June 16, 2025 • 40 mins
Widely considered one of the most haunted places in America, Fort Delaware has witnessed decades of war, death, and turmoil. Join us for a personal tour of this infamous historic site and let us know- what do you think is The Haunting Truth?Sources & Reference Material:
https://www.destateparks.com/park/fort-delaware/
https://www.fortdelaware.org/Prisoner%20&%20Garrison%20Queries.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1QK_pdQK4w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJwKLDyCMqE
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:15):
Sherlock Holmes once said when you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the
truth. But what if the truth isn't just
improbable? What if it's horrifying?
What if it's something so baffling that our minds can't
accept it? What if it's because our senses
can't confirm it? Or it makes your very soul
shudder from committing such a depraved act.
(00:38):
In this podcast, we'll journey through haunted history,
metaphysical happenings, unexplained disappearances, and
unconventional murders, events that challenge everything you
thought you knew. And sometimes we'll uncover the
truth, but perhaps not in the way you were hoping.
I'm Jen. And I'm Lou, and this is the
haunting truth where facts blur into the unknown and what
(01:01):
remains after we question everything might just shake us
to our core listener discretion advice.
(01:27):
To another spine chilling episode of the haunting truth
and those who might be new to us.
I'm Jen and my other Hostess with the most is here is whoa.
So here we're going to dive intoan eerie and the unexplained.
In today's episode, we're going to journey to a historical and
supernatural location as known as Fort Delaware or P Patch
(01:48):
Island. So located on Pea Patch Island
in the middle of the of the Delaware River.
Fort Delaware has witnessed decades of war, death and
turmoil and today it stands as ahistoric site.
But for many, it's also a site where restless spirits still
roam. With its historical history
eerie tales, Fort Delaware has become one of the most infamous
(02:11):
places for ghost hunters and thrill seekers alike.
So take a seat, turn down the lights, and we're going to
explore the histories and mysteries.
And we might go into this, but just for our listeners who are
not from around the Northeast, I'm going to assume Fort
Delaware is in Delaware. It is in Delaware technically.
So it is in the middle of the Delaware River, and I'm going to
(02:33):
get into that, but it is. So it is in the middle of Fort
Delaware, or excuse me, it's themiddle of the Delaware River
between New Jersey and Delaware,and it's actually at its
narrowest point. Like the Straight of Gibraltar.
So, yeah, so it was decided to actually do this because the War
of 1812, so when the British burned Washington DC and several
(02:56):
other cities, they wanted to find a way to protect the ports
of Wilmington, Philadelphia, andthe major hubs that they had.
So one of these things is they wanted to make sure that they
put forts in strategic places. So they were able to obtain, the
federal government obtained PetePatch Island in 1813, which as I
said, is located in the middle of the Delaware River between
(03:18):
Delaware and New Jersey, and it was actually completed in 1859.
Now Pete Patch Island has had become a Union prison camp
during Civil War and had more than 40,000 Confederate PO WS
plus hundreds of civilian detainees and hundreds of Union
Army prisoners under the sentence of military court
(03:41):
martials that were held at Fort Delaware during the Civil War.
How? How big is it?
Like how? I'm assuming not the 40,000 plus
the hundreds plus the other hundreds were all there at one
time. Do we know how big it is?
Harmonic is there. No, they kind of shuffled in and
out. So it is a mile long.
So it in in circumference at this particular time.
(04:02):
But during the time of the CivilWar, it was only 75 acres.
OK, 75 acres. Yeah.
So basically it is 1/4 of what it, you know, used to be.
So or it's a quarter more than what it used to be.
And the reason for that is because in the 1900s they
(04:25):
started dredging and they wantedto add to how big the island was
in case they had to use it for any other strategic military
points, which they did. So they ended up manning it
again during World War One and World War 2 just to make sure
that there were no enemy enemiesthat were able to get into.
I didn't know we had that open and one and two.
(04:47):
I thought it was just the Civil War type era.
That's interesting. No, they actually did man it
just in case, because if you think about it, at the mouth of
the Delaware River is where theyalso had a couple other military
installations. But during this time, a lot of
German U boats as well as submarines were trying to creep
(05:09):
up and down the coast. It happened in California.
It did happen also off the East Coast as well in order to gain
traction for, you know, war, cutting off war supply.
I didn't think EU boats came up that close to.
