The RMS Titanic set out on its maiden voyage with 2,208 passengers aboard in April of 1912. Tragically, only 712 of those passengers would survive. It was dark, freezing, and the ship was moving too fast when it struck an iceberg and sank. The 1,496 people who died that night suffered a terrifying and agonizing death. Any paranormal enthusiast will tell you strong emotions such as these paired with untimely death are key ingredients in a haunting.
For eight decades the RMS Titanic and all its contents sat at the bottom of the Atlantic until underwater excavation teams brought the historical artifacts back up to the surface. Now, these pieces of history in addition to incredible recreations of the ship’s interior are offering realistic tours of what it was like to be on the massive ship. The exhibit at the Luxor Hotel Las Vegas seems to be a hotspot for paranormal activity. It features over 300 artifacts that appear to have the spirits of former passengers attached to them. The number of scary stories from employees and visitors who have come into contact with items from the Titanic seems to keep stacking up.
An Author Predicted The Sinking Of The Titanic 14 Years Before It Happened
Published in 1898, was “The Wreck of the Titan” written by Morgan Robertson. 14-years later, his book came true and many believed he must have had some kind of precognitive abilities that he wasn’t aware of. There were plenty of reasons passenger liners would sink at this period in time. It would be a common fear and popular topic, however, the specifics of this particular fiction narrative are so spine chillingly accurate that it’s hard to not to wonder if it was a warning with some paranormal origins.
As if the eerily similar names weren’t enough, like the RMS Titanic, the fictitious Titan was supposed to be the largest of its kind, an unsinkable ship, that tragically lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate its passenger load. In the book, the ship also struck an iceberg while going to fast, and sank 400 nautical miles off Newfoundland–exactly like the Titanic did in 1912. This tragedy, both in real life and in the book, took place in April and cost over 1,500 passengers their lives.
The Ghost Of Frederick Fleet, The Titanic’s lookout, Still Watches The Promenade Deck
Frederick Fleet, a British sailor, served as the lookout aboard the RMS Titanic. He spotted the deadly iceberg and warned, “Iceberg, right ahead!” Though, his warning came too late for the ship to avoid at the speed it was going. Fleet survived the sinking of the Titanic, but not his own depression. After his wife’s death just after Christmas of 1964, he was evicted by his brother-in-law and hung himself in house’s garden.
His grave went unmarked until the Titanic Historical Society erected a headstone for him in 1993. It appears his spirit is not quite at rest however, witnesses have claimed to see him keeping watch over the Las Vegas exhibition’s Promenade Deck, driven by his guilt to keep watch even in death.
An Artifacts Expert Has Been Poked And Prodded By Unseen Hands
According to staff and visitors, The Artifact Exhibition at The Luxor is extremely haunted. Eerie sounds, unsettling feelings, and actual sightings of ghostly specters have all been reported.
Artifacts expert Joe Zimmer seems to attract quite a bit of attention from the spirits attached to these objects on display. He’s had his name called, his hair pulled, and his clothing tugged on, all followed by the sounds of laughter. He has admitted to being thoroughly creeped out after closing down for the night, knowing full well that he was alone only to hear a phantom orchestra.
The Ghosts Of The Titanic See No Need To Honor Bruce Ismay
The Exhibit at The Luxor includes a portrait of Bruce Ismay, one of the Titanic’s builders who was disgraced after he fled the sinking ship, leaving women and children behind. Witnesses on the lifeboats claim he kept his back to the ship as it sank and allegedly he was the one insisting the ship speed up after receiving ice warnings. Considering this, it’s no surprise the media put him on blast once he returned and apparently the souls of those who died on the Titanic aren’t too fond of him either.
One early morning as the crew came in to open the exhibit, they found the portrait of Ismay on the floor, it wasn’t damaged but they couldn’t figure out how it got off the wall. The manager watched the surveillance video from the night before and was stunned to find the picture just began shaking and then was plucked from the wall and put on the floor but there was no one there.
A Lady In Black Haunts The Grand Staircase At The Artifact Exhibit In Las Vegas
The Titanic Artifact Exhibition at The Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas has a popular ghost wandering its grand staircase. Employees and guests alike have all witnessed this mysterious woman wearing a black period dress with a striking white collar and her hair in a bun.
As a photographer prepped for the opening of the Exhibition, he spotted the woman casually walking down the Grand Staircase. He was startled, he hadn’t seen anyone enter, everything was still locked up, and no one was allowed on the staircase anyway, it’s roped off.
He figured she was apart of the exhibit and asked if she’d like him to photographer her. She ignored him. He went back to setting up but suddenly she was directly behind him. Again he offered a photograph and this time she didn’t just ignore him, she vanished.
