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