Main characters from all mazes gathered by the ShipYard during the Last Voyage, which featured modern Latin music, reggaeton and hip hop performances on Oct. 24. Photo credit: Sam Farfan
By Sam Farfan and Renzo Pocasangre
Ghoulish spirits and monsters haunt the Long Beach harbor grounds this Halloween season with the return of The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor: The Spirits Rise festival.
Visiting horror fanatics are immersed in frightful renditions of the Queen Mary’s very own urban legends and spirits – each rumored to haunt the halls aboard the ship.
This year’s interactive event includes a variety of immersive experiences, including five uniquely themed mazes, a spooky theatrical seance, secret speakeasies, axe throwing, carnival rides and several live entertainment attractions.
In addition to the attractions, a variety of food tents, bars, dessert options and even a hookah lounge were available for guest purchase and access throughout the grounds.
Fire spinners perform nightly on the fire stage, as pictured on Oct. 24, with additional pop up performances on the Seaside Stage and in Voodoo Bayou. Photo credit: Sam Farfán
Although the event brought back several Dark Harbor characters and legends introduced in years prior, all of the maze attractions were newly created or reimagined for the 2024 season. These include Lullaby, Infirmary, Feast, Big Top Terror and Breakout—with some based on eerie stories of hauntings on the ship.
The emphasis on historical immersion creates a highly-anticipated return following the event’s hiatus.
Much of Queen Mary’s dark history and the reputation of Dark Harbor fuels the excitement of longtime fans and newcomers alike, including Mt. San Antonio College student and first-time attendee Angel Medina.
“It’s really cool. I’m kind of scared, but I have to get through all the mazes and try not to be scared,” Medina said. “It’s Halloween at the end of the night so [I] just got to enjoy it.”
Clowns on stilts and sliders roamed the Harbor on Oct. 24. While some attendees ran straight for the mazes like Lullaby and Big Top Terror, others posed for photos with scare actors. Photo credit: Renzo Pocasangre
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Queen Mary was forced to shut its doors for three years, allowing it to seize the opportunity to make much-needed renovations.
The pandemic and its aftermath created a difficult challenge for Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, a location-based entertainment production company tasked with producing the revival of Dark Harbor.
“Like a lot of things, the pandemic interrupted what was happening. The pandemic was a lot bigger than a lot of people ever thought it could be, and so the Queen Mary was closed for three years to the public,” Director of Special Projects at Thirteenth Floor Brett Bertolino said. “During that time, Dark Harbor ceased to operate.”
As the Queen Mary made its return, re-inviting guests and tourists in 2022, so did its capability of hosting live events.
Sinister Swings, as pictured on Oct. 24, belongs to a series of The Ringmaster’s rides that are located throughout the grounds. Others include Scary Mary’s Ghost Rider carousel, Black Widow and the Rampage Double Wheel. Photo credit: Sam Farfán
Shaqtoberfest, a Halloween entertainment event based on former professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal, brought the Halloween festivities back to Long Beach for two years.
Although Shaqtoberfest was also hosted by Thirteenth Floor, the plan was never meant for it to fully replace Dark Harbor.
Now, with Dark Harbor’s full return, a unique, historical trait about the festival continues to develop; many of the scare characters are based on “real-life” ghosts that reside within the Queen Mary’s steel hull.
One of those spirits is Samuel the Savage whose story is loosely based off of the murderer who killed two women in the ‘60s and haunts stateroom B340.
An add-on experience available this year is psychic Lady Mabel’s summoning of Samuel, conducting an interactive seance with participants summoning forth the spirit of Samuel.
In the Lullaby, Infirmary and Feast mazes (all created aboard the ship) guests navigate the ominous boiler room tunnels buried within the bowels of the ship. Stumbling through the pitch black pathways found in Lullaby, attendees often had to grip the walls to find their way.
Everything was built from the ground back up following the hiatus, meaning each maze had new, uniquely crafted pieces for this year.
Big Top Terror, located on the harbor and within the Ringmaster’s Carnival, was a carnival-inspired maze that included a spinning vortex tunnel, moving floor panels and a mirror maze with scare actors awaiting within.
As visitors rounded the corners out of a vortex tunnel, trying not to slip on the sliding floor panels, they would be met by mutilated clowns squeaking their bicycle horns.
“So, you have all the things that made Dark Harbor special, that made it unique, all the fan favorites. But then we’ve also married those things with new attractions, new experiences, we’ve continued all the stories,” Bertolino said. “We’ve brought back all the characters, but we’ve also introduced new stories, we’ve introduced new characters. We wanted to honor the history, the legacy and the stories of Dark Harbor.”
The Captain and the Ringmaster, as pictured on Oct. 24, are a few of Dark Harbor’s main characters for the 2024 Halloween season. Photo credit: Sam Farfán
Toward the end of the night, the Final Voyage dance party showcased several of the scare characters celebrating the Queen Mary’s final voyage to Long Beach with lively music and dancing.
The Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor runs through November 2 with ticket prices starting at $51.49. Additional add-on experiences, VIP packages, cabana options and parking fees are available for those wanting to elevate their Halloween experience.
