was killed in one of the boiler room doors, and now when people pass that door they feel the coldness you mentioned in the women's dressing room. I'm glad that your book will be at The Myrtles, and I plan on reading it myself soon! AmyG
Re: Ghost tours « Reply #6 on Jun 1, 2007, 9:54am »
Hi Amy,
No, to the Queen inspiring my book question. I really don't have enough space here to explain exactly how stories come to me. But, I will say they come in a series of dreams. Some take many nights to be completed. For example; I am finishing writing a book right now that I originally began in 1985. Back then, I had 33 nightly dreams, one each consecutive night. I wrote down what I dreamed each morning, and after 33 nights of dreaming the story, it was complete. I then put it away in a box until just recentlywhen I took it out and began re-reading it. I realized what a really good "Ghost" story it was. So, I am finishing it now. I hope to get it to the publisher this month. I actually re-did some parts and improved others. However, it is pretty much the same as it was many years ago. The book that is out now came to me in the same manner. However, it only took maybe four nights to dream it all the way through. I began dreaming it in the early 2000s. However, I have had these types of dreams since I was a very young boy. I do not know how many actual stories I have stored away. Maybe, I will eventually be able to publish more over time? I find it exciting to see something one writes in "real" published form. And, better yet when you walk into Barnes and Noble and see it for sale on the rack.
Yes, the boiler room door area does have a ghost of a young man crushed in a water tight door when the ship had already been docked in Long Beach and they were removing parts ( like the engines ) to make it a permenent fixture. And, yes, he is see in several areas around the door. One common spot is on the escalator used by employees that is close to where he was killed. I never saw or felt him, but many others have. Ron
My family and I are leaving for Virginia Beach Monday the 16th. If I can talk everyone into it and of we have enough time I would really like to take this tour! AmyG
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