Us they were they were actually they were definitely spotted
really close in California and Ithink there was also spottings
(05:31):
as well at least a mile off of Delaware as well.
All right. I don't know if you have a map
in here of kind of like the Delaware River, but if not, I
think we can probably add that so people can kind of see, you
know, the layout of the locations.
But. Yeah, I can definitely put in a
map. I did include a ton of photos,
(05:52):
including a layout of what people look like during the time
of the Civil war so you could see exactly how spread out it
was, where the different encampments were, and things
along the I try not. To look at all the notes before,
before we talk. So my apologies, I'll take a
look at it there. All right.
(06:13):
Yes, I have. I have a picture of it.
It's actually from when we did atour.
Of it was a very cool tour, by the way.
Yeah, it was definitely an awesome tour.
Now, Fort Delaware did become a State Park in 1951, and it still
remains A historic destination for schoolchildren and many
other visitors, as well as ghosthunters and thrill seekers
(06:33):
alike. But Fort Delaware, we're going
to talk more about its Civil Warhistory because that seems to be
a lot of where these hauntings originally came from because
that was the most occupied portion of its history.
So you would think that, you know, Fort Delaware would be a
perfect place for a a Union prison camp for the Civil War.
(06:55):
In theory, it's only accessible by boat.
It's in the middle of the Delaware River, which is 5 miles
wide. And this is the narrowest point.
But the depths fluctuate rapidlydue to shifting currents and
sandbars, which makes it almost as unescapable as Alcatraz
Islands. Yeah.
So. So as I said, the island was 75
(07:16):
acres during the 1800s, but it mostly consists of low
marshlands. So during, you know, the summer
months, you had a lot more land to it and then it would get very
boggy. A lot of you wanna watch a
Mythbusters episode where they did that Escape from Alcatraz
reenactment with like the materials from the cells.
I wonder if we could do that in Fort Delaware.
(07:36):
Like if they're still on TV, Like, could we tell them to come
and escape from Fort Delaware and see if they could do it?
I mean, I think that would be awesome because it's about a 10
minute ride from Delaware City over to Fort Delaware.
But the issue is, is if you takethat journey you have, it's a
(07:57):
lot of twists and turns because of the sandbars and how much
dredging has happened, that sometimes it's so low during the
winter time, you could walk, literally walk across, but then
you'll hit a really deep point and then you would definitely go
under. So it's just very treacherous a
lot of times because everything's shipping so much.
(08:18):
It's a huge commercial channel for like the Port of Wilmington
and also for Philadelphia as well.
So they're constantly dredging. So it always makes an issue.
And they were still continuing to navigate it and having these
navigational issues even during the 1800s.
So the Fort itself is one of thelargest masonry forts in its
(08:42):
time in the United States. So it's Pentagon shape with
solid granite walls varying in thickness from about 7 feet to
30 feet. And it stands about 32 feet
high. So it is huge.
And it's surrounded by a 30 footmote.
Let me ask you a question which you may not know the answer to.
In our last episode, Eastern State, you were talking about
(09:05):
the construction of that and howit became the model for other
penitentiaries worldwide. Was Fort Delaware like a a
precursor for any others or did it adopt the architecture for
somewhere else? I'm thinking in my head like it
sounds like the Fort Office, Saint Augustine off of
(09:26):
Charleston. It might be around the same time
era. I don't know if you knew that or
not. So the the one in the Fort at
Saint Augustine is actually a lot.
Older. Than this one.
This one was only built in the 1800's.
The one that was at Saint Augustine, I think was built in
the 1700s, I believe. But this particular Fort, it was
(09:47):
such a marvel of engineering is because of how hard it was to
build on such soggy ground to begin with and be able to house
something so heavy. So there was a specific army
engineer who came in and he was the only one that could solve
this problem. Man, I feel like that is because
(10:09):
you're right. Like I'm thinking in my head as
we go through, like because it'sstill there.
It's very solid. When you get out there and it
was the only thing, yeah, it is very solid.
It's one of the only forts to have as minimal damage even
after so many years of disuse. So if you think about 1944 to
1951, you would really want to have to upkeep this thing.
(10:29):
But they have had to do very minimal repairs on the Ford
itself. It's just the interior where
they had wood is really where they had to rebuild everything,
and that's because they really disassembled everything.
For the world, why this guy didn't go down to Florida and
like sell that idea around the coasts down here so we don't
have our homes like dissolving. Every year, Disney World, it's
(10:55):
still going. To hang, All right.
