The Queen Mary is closed to the public this Halloween, but even the coronavirus can’t stop the ghosts, ghouls and goblins from roaming the ship as they have for decades.
And for about $20, folks can watch live, 24-hour coverage of the Queen Mary for four days, including Day of the Dead celebrations, live ghost hunting and live musical performances by Silversun Pickups, Filter, Dead Sara, Soon Barrier, Beasto Blanco and Metalachi.
“It’s fun because people can tune in and join us in the ghost hunting,” Sophia Temperilli, host of the “Ghost Host” podcast and Long Beach ghost hunter, said. “It’s an experience that isn’t like watching a TV show. You can interact with us live, ask us questions or let us know if you see anything, all in real time.”
Temperelli’s interest in the paranormal was sparked when she was a young girl. She said she felt a presence in her bedroom and was convinced that she was being watched by a spirit every night. Now at 21, she’s made it her career to discover as much as she can about the supernatural.
“Even if you’re a skeptic, you might be surprised what you find when you stop and look,” Temperelli said.
Now at 21, she’s helping kick off today’s virtual events and the weekend-long hunts. Paranormal team investigators include Kane Hodder, who played Jason Vorhees in “Friday the 13;” The Ghost Brothers; Rick McCallum from “Hatchet;” Chad Lindberg from “The Fast and Furious;” Chloe Noelle from “True Blood;” Britton Buchanan from “The Voice” television show; YouTube star Colin Browen; and Susan Slaughter of “Ghost Hunters” fame.
Long Beach’s resident illusionist Aiden Sinclair and partner Rebecca Knight will be calling on the ship’s spirits with their “Illusions of the Passed” seance and performance. It’s the duo’s first time back aboard the Queen since the pandemic forced a shutdown, where they temporarily moved operations to the haunted Stanley Hotel in Colorado.
The event is hosted by the Dark Zone Network — an online creative project by the producers of the A&E series “Ghost Hunters.” Launched in the middle of the pandemic, the first haunted live-stream was of “The Conjuring” house, followed by 24 hours of socially-distanced paranormal investigations of the Lizzy Borden Murder House.
The virtual ghost hunting was a hit, and now ghost hunters are making their way aboard the Queen to search for those ghosts today, Thursday, through Sunday, Nov. 1 — and the public is invited to watch the hunt live online.
“It’s new, it’s live and there’s no editing, so we don’t know what’s going to happen,” Temperilli said. “People tuning in get to see things happen as we do, and we have no idea what to expect or what we’ll find on that ship now that it’s completely empty.”
To purchase tickets for $19.99, or for more information, go to thedarkzone.tv.
Stephanie Stutzman can be reached at sstutzman@gazettes.com.
