Category: Fort Delaware

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15th anniversary of Paranormal Adventure Tours at Fort Delaware

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Our team has completed another season of Paranormal Adventure Tours at Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island with Delaware State Park staff. This amounts to over 60 hours of time on the island or the Delafort ferry heading to the island. We’re so grateful to have completed another season, and especially so given that this was our 15th year! You can find 15th-anniversary DSGI merch in our online store.

If you’d like more of the history on the Fort, I do include some in a past post where I talk about my experience with the ghost cat Bill. I definitely talk about Bill the cat during most of the tours I lead, it was after all my very first paranormal experience at the Fort.

For two of our tours, we had the pleasure of including Daryl Martson. He is a co-lead investigator of A&E’s Ghost Hunter TV show and an author. Daryl has been a part of over 400 investigations all over the country but his home base is Middletown, Delaware. Daryl’s most recent book The Horrors of the House of Wills: A True Story of a Paranormal Investigator’s Most Terrifying Case, tells the tale of an experience he had at the House of Wills in Ohio, but it leads by acknowledging that his first paranormal encounter was at Fort Delaware when he was much younger.

Nearly 3,000 people died at Fort Delaware

Contrary to past publications or urban legends, there were not any dungeons at Fort Delaware. They did not starve prisoners, they received two meals a day. Granted the prisoners were fed bread and water, which is certainly not a five-course meal.

Prisoners of War at Fort Delaware
Prisoners Of War In Fort Delaware, May, 1864
Source Name: Miller, Francis T., The Photographic History of the Civil War Volume 7

Many of the prisoners who lived at Fort Delaware were from other places in the country. They came from multiple battlegrounds as far as Ohio, but also from Vicksburg and Gettysburg, by steamboat. So knowing this information, knowing the facts as we’ve researched them, is all very important when we conduct our paranormal investigations. It helps to know how old people were, where they came from, and what they possibly endured during their time at war.

We know there were a handful of violent deaths on the island, but the majority of people who died there died from sickness. I’ve read letters written by Sergeant Bishop Crumrine while he was stationed at the Fort thanks to Fort staff, Edward Binasiewicz, who shared the letters with me. Bishop wrote a lot about the rebels who were brought to the camp and how quickly they would die. Sometimes they would die within a day or two and were immediately taken to Delaware City and buried. In one letter he wrote to his brother that the rebel bodies were “planted” and that by spring there would be a forest. Yikes. We know that many Union officers who died were sent across the river to be buried at Finn’s Point National Cemetery.

There has also been research done regarding prisoner escapes. When you consider that there were more prisoners than soldiers, and the prisoners stayed outside of Fort walls, it’s no surprise that this could have been the case. “At one point, there were only 300 Union soldiers to guard nearly 12,000 prisoners.”

Throughout, the season each of us on the team had numerous experiences in various areas of the Fort. I had the opportunity to lead tours in areas portrayed as the officers’ kitchen, the laundry, Battery Torbert, the ordinance, the mess hall, and the officers’ quarters. I really enjoy hearing the history from the Fort staff and I use that when I’m investigating. Being able to tell people the names of those who were stationed on the island, I think really amplifies the investigation. It is more real when you can say Captain Clark, are you here with us at the ordinance?

Is there anyone here with us?

Torching and spirit box sessions were the most successful modes of investigating for me this year. Setting up maglites, which we call torches while investigating spirits who would not know what a flashlight is, and then using these lights to communicate is always pretty spooky. The idea is that the ghost can turn the flashlight on and off to answer yes or no questions. A spirit box is a device used in paranormal research to communicate with spirits or ghosts by detecting EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). It is a small handheld device that scans through radio frequencies, creating white noise, and spirits can use these waves to communicate with us.

When you ask a question like “Is there anyone here with us,” and a flashlight sitting five feet away turns on by itself while you’re sitting in the dark, it’s just a really cool feeling. However, when you ask the question and the flashlight turns on while you’re also hearing a distinct “hello” come through the spirit box, that is a whole other level of awesome. If this goes back and forth long enough it really feels like something is communicating with you. Especially when combined with the fact that there are other times when nothing turns on or makes noise at all.

When it comes to Fort Delaware, we hear a lot of the same things. It’s clear to me that there is residual energy left behind. You have an old military fort that was home to a lot of young officers and prisoners for a long period of time. There was a war happening outside of those walls on the mainland. Within the Fort there was a lot of tension, sickness, and a constant state of questioning what’s going on and what are we doing here. The Fort never saw a battle, so when I think of these young men I have to wonder if they almost felt guilty that they weren’t out in the frontline. Is that why there is so much repetition, so much of the same sounds and movements because their structured routine is how they got through the day? As an aside, I’m grateful to everyone who has served and continues to serve in our military. No matter your station or your role, please know you matter.