I don't know. I feel like he missed out, Like
I don't, I don't know this guy'sname, like, you know.
He died before the Fort was completed and I did put the
episode that specifically mentions his name.
So if you want to go ahead and look at the source information,
there's a couple different podcasts that I have on there
(11:17):
where you can look at that information as well or videos
that are on YouTube. So, and it's all from, you know,
the Delaware history and everything else like that.
They did a really good job around this, but the inside of
the Fort itself was like its owncity so it was specially
designed to deflect cannon and small armament fire.
And the inside of the Fort is 3 stories high, and by the end of
(11:40):
1861 it housed about 156 heavy 5caliber guns and hundreds of
soldiers 2. Stories I thought was 2 or did
we miss a story? It's three.
It's three because some of the levels are just specifically for
military uses. But if you go through the
residential quarters, there's three stories to it.
(12:02):
It's just they you can see the doors, but they actually took
the. Stairs.
That's why it wasn't. Yeah.
So a lot of people you'll see like doors that go to nowhere.
It was actually. Not like the Winchester house
where they were building to escape ghosts, but yeah.
No, no, no. Well, I mean it.
It serves as a purpose now. But we'll get there.
All right. Let me, let me stop it, all
(12:24):
right? No, you're no question away.
So with the interior of it, it had a laundry, a mess hall,
kitchen, a blacksmith, A commissary.
It had indoor bathrooms. Now, sanitation wasn't the best,
so those indoor bathrooms did goright into the Moat, but they
had them nonetheless. Well, it's not anything
different from any other area inat that period of time.
(12:46):
Just dump it out out the window.Dump it out and then drink the
water anyway. That's what I drink here.
Yeah, Yeah. So all of these great things.
However, Delaware's weather and environment were a challenge.
So Delaware has harsh winters that are usually below freezing
by October to March, which usually ends up freezing the
(13:09):
river at most of the points and cutting off supplies which did
leave at points to starvation onthe Ford itself because usually
it's not really thick enough as I said to walk across
completely. Also it is a pretty hot and
humid in the summer so from May to the end of August it's
usually around 95 to 100° with at least 100% humidity.
(13:31):
So it feels like 115. And with the overcrowded
barracks, the spread it spread disease, I'm sure.
And with all that boiling hot, nasty bacteria water, we've got
mosquitoes like nobody's business.
Oh yes, Yup. So they had typhoid fever, which
was spread regularly due to poorsanitation since the freshwater
(13:52):
cisterns that were underneath the Fort would become polluted
by the Moat water which was contaminated by the Fort so
much. So it was, it was not just
prisoners, but it was soldiers alike who are getting sick from
this and dying. Malaria was common, as you said,
because of the island's massive mosquito population and marshy
(14:13):
conditions. Everybody jokes that the New
Jersey State bird is a mosquito.So this kind of.
Off does not work. Off deep woods does not work.
I don't know what works, but we haven't found it yet.
We have not, No, we have not. Also common illnesses brought by
overpopulation. Another like smallpox,
(14:34):
dysentery, scurvy. These were all scurvy.
Yes, yes, they were all very common.
I don't know that if I should ask this personal question, but
for for our folks that are listening.
Jen has a specific allergy to citrus, which makes it
interesting when we go out. So how do you avoid scurvy?
(14:56):
Because you're like, it's vitamin C that you're supposed
to be. It is.
Do you have scurvy? So kale is I do not have scurvy.
I definitely don't. Kale has a lot of vitamin C in
it and I do eat a lot of kale and a lot of other things to
supplement that. So I I'm very cognizant of my
vitamin intake. That's good to know.
(15:17):
I was just getting to wondering and I'm going to guess they
didn't have a whole lot of kale hanging out on Fort Delaware.
I don't think so, and I definitely don't suggest eating
the marsh cabbage, if anybody knows what that is.
That's a hard task. Smells love, smells lovely.
So all of these cause health epidemics in waves throughout
the island's population. But it doesn't stop there.
(15:41):
There were also various insects that besieged the residents with
lice, fleas and ticks which madethe prisoners lives this.
Totally sounds like Club Med forfor prisoners.
I want to go here now I get besieged with lice.
Sign me up. That's just terrible.
Oh yeah. And at one point they used to
(16:01):
have like games because there were so many people with lice
and you would see them scratching that they used to
just take the lice and do like little bets on.
