With stories and scares inspired by the real ghosts that are said to still haunt the vessel and mazes that took people into the dark depths of the ship, the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor Halloween haunt was the ship’s most popular event, attracting more than 120,000 people at its peak during its monthlong run.
But things went dark for the haunt when, like all other major events, it had to close due to the pandemic in 2020. It has remained closed until now but the wildly popular haunt and festival will rise again this Halloween season with a total of five mazes on and off the ship, plus carnival, rides, themed and hidden bars and lounges, live entertainment that includes music and all sorts of monsters and other creatures roaming around the grounds of the ship on select nights from Sept. 20 through Nov. 2.
The return of the Queen Marys’ flagship event not only means a terrifying good time for horror fans who will once again be able to board the ship and roam through mazes that will take them through dark metal hallways and eerie, long-abandoned spaces, it also signals brighter days ahead for the Queen Mary, which is once again becoming a hot spot for tourists and locals.
“I think one of the things it signals is that the Queen Mary is back overall. There’s a lot of work that’s been done on this ship through the last couple of years to get it up and going and one of the funnest things we were looking forward to is Dark Harbor and seeing Dark Harbor come back,” said Steve Caloca, managing director of the Queen Mary.
Since its inception in 2010, Dark Harbor featured several mazes on and off the vessel that were inspired by real stories about the ship, which has long been rumored to be haunted. After being shut down by the pandemic, Dark Harbor failed to return in part because of delays caused by renovations on the Queen Mary.
The ship also experienced other mishaps, including financial issues and mismanagement by a previous outside operator before the city regained control of the floating attraction. The Queen Mary is finally rebounding after years of turmoil and is even poised to make a profit this fiscal year, according to recent city reports. More than 600 people are now visiting the attraction daily and once again there are several events taking place on board the ship including karaoke, live music and haunted tours. .
And while in 2022 and the following year Shaqtoberfest took Dark Harbor’s place with walk-thru haunts, mazes, carnival rides and DJs outside the ship, the event was scrubbed in lieu of Dark Harbor’s return.
“Dark Harbor has always been something that has been so special for the Queen throughout the years. So yes, we always wanted Dark Harbor to come back and it’s coming back as strong as ever,” Caloca said.
Dark Harbor is now being produced by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, a well-known Halloween-themed entertainment company that currently operates 32 attractions nationwide including local events like the Delusion theatrical Halloween experience, the Los Angeles Haunted Hayride and Magic of the Jack O’Lanterns.
“I think it’s a big moment for the ship, for the city and for Halloween fans across the country,” said Brett Bertolino, director of special projects for Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group.
“Dark Harbor has those stories that are so iconic, that have been developed over the years where the fans know the stories, the fans know the characters. All these characters are unique, they’re all tied to the history of the Queen Mary and I think it’s that authenticity that really makes this event special and separates it from other Halloween events out there,” Bertolino said as he sat on the deck of the ship during a hot Monday afternoon while crews worked on putting the finishing touches on the mazes and surrounding carnival.
For the return of Dark Harbor organizers wanted to stay true to the history of the ship while reaching out to fans via social media to find out what kind of scares they wanted to experience.
“We are not trying to bring Dark Harbor back to a certain year. It’s not Dark Harbor 2018 or 2019. We’re trying to bring back all the things that made Dark Harbor special. To bring them back and simultaneously think about what Dark Harbor would look like four years later because the event would have continued to evolve over time,” he added.
Inside the ship
That evolution means new or reimagined mazes, especially inside the ship, where the century-old vessel becomes a character itself thanks to its spooky feel.
“The Queen Mary is the star so when we began planning Dark Harbor our first thing that we did was work on mazes that would be on the ship. We knew from talking to fans that that would be one of the things that people liked the most. It was something that constantly came up in conversations,” Bertolino said.
Onboard the ship, people will be able to walk through a whole new version of Lullaby, a maze that will take people by the first-class swimming pool, which is said to be one of the most haunted spots on the ship. That’s where, decades ago, it is said a young girl drowned and now haunts the ship as Scary Mary.
While there was a Lullaby maze in Dark Harbor before it was canceled in 2020, Bertolino said none of the set pieces existed anymore, so a whole new set was built and a new pathway was created. So this year people will meet some of Scary Mary’s relatives like her parents as they walk through the maze, which takes place on two decks of the ship.
During a walk-through of the still-under construction maze, oversize spooky dolls with black painted faces stood in a dark room near the pool. Horror fans will also be able to walk on a narrow bridge over the boiler room.
“We’re going for scary and frightening. As you go through the maze it gets more twisted and evil,” Bertolino said.
Another reimagined haunt taking place inside the ship is Feast, which in previous years followed the story of a chef who was said to have gone mad and murderous onboard the ship. The new version is the origin story of Chef, who started out as a young and ambitious Butcher.
“You learn more about that character, about him rising to the ranks and how he becomes the ship’s head chef. There is a brand new finale to Feast this year that should be pretty exciting,” he said.
The final maze taking place onboard the ship is Infirmary, an entirely brand new concept that follows a sadistic surgeon and his accomplice Graceful Gale.
“One of the themes that hadn’t been explored was medical. The ship had a number of different medical facilities onboard, it was also used during the war and so we felt that was a theme that had never been explored,” Bertolino said.
Infirmary is a large maze taking place on three decks of the ship telling the story of the new character Dr. Edwin and his maniacal medical practices.
Outdoor terror
Outside the ship, meanwhile, scares will come from two brand new mazes: Big Top Terror and Breakout.
The Ringmaster, a familiar character at Dark Harbor, leads Big Top Terror, which takes its inspiration from previous circus-themed mazes. It includes funhouse gags like a ball pit, a spinning tunnel, moving floors and slanted rooms.
Breakout was inspired by past mazes like B340, a room inside the ship that’s said to be haunted by Samuel The Savage. The new maze has the killer in a prison that can’t contain him as people follow in his footsteps while he tries to escape from the jail and make his way back inside the ship.
“I think this is going to be a really fun maze as well as a really scary maze,” Bertolino.
“I think we’re bringing back all of the things that resonate with people for Dark Harbor and then surprising fans with some new things,” Bertolino said.
Dark Harbor
When: Select nights Sept. 20 through Nov. 2.
Where: The Queen Mary, 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach
Tickets: $39.99 and up
Information: darkharborhalloween.com
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