The public reactions

When you’re part of a team and you’re investigating a place, you’re very familiar with, like Fort Delaware, sometimes the best part of the night is seeing the reactions of the public. We know Fort Delaware is haunted, there is no doubt about that. Even during nights when it feels dead, pun totally intended, we know there are spirits on that island.

When people come out to investigate, we can only hope they will experience something paranormal, or at least something that makes them question. We’re not hiding in the dark and jumping out of places. We’re not putting things in areas to force interactions or to make it seem extra spooky. Our team is actually more likely to debunk the rattle of a window or the sound of water drops than we are to feed into it. So, when someone is using dowsing rods or a KII meter and they see the lights turn up or the rods cross, it’s awesome to see their reaction. I love those “Oh shit, did you just see that!?” moments when it’s like, yes, exactly, this is what we’ve been telling you!

The public reactions truly help to validate the stories and occurrences we talk about happening at Fort Delaware. For those of you who attended and it was literally just a lot of dust, darkness and looking at historical artifacts, that happens, too. These spirits aren’t using Signup Genius and lettings us know when or where to find them. You can spend hours investigating a space but end up with zero evidence. That’s part of being a paranormal investigator.

The 5-hour extended tour

First of all, it was the night of the full moon. The Fort was lit by the light, bathed in the flow of a gorgeous blood moon. Depending on your faith, you may or may not know how strong the pull of the moon can be during that time. Especially, since we were surrounded by water. During the extended tour we can explore additional places around the Fort which is always exciting.

Adam and I were paired together for the five-hour tour. He’s a great person to investigate with because he uses humor to put people at ease. We know there are people who call in requesting him as their tour guide. He has a lot of paranormal equipment he brings to the table, so I was excited to hear the rem pods and music box go off in spaces. Sadly, we didn’t hear the music box at all that night. We did have rem pod activity, especially in the officers’ quarters and in Battery Torbert. There were times when the lights and the high-pitched noise just would not shut up. This prompted me to reset and move it each time, because clearly it was faulty. Hahahaha. However, it still caught interactions even after being moved. We had constant torching activity and a couple members of our group hung on to the dowsing rods most of the night, because they were getting definitive interactions.

Black and white photo with a cannon facing battery torbert at Fort Delaware

It wasn’t our blue group, though, that experienced the paranormal wow-factor. Christina and Ken’s group experienced something that none of our team or the fort staff have ever witnessed on the island. I won’t give details that I don’t know, because I wasn’t there, but I will say that I have complete trust and faith in my team and I believe what they saw. It happened in Battery Torbert, and unless there was some kind of mass hysteria or illusion, they witnessed a rem pod levitate a foot off the picnic table at the end of the hall. When I think about the strength it must have taken for a spirit to hold the device, lift it and move it like that, I’m just amazed.

Once the public left, we all went to the location to see what we would find. We didn’t see anything levitating, but we did hear footsteps and something moving above the location. To me, it sounded like something heavy being dragged. Andy said it sounded like a deep humming. We all felt a different energy there. It makes me wonder, was something brought to the island that night? Our team knows the Fort, but we did not know this type of activity at the Fort. It’s hard to wrap my head around, but I do believe that people can bring energy and attachments to places. I’ve seen it in my own life. I think that might have been what happened during the extended.

For those who are still non-believers

Good. I mean it, seriously, don’t ever let anyone try to talk you into something you don’t believe. That’s not what this is all about for us. There is a reason why no one has been able to offer 100% unrefutable proof that ghosts exist. We all experience interactions with the spirit world in different ways. Some of us feel goosebumps, some of us hear a whisper or a tapping on the wall, some of us see shadow figures or mist in a room. Depending on the experience it is perfectly normal to explain it away as a fluke, and in many cases you can’t replicate what happened.

So, I get it, I get how hard it can be to open yourself up to believing in something you may never be able to prove. I can’t prove anything that happens after someone dies, aside from their physical body decomposing. But their physical body isn’t their spirit and many people believe that spirits go to heaven or hell or some other place, right? You can’t prove that either.

Sometimes people will ask us, “why is the ghost here, why haven’t they moved on?” To that I say, what makes you think they haven’t moved on? Do I think some spirits are sort of trapped in a space due to unfinished business? Sure. But I also think there are some spirits who travel freely. Maybe you smell oranges out of nowhere and then believe your great-grandmother is nearby checking in on you. Or you sense someone walking behind you when you’re in your favorite garden or on your favorite hiking trail and you know it’s a lost family or friend. It’s my belief that spirits aren’t locked in anywhere. I think spirits can check in with their loved ones.

Until we meet again

We’ll return to Fort Delaware again, and again and again. We’ll be there for our team overnight in the summer and we’ll return for the paranormal tours in October 2024. We hope to see all our readers out there, too. And we encourage you to consider visiting the Fort during the daytime. History feeds the paranormal. You’ll have a better understanding of what might be haunting the island if you know what it was like when it was a functional base.

