For the creators of the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor, the back story is everything as it annually creates terrifying attractions built upon tales from deep within the history of the ship.
Some of its characters, now collectively referred to as “The Evil 8,” share the stories of real life passengers aboard the vessel as it carried troops during World War II and was refitted for transatlantic passenger service in the late ’40s. Though the ship officially retired from service in 1967 and was docked and converted into a hotel in Long Beach, guests have since filled binders with their encounters with the paranormal as the Queen Mary has long been dubbed one of the most haunted places in the world.
This year, the Dark Harbor crew went back to where it all started, Clydebank, Scotland, where the ship was originally built at John Brown’s Shipyard. During a recent visit to Scotland, Steve Sheldon, director of entertainment events at the Queen Mary, and Charity Hill, assistant director of entertainment events, began bringing its all-new character, the Iron Master, to life.
“Looking at John Brown’s storied past, it was really easy, maybe with a martini or two, to really craft what this character would look like,” Hill said during a walk through of the Iron Master’s attraction, dubbed “Intrepid.” Dark Harbor officially kicks off on Thursday and runs on select nights through Oct. 31.
The Iron Master is really a fusion of the real life John Brown and, as with all of the spirits, production designer and director J.J. Wickham gave the cantankerous character a bit of an exaggerated back story, which allows him to fit perfectly into the Dark Harbor lore.
“He’s basically coming back to reclaim the ship that he thinks is rightfully his,” Hill said. “He’s chained and bound by the ship for all eternity since he sold himself to the iron hell in order to secure safe passage for the Queen Mary and to make sure she’s forever afloat. He’s now one with the ship, so if he loses a limb, he just replaces it with iron.”
Of course, this puts the Iron Master at odds with the Captain, the star of Dark Harbor and the featured spirit in the “Deadrise: The Depths of Darkness” attraction. Those two gentlemen will have to also battle it out with the Ringmaster, who first brought her dark circus of freaks to the Queen Mary in 2013 and will continue to scare guests within her newly revamped “Circus: Big Top Terror” maze and its creepy, freak show performer infested ball pit.
Scary Mary, the playful 9-year-old based on numerous guest ghost sightings and experiences around the first-class pool, returns this year for fun and games in her attraction, “Lullaby: Hush Hush Don’t Cry,” which has been given a new choose-your-own-adventure type layout with multiple paths for fresh frights. The beautifully haunting Graceful Gale, again, a spirit who has been spotted by guests and ship staffers alike, dancing alone in the Queen Salon, will have her story told as her attraction, “Soulmate: Til Death Do Us Part,” will now be done in reverse so patrons can truly experience her bloody spiral into madness.
Samuel the Savage, one of the more mysterious spirits within “The Evil 8,” will be back in his attraction, “B340: A Descent into Insanity.” His story is linked to the most haunted room on the ship, B340, which has now been stripped bare since both guests and the cleaning staff have refused to spend much time alone in there. Half-Hatch Henry, who is based on a a fireman who was crushed by a door in the bowels of the ship, will roam the “Deadrise” maze with the Captain’s crew.
The last spirit, who was brought in a couple of years ago as a rival to the Ringmaster, the Voodoo Priestess, will now oversee the brand new Voodoo House bar experience which doubles as a happy hour potions bar and a tasting room where horror fans can enjoy flights of tequila and mezcal. Paintball is back again this year, too, but has been re-branded as Hex and completely voodoo themed. With the understanding and compassion for the fact that people spend the most time waiting in lines to get into the attractions, Dark Harbor has brought in several bars and smaller stages, which will host a variety of mini performances, that will be stationed in every queue line to help lessen the in-line boredom.
Guests that splurge on the VIP Creepy Cabanas (starting at $99) for up to 10 people will get complimentary all-access to the SideShow and have the option to order up freaks à la carte for up-close performances inside the cabanas ($49 per freak). This year, you can get cozy with the spirit of your choice to help guide you and a group of up to 10 foolish mortals through their maze for a longer, more personal experience ($99 per spirit).
Also new this year is the “Panic” experience, held inside the Queen Mary’s 4-D Theater. It’s an immersive eight-minutes of heart-pounding horror and you’re seated the entire time.
“It’s very interactive so the chairs move, things may poke you and there’s elements of wind, water, lots of sound and things at your feet,” Hill said. “It’s pretty engaging and you feel like you’re standing because there’s something chasing you and you are panicking the entire time. It’s really fantastic.”
Contact the writer: 714-796-3570 or kfadroski@ocregister.com