What? Yeah, so they used to have like,
'cause they don't have anything else to do and they're very
bored, so they would take their most prolific jumping lice and.
See which one could not to throwback to Bugs Wedding again
'cause I know we did it in the last episode.
(16:22):
But do you remember the Bugs Wedding cartoon where they had
the flea circus? The flea.
Yes, the flea circus. Yes, yes, absolutely.
So because of all of these factors, about 2500 men perished
because of this perilous conditions, which seems to be a
small number compared to how many shuffled in and out.
(16:42):
The Max amount of prisoners was about 18,000 prisoners at one
time, and this was after GeneralGrant refused to do prisoners
exchanges. Traditionally, prisoners only
stay there for about two weeks and they were shuffled back to
either, you know, between Confederate and Union soldiers.
But in April of 1864, he stoppednegotiations until the end of
(17:05):
the Civil War, which was in April of 1865 S for a whole
year, these soldiers, and that'swhy there was so much of a
population. There was about 18,000 soldiers
at. One time, all right, So I can't
wait to hear more about the soldiers, but I think we are
going to take a minute or two for a break and we will
reconvene in just a second all. Right, we'll be right back.
(17:58):
The. Now, as I stated before, you
know, they stopped having prisoners exchanges because of
General Grant and the end of theCivil War, but that really
didn't stop the expansion of thecamp.
So how did the Confederate soldiers live?
Really dependent upon when they got there.
(18:18):
And also there wasn't enough housing for them, so they did
have to form some small groups with small camps around the
island itself. Obviously it was very limited
because Fort Delaware is really not that big and Pea Patch
Island is even smaller back thenthan it is now.
So they did have large barrack houses that are about two
(18:40):
stories tall and had about 3. There were three levels high.
So essentially it was three stories and they were just
planks that were along the wallswith dividers and obviously
depending upon your seniority iswhere you had placed.
So if you were on the bottom level and you were towards where
(19:02):
the stoves were, that means thatyou are one of the more higher
ranking people within the barracks.
If you were at the very top and towards the doors on either
side, that means that you are one of the lower ranking people
within the barracks because you were not getting the air flow,
you weren't getting any of the fresh water and you weren't
getting any of the heat, especially in the winter time.
(19:23):
So it really had a one, it had ahierarchy within it, but also
had, you know, it was three stories high.
So there was a lot of men shovedinto one specific place.
You know, there was 3 stoves, soyou would have two on the end
and 1 towards the middle of it. And then also there was access
to water on either side of the barracks with pumps.
(19:45):
But the bathrooms were set up onthe edge of the river.
So traditionally, somebody would, you know, have a
facility, you would basically goto the bathroom in the river.
Unfortunately, because of the currents, most of the time it
would wash up along the shore and cause a ring of waste around
the whole entire island. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(20:09):
Can you imagine that? And then if there was any kind
of storm system, because it was such a low lying island, it
would then sweep the waters inland and carry the ring of
sewage along with it. Oh, OK.
And this is the same water that they're pumping into, Yes, the
(20:30):
prison for use for food. Yes, they they had a rainwater
system where we would catch the rainwater and they would put it
in these sorts which were underneath of the Fort.
But the problem with the sewers is they would constantly be
contaminated by the Moat water and also by the sewage water
that would overflow and flood onto the island during
(20:52):
rainstorms. Yikes.
Yeah. So it was just like a lot of
disgusting things that were breeding diseases, essentially.
So a lot of these soldiers at the Fort, essentially, it became
a grave. So there are a lot of spirits
that never left this facility. So visitors do report strange
(21:14):
sightings, unusual occurrences, and some say the ghosts of these
prisoners still wander the fort's cold stone walls.
The fourth dark history is matched only by the paranormal
activity that has emerged from the island.
So some of these claims that they've seen Confederate
soldiers in tattered uniforms along the battlements.
(21:36):
Others say that they hear soundsof change dragging along the
grounds that are heard late at night, which are possible
restless spirits of prisoners who died.
As I said, a lot of times the prisoners did have free reign of
the island, or at least specificsections.
But if you were the worst of theworst, you were taken into the
Fort itself and you were chainedup in specific locations.
(21:58):
And some of those people, if youthink about how many soldiers
were there, you might have forgotten for about them for a
period of time, unfortunately. Yeah, that's, it's pretty
horrific. I, I don't know that it was
uncommon though for this period of time.