Titanic’s Captain Edward John Smith Haunts His Former Home in England
According to Louise and Neil Bonner, owners of the former home of Titanic Captain Edward John Smith, the shipmaster likes to make it known that he is still there. The couple has spent the last decade renting the 19th century Victorian out and their tenants have reported the same unexplained icy chills passing through them, strange noises, and even full-bodied apparitions of the Captain. The property has also suffered a flood in the kitchen and unusually cold gusts in the dining room.
According to Mr. Bonner, “some years ago we had a single chap living in there and he rang up one day convinced he had seen the ghost of the captain.” Bonner went on to explain that, “he was in bed when he saw him drift across the room.”
A Deathbed Premonition Was Made The Night The Titanic Sank
A creepy legend surrounding the Titanic came from the deathbed of a young Scottish girl named Jessie Sayre. On the same night, the Titanic sank, Jessie Sayre died and it seemed as though she could see those dying that same night with her. In her delirious state, she spoke of a massive sinking ship and a man named Wally playing a fiddle.
She had no way of knowing the Titanic was sinking that night or that Wallace (Wally) Hartley sat and continued to play his violin one last time as he and his band sank with the ship.
Vessels Passing Through The Site Have Witnessed Paranormal Anomalies
People aboard ships passing the site where the RMS Titanic went down have reported mysterious balls of light, believed to be spirit orbs, hovering in the area.
On more than one occasion, submarines traveling those ominous depths have received unusual radio interference. Odd noises and SOS calls with no origins crackling through their communication equipment.
A Ghostly Tour Took Place On The SS Winterhaven
Some of the best ghost stories are those in which the parties involved don’t realize they are in the presence of a spirit until long after the fact. In the case of second officer Leonard Bishop of the SS Winterhaven, this was exactly what happened. Back in 1977, he gave a tour of the ship to who he assumed was a passenger. The British man was very soft spoken and extremely interested in every detail of the vessel, almost unusually so. Bishop found the man to be a bit strange, not unpleasant, just odd and memorable.
It wasn’t until a few years later, after seeing a photo of Titanic Captain Edward John Smith that Bishop realized why the situation felt so off. Bishop exclaimed to a friend, ” I know him, I gave him a tour of my boat” The friend laughed it off and informed Bishop that the man had been long dead, “impossible! That man was the captain of the Titanic!”
A Teen Visiting A Traveling Titanic Artifacts Exhibit Gets A Tug From Beyond The Grave
While visiting family in Missouri, a teenager went to a traveling Titanic Exhibit and had a brush with the paranormal. Posting under the name “PrettyInPain”, she recounts the experience.
“We were walking through a hallway to get to the artifacts, and I was behind everyone. I suddenly felt a soft tug at the back of my t-shirt. I turned around to see who the culprit was, but the hallway was absolutely empty. I quickly faced forward to catch a potential trickster, but no one was sneaking away and everyone in front of me was far ahead.”
After finishing the tour, the poster finally confides in her mother. Upon hearing the tale, her mother confirms that she’s heard many strange stories from others about the same exhibit.
A Comforting Spirit Haunts The Titanic Belfast Museum
As they like to say in Ireland the Titanic was, “Built by the Irish, sunk by the English.” Now, in Belfast Ireland, where the Titanic was constructed, The Titanic Belfast Museum has been established and seems to have a presence of its own.
In 2013, a woman touring the Titanic Belfast Museum was able to listen to the final distress call of the RMS Titanic. She described the events in a letter to podcasts hosts of Real Ghost Stories Online.com.She claimed, that while hearing the original Morse code and seeing the words on the screen of the RMS Titanic’s distress call, she became overwhelmingly emotional. Her heart was pounding, she was anxious and heartbroken– as if she was feeling everything the radio controller felt as he sent out the call. She was shaking, feeling sick to her stomach, and began crying.
She felt consumed by her empathy and needed air so she wandered down to the nearby dry docks still feeling overwhelmed. As she stood, thinking of the radio controller, the words playing over and over in her head, “sinking, sinking.” She felt a hand on her shoulder and a male voice said softly, “It’s okay.” She assumed it was her friend and reached up to brush his hand but realized no one was there. Was it the spirit of the radio controller, Jack Phillips she wonders? Was he reassuring her that he was at peace with what happened and she should be too? She felt a warmth and calm wash over her then but says the words of that distress call still haunt her today.
Ghost Hunters Captured Compelling Evidence At The Georgia Aquarium During Their 2009 Investigation
The Georgia Aquarium is another located with possibly haunted artifacts from the Titanic. The employees have all caught glimpses of shadows, heard voices, and have even been touched by the spirits. The paranormal activity is so intense that Syfy Channel’s Ghost Hunters came in to investigate and had the same physical experiences as the staff. They managed to capture a voice, a shadowy figure, and also readings of cold spots. After reviewing their findings they concluded the Titanic exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium is in fact haunted.
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