Cooking up a Tale or Two

Another presence is felt or observed in the kitchen area of the ship. There are several stories which may explain the reason for the occurrences, although two of the stories represent variations of the same theme.

The basic pattern centers on the death of the cook as the result of a fight which broke out during the war years. One story suggests that a certain cook was more interested in feeding the passengers than the crew. As time passed, the crew grew to resent his attitude toward them. After months of the cook’s culinary slights and lack of consideration for their needs, several of the crew reportedly tossed him into the oven.

Another account involves a potential mutiny among the American troops being transported aboard ship, resulting in a fight in the kitchen, whereby the cook, who was the object of the crew’s ire, was pushed into the heated oven. He died from the resulting burns. The spirit of the cook appears to continue to haunt the kitchen area, possibly still upset that the crew turned on him so viciously. His antics can be heard, seen and felt according to many witnesses. (There is no evidence in the archives to document that such a tragedy actually took place."

Another possible explanation for the kitchen hauntings, is verified in the ship’s archives, and involves a cook names Leonard "Lobster" Horsborough. After serving the Queen Mary for 15 years, he died on November 13, 1967, the Queen Mary’s last voyage), of complications from a heat stroke and eventual heart failure. He was subsequently buried at sea by Captain Treasure Jones. Although no formal notice was given to passengers of his funeral service, a crowd gathered on the open part of "A" Deck. As word spread, morbid curiosity brought more people to view this solemn event. His remains were given up to the sea, but the circumstances surrounding Horsborough’s burial may not have pleased him, considering the lack of respect during his final departure.