Like we've had forks, we have forks up and down the East
(22:19):
Coast, right? We've got office in Augustine,
we've got off in Charleston, we've got McHenry off of
Baltimore. Was there and, and maybe you've
said this, but maybe we can bring it back forth again.
Was there anything of more specific about this particular
area that makes it more haunted than any of the others?
(22:40):
Because I think those other onesare haunted.
But from what I recall, this this one, Fort Delaware is the
most across the US. So it is one of the most haunted
and I think a lot of it has to do with, yes, there were quite a
few soldiers, but there was alsoa lot of not just prisoners but
(23:03):
also Union soldiers that passed away from the same diseases.
As I said, this was there because the water was
contaminated. There was a lot of food
shortages that happened because of the inability to get to food
sources because of either the river was freezing over or they
just hit and have the ability toget supplies over to the island.
(23:27):
So there was quite a few actual sold Union soldiers as well that
were not prisoners here that perished along with everyone
else. So, and you have to think there
was a limited amount of doctors.So there was only a few doctors
that gave, you know, respite to any and, and service all of
(23:47):
these officers as well as prisoners.
So there was a limited amount ofsupplies.
You as I also said, malaria was also extremely prevalent on the
island because they didn't have a lot of quinine tablets to go
around and malaria is very deadly.
And there is a large mosquito population in this area.
(24:08):
As I said, that is, you know, basically they joke around.
It's the state bird of New Jersey.
And when you even go on the island today, like you really
need to spray yourself down. And even then, like, it doesn't
work. So it's just the overwhelming
conditions caused quite a few deaths on this island.
And it was also people who worked there.
(24:29):
So it wasn't just the prisoners themselves.
Now this was by no means as bad as Andersonville on the
Confederate side, but it still was considered hell on earth for
the soldiers that were there. A lot of matter in the South,
it's hot mosquitoes. You're sitting in poop soups
like. Poops.
(24:50):
Yeah, you basically. Are after we use the Stone Soup,
the children's book from way back when, But yeah, yes, yeah.
And also there were people who worked there who really loved
what they did, who are still there today as ghosts.
So I'm going to go over the mostprolific ghosts that they are
aware of on the island itself. Now, around the stockades.
(25:13):
They're very basic. They just say that there has
been a Gray unions, a Union soldier, excuse me, a
Confederate soldier in a Gray uniform who people have seen in,
you know, his face is twisted inanguish.
He is a full apparition that appears to people, and it's near
the stockades, so they don't know who he is because there
(25:35):
were so many people who died within the stockade area, it's
hard to pin it down. There were a lot of Confederate
soldiers that had been there. But the one person they're very
aware of is not a soldier, as I said, at all, but it is one of
the previous workers and it is in the kitchen.
And her name is Susan Burns. She was the head cook.
(25:58):
She is still to this day found in the kitchen.
She is very active within this area.
So there is a ghost hunting, ghost hunting that it's called
the Diamond State Ghost Investigators and they regularly
investigate this. State of Delaware Park Service
has actually coordinated ghost towards with them.
(26:20):
So they do actively investigate this area and she is always
there and she is very specific as to what she likes you to do
and not do in her kitchen. So what is it that she likes you
to do? In her so she you have to be
respectful while you're in her kitchen.
Fair enough, she does not like you to move things around.
(26:40):
Also fair enough, I don't like it when people touch things
much. She does not like you to go into
her pantry. She does not like men to go into
her pantry. So get out like, you're welcome
to be here, but don't disrupt my.
Absolutely. And she also communicates with
people. So if you she is known to move
objects and to turn on flashlights and open and close
(27:02):
doors. So if you have questions, she
she will actually communicate byturning the flashlight on and
off. If you go into the pantry and
you're a man, she will actively either try to push you or she
will close the door so you cannot get into the pantry.
I like her. Yeah, she definitely demands
(27:24):
respect. This is still her kitchen.
That's that's kind of awesome though.
So with that, it just said she was probably, you know, one of
the ones that is most seen, observed or so on.
Yes. One that they can actively
identify. I would say yeah.
So. And I think if she's just super
(27:45):
chill, just hanging out, like what's the vibe like?
Is it a scary vibe? Or is it just like this is my
place? And this is my place.
She definitely has. This is my place.
You need to be respectful. As long as you respect my
quarters or what my you know what I like people to do here,
then you're fine to stay there. If you do not respect it, then
(28:08):
she will start moving things, she will start closing things
and she will not communicate with you.
