## **I. The Extraordinary Encounter**

Like a leviathan ensnared in the ocean’s cold embrace, the Queen Mary sat there, a glorious titan of yesteryears. The grand liner was a fusion of torn history and unrefined beauty, boasting a heart-stopping view, casual articulations of an increasingly forgotten opulence, and a sea of stories that whispered in the ears of the fleeting Long Beach wind. This majestic man-made sea monster of steel was thriving in profound reminiscence of its erstwhile grandeur. But as twilight conceded to the dark’s dominance, the Queen Mary transformed from an embodiment of magnificence to a chilling vessel of the supernatural.

In the kingdom of the evening, tales took shape forming eerie personas, haunting the ship’s every cranny. More than 150 specters were said to linger in the depths of the hollow vessel, each possessing a unique story. Guests and crews reported unsettling sensation of spectral figures brushing past them, seemingly sentient objects in perpetual motion, and deceptive echoes bouncing off the metallic sheen. One tale, however, lived on the lips of every person – the legend of the little girl named Jackie.

As the story went, Jackie was said to be an innocent youthful spirit whose life was abruptly claimed by the ship’s cruel pool. Her lingering figment tirelessly roamed the cold, metallic facility, mournfully seeking her lost dolly. Her disembodied cries echoed through the ship, a haunting lullaby in the dead of the night, a cruel reminder of a life unfinished. The time-worn Queen Mary clearly offered more than an opulent night’s stay. It promised an unsettling visitation to the land of the nameless dead – an experience that rivaled the thrill of the most harrowing tales told in hushed voices around crackling campfires.

## **II. A Night to Remember**

It was the eve of St. Patrick’s Day when a group of intrepid ghost hunters ventured into the haunting womb of the Queen Mary. Distant echoes of childlike laughter tickled their ears, as though the legend of Jackie was already keen on introducing herself. The eerie silence and spectral whispers tossing about Queen Mary’s labyrinthine halls froze the blood in their veins, but they soldiered on, pushing the growing fear further into the recesses of their minds.

Among the adventurers was a man named Arnold, a skeptic to the bone. Arnold never believed in anything he couldn’t see or touch. However, the strange events he witnessed that night and the chilling echo of a child’s laughter, bouncing off the cold, metal walls of the ship, began to unsettle the firm foundations of his beliefs.

His so-called stoicism was thoroughly tested when their group moved into the area around the ship’s infamous pool. It was there that Jackie was said to have met her untimely end. As they entered the area, the once muffled laughter echoed louder, as if inviting them deeper into this spectral nursery.

The group collectively gasped as they saw a red ball bounce across the room upon their entry. The pool was bathed in an eerie glow at the same moment, providing a chilling backdrop for the suddenly animated toy. Clear, childish giggles echoed around them, heightening the sense of otherworldly presence.

Arnold hesitated for a split second before extending a trembling hand to the bouncing ball. Immediately, an unnerving cold swept over his body, leaving him frozen in place. The giggles intensified, and Arnold could almost hear the spectral child’s laughter ringing in his ears- friendly, playful, yet undeniably spectral.

## **III. The Ethereal Conversation**

Arnold knew then that Jackie was more than a tale told around campfires to sate the listeners’ appetite for horror. She was as real as the cold, tangible dread gripping his heart, staring him in the face. Emboldened by fear and a newfound curiosity, Arnold decided to engage with the spirit.

“Hello, Jackie. I am Arnold,” he said, his voice trembling like the strings of a badly-tuned violin. Despite the unsettling ambiance, there was a touch of reassurance in the face of his experienced companions. He recited the only word he could think of, “Hello.”

Into the empty, chilling pool room echoed the first communication of the night. Arnold’s greeting lingered in the air. Suddenly, the giggles stopped and a silence as deep as a grave took over. From the shadows, a tiny voice responded with an innocent mirth, “Hi, Sir. Have you seen my dolly?” The words resulted in a shudder rippling through Arnold and his party members.

Feeling a tad brave, Arnold asked, “Where did you see it last, Jackie?” There was a moment of silence before Jackie’s voice filled the room once again. “In the pool, sir. I went after it, but then everything went dark,” she replied. Her words sent a wave of chills down Arnold’s spine as he realized the grim implications of her statement.

## **IV. The Deafening Reality & Farewell**

A realization dawned upon Arnold. The spectral little girl was oblivious to her tragic fate. This realization haunted his rational mind more than the existence of the apparition itself. The moment also offered an eerie sense of melancholy, a tragic tale of an innocent life lost to misfortune.

Mustering his courage, Arnold addressed Jackie once more. “Jackie, I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ll be able to find your dolly here,” he said, his voice swallowed by the somber room. There was silence before a soft, barely audible voice echoed, “Okay, sir. I’ll keep looking.”

With her cryptic words lingering in the room, the temperature normalized, the giggles died, and the eerie glow around the pool faded. It was as if Jackie decided she had had enough of their company for one night and retreated into her haunted playground.

Despite the terror and goosebumps their spectral encounter offered, an odd sense of relief washed over Arnold. Could it have been the closure he provided for Jackie, even with a lie? Or the new understanding of a realm he formerly found indefinable? However unsettling, the encounter concluded their paranormal odyssey and instilled a bizarre layer of fear in their hearts, one that they would carry with them forever. That was their sojourn with Jackie – a symphony of haunted harmony – The Poltergeist’s Lullaby of the Queen Mary.