Thank you again to everyone who came out this season. We couldn’t do this without you!

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The Fort Delaware Ghost Cat

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As you know from our previous post about an overnight investigation at Fort Delaware, it is a historic site located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. The fort was built in the mid-19th century and served as a Union prison during the Civil War. Today, it is a popular tourist destination known for its rich history and paranormal activity.

I first joined the Diamond State Ghost Investigators (DSGI) in October 2017 and had never led tour groups before, had never been to Fort Delaware AND I have never even conducted an investigation until then. I was so nervous; my palms were sweaty, and my heart was racing, which had nothing to do with ghosts!

Fortunately, I got paired up with Ken Newberry, and my nerves dissipated quickly. Ken has such a calm demeanor that I instantly calmed down as he showed me the different tools he uses to investigate. This was my first time learning about REM pods! The investigators associated with DSGI are all great people, and I’m so grateful for their mentorship, sense of humor and kindness. Especially to Ken, because he settled me and thus began my exciting journey of becoming a paranormal investigator.

Fort Delaware Kitchen

Fort Delaware Officers' Kitchen
A photo of the officers’ kitchen at Fort Delaware at night.

Ken and I were stationed in the area portrayed as an officers’ kitchen near General Schoepf’s office, where officers’ meals would have been prepared. Fort Delaware staff provided some history on how a kitchen would have functioned during the war. Then Ken reviewed some of the occurrences he had experienced while investigating in the kitchen. There are many stories I could tell about the pantry and the things that happen when men go into Ms. Susan’s pantry, but this story is about something a little bit different.

Now sometimes, the groups from the mainland who come over for these tours are excited to move around and investigate on their own. Other times they are unsure what to do and stand around waiting. A few people decided to stand around the kitchen table with Ken and me while Ken asked questions to the room, like, “Is there anyone here with us?” or “Ms. Susan are you upset that there are men in your kitchen?”

The ghost cat

It didn’t take long before I had my very first paranormal interaction. No, it wasn’t with Ms. Susan, the cook. It wasn’t with a soldier or their family. No, it was with a cat. The pantry door opened just a smidge by itself, as though something had pushed against it softly, not enough to make it fully swing out. I heard the meow of a cat and then I felt it. There was a slight physical pressure or weight against my left ankle as if a real cat had brushed against my leg.

Newspaper clipping that references Bill the Cat at Fort Delaware
Article from February 18, 1998 (page 4 of 48). News Journal.

According to legend, the ghost cat is the spirit of a feline that belonged to a soldier stationed at the fort during the Civil War. Cats were often kept on ships and in forts to manage rodent populations, which could damage food supplies and spread disease.

But wait, was there a cat?

YES! A newspaper clipping from 1998 says the cat’s name was Bill. The same article mentions the Fort having two dogs at one time. The dogs are a story for another day.

A separate newspaper clipping from July 1976 claims that when the Fort Delaware Society acquired a “treasure trove of Civil War photos,” they received photos from Lieutenant A.G. Wolf. Wolf was a Union officer in charge of Confederate prisoners. The article below says that Wolf was not well-liked by prisoners at the Fort, but he did love his cat. **meow**

July 31, 1976 (page 16 of 38). (1976, Jul 31). Evening Journal.

Cat height K2 spikes

I wasn’t scared by the sensation, nor did I feel threatened. I was amazed. To this day, I always recommend our guests hold their K2 meters down by the floor, cat level, just in case the Fort Delaware ghost cat is lingering near the kitchen.

As a side note: K2 meters, also known as K-II meters, are commonly used in paranormal investigating. They are handheld devices that measure the environment’s electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The theory behind their use is that spirits or entities in the paranormal realm may manipulate electromagnetic energy, and these devices can detect and display changes in EMF levels.

Don’t forget to pay attention when you enter the kitchen at Fort Delaware this October during our Paranormal Adventure Tours with the Delaware State Parks. The small cold spot you feel or the slight brush against your leg might just be the spirit of one friendly feline; Bill the ghost cat. Meow.

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I Think We’re Alone Now

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As I tiptoe into my house early Sunday morning, I wonder if my neighbors would consider this early Sunday morning entrance into my house, wearing the same clothes I had on since Saturday afternoon, as a “walk of shame.” Thankfully, most of my neighbors know who I am, and they appreciate my being quiet when I get home late.. er.. um early. See, when you are a paranormal investigator, there is no shame in coming home at the crack of dawn after a long night.

Pea Patch Island

This weekend I had the privilege of embarking on an adventure to a little place called Pea Patch Island on the Delaware River. Historians will know this location as the home to Fort Delaware, a concrete fortress constructed between 1848 and 1859 that once housed as many as 12,595 Confederate prisoners of war at one time. Although that’s not entirely accurate. The fort’s walls held only the “important” or high-ranking prisoners, while they confined the other prisoners to the barracks just outside the fort walls. Guests today see replicas of the barracks originally built in 1862. I’ve cleaned those barracks before. Dusted, windexed…burned some sage. No, they’d not let me back if I burned anything in that building.

So why did I head over to the island? For an overnight paranormal investigation, of course. This isn’t my first overnight; I participate yearly, which is amazing. I’m a member of the Diamond State Ghost Investigators (DSGI). Believer or not, there is a certain awesomeness to being part of a team looking to make sense of happenings that may seem unexplainable. When someone says their house or business is haunted, we are able to debunk nearly everything we encounter.

Fort Delaware, however, has had dozens of occurrences that we are unable to explain. Can I tell you with 100% certainty that it is haunted? No, because any proof I can provide would be circumstantial and subjective. Do I personally believe it is haunted? Hell yes! Let’s just say I believe there is a sort of “energy residue” left behind by thousands of people who spent time there during a traumatic part of US history, many.. of which did meet their demise on the island.

The investigation begins

We were ferried to Pea Patch Island a little after 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. The temperature on the island is significantly cooler than the mainland, but this turns out to be a good thing, as it keeps the mosquitoes and horse flies at bay. Nothing can be done about the creepy crawly centipedes and sprickets though. I call them sprickets; this is likely not the proper terminology, but they look like they are half spider and half cricket. They crawl, jump, climb walls, and are HUGE. They also really seem to like the dark. We are paranormal investigators, we spend a lot of time in the dark. We spend a lot of time with sprickets.

But we don’t head to the island to inspect the insects, we spend the night at the fort to capture paranormal evidence. While investigating the paranormal, our team sits in dark rooms and waits. And waits. And waits. We have dousing rods, K2 meters, Rem Pod, flashlights, laser grids, and thermal sensors. Some nights are slower than others. Last night, I felt we entertained the spirits more than they entertained us. We got into exhaustive discussions about Tiffany (the 80s artist “I Think We’re Alone Now”) which, believe it or not, did get a reaction from the spirits. The flashlights turned on and off on their own, and the K2 meters blipped.

A K2 meter measures electromagnetic fields typically from man-made things like electrical wiring. When we are at Fort Delaware, the only electricity we have is outside the fort walls. We ask that the park staff keeps the power on for the bathrooms. If the lights are out, it’s a very dark walk from the fort to the restrooms. This means that the K2 meters shouldn’t pick up on any activity. So when they do, we need to figure out why. Our cell phones, if on us, must be in airplane mode. We check all of these things before the investigation begins.

Nighttime paranormal activity

Last night, the island winds ranged between 12-15 mph. This means in some of the rooms, the windows really rattled. We took this into consideration throughout the night. Thankfully, there is a difference between a rattling window and someone dragging furniture across the floor, which we heard on the second floor above the kitchen after we threatened to play Tiffany. We heard the most activity while in the kitchen. This means our team did a lot of “Wait, did you hear that, is someone else out there!?” Or ” I saw something, right behind you, it moved in front of the flashlight for a second.” Basically, it’s an incredible experience with people who I adore.

There were footsteps outside the room and above us; there were also noises that sounded like something was being dragged across the floor. Throughout the night, each of us heard footsteps from our respective rooms. My friend Debbie and I were sleeping in the infirmary. I “slept” on a very hard, must-smelling cot covered with an itchy, red wool blanket. I was freezing cold but I managed to survive. Outside the infirmary is a metal staircase that can only be accessed by walking past the door where we were sleeping. By the time it was 2 a.m. and we heard footsteps on the stairs, it was very much a “Do you hear that?” and “Yup, but I’m tired.”

A couple of members from our group brought tents this year, but due to the wicked wind blowing last night, they told me that the nylon Hilton’s were not conducive to getting a peaceful night’s sleep either.

One adventure ends, but another always awaits

In the morning, when I simply could not lay on the cot (in the fetal position for warmth) any further more, I got up and attempted to thaw in the Visitor’s Center. When we were informed that a boat was coming for us, I had enough feeling in my toes to make the 150+ yard walk to the dock.

Fort Delaware is a place steeped in untold stories. Each time we visit, we know that we have merely scratched the surface, leaving behind the allure of another haunting adventure and the knowledge that another chapter awaits.

Get your tickets now

For those interested in participating in a paranormal investigation at Fort Delaware, we host them alongside Delaware State Park staff every Friday and Saturday in October.

The proceeds from these tours go towards maintaining the state park.

BUY TICKETS NOW

This article was originally posted by DSGI Senior Investigator, Christy Mannering on The Painted Lines.