Oh, OK. Well, we don't want that.
Yeah. So it's just all a matter of
respect with for her. She left like any of her
favorite recipes that we should be trying.
She has not, she has not divulged anything, but she does
(28:28):
like the fact that apparently that people are constantly there
and that people do still continue to visit the area.
So I mean, they do, they have over the years had several
paranormal investigations that have flocked, as I said, to Fort
Delaware. But the one I think I like the
most is the one that has continued tours throughout
(28:49):
October. OK.
So they do have paranormal toursthat they have.
They've been doing it since 2009and a lot of things have been
documented, but I think the one that's most famous and has the
most views that I saw is in 2008during a night investigation.
The paranormal team called TAPS,which was on the show Ghost
(29:11):
Hunters that was on the Sci-fi Channel, recorded a disembodied
voice stating to get out. OK so two questions.
This is Ghost Hunters and not Ghost Adventures where the guys
had his wife. No, no, very different.
(29:31):
Yeah. Yeah, it is a it is a different
1. So this is Ghost Hunters, which
is called TAPS. That's the paranormal investor.
I think it's the Transatlantic Paranormal Society.
Yeah. As opposed to Ghost Adventurers
that has Zach, who's a demonologist in it.
(29:52):
That is not the same thing. OK, All right.
Sure it wasn't the same thing because I know they've been in
the news lately, although I haven't really been been
watching it. I haven't really been.
Following it either but. Yeah, I, I don't know, I came
across I think the other day. But I, the other thing I wanted
to say is too, like you said that, you know, in October, this
is when they do all of their, not all of their, but they do a,
(30:15):
you know, a lot of walkthroughs and so on.
And I have been trying to get through myself for years and it
sells out so quickly. Especially the overnight ones,
like as soon as they open it on the website, like you got to get
it or you're not getting in. It's ridiculous.
Yeah. So I luckily it's very, yes.
(30:36):
So it's very small. It's very hard to get into.
I luckily was part of the first paranormal investigation round
in Halloween around Halloween in2009 because nobody had heard of
it before. So I was lucky enough to get put
in a group. Now I don't know how lucky I
was. I went with a bunch of people
and unfortunately we had an odd number so I ended up in a
(30:59):
different group and I can vividly remember this since one
of the couple pregame. I don't know if anybody knows
what that is, which means that. You're pretty sure most of our
audience, yeah. I hope you know what that means.
Well there is alcohol is not allowed in any of the state
parks including Fort Delaware and Pea Patch Island so they
pregame pretty hard. And I mainly remember the
(31:21):
husband since he was very loud he didn't know what it inside
voice was. But also he kept telling us the
reason he came here is because his house is haunted.
And the only thing that I could think of the whole entire time
is that poor ghost is going to be stuck with you for the next
30 years. Oh my God.
(31:42):
That's terrible. I mean, it was like, that's the
only thing I could think about because he was just, he was the
instigator in every single scenario when they're like, hey.
This ghost feel like I didn't sign up for this.
No, this is no. I feel like the ghost would have
been like can I go to Marge's next door?
Like I feel like she's a lot more chill.
Can I just skip this and anything that they said?
(32:05):
Hey this really aggravates the ghost.
He was the first one to be like I'll do it or he would do it
actively without even being asked.
Oh, he sounds like a treat. Oh it was definitely a treat,
but I definitely remember very vividly.
I was in the offered officers quarters and they were putting a
flashlight on the desk so that anybody who wanted to
(32:28):
communicate could go ahead and communicate.
Now it was on a slate grade and it had a lip to it so and they
put it on like the little ledge.It was almost like a school
desk, and one of the things thatI remember is the flashlight
turned on by itself all of a sudden and it started to spin on
the ledge, so it was rotating byitself.
(32:50):
Yeah, OK. Yeah, that's not it.
Just sliding because of whatever.
No, it was very obvious and it it completely turned on by
itself. Now the woman next to me, she
practically jumped into my arms as soon as it turned on.
So she was scared to death that this was happening.
So. And apparently it was supposed
(33:13):
to be the ghost of a young officer that frequently touches
people. He will go ahead and pull like
he likes hair a lot. And I definitely had a lot of
those interactions with him where my shoulder, my hair was
being touched. And it I did try to debunk it in
several ways. And I couldn't debunk it and
(33:33):
neither could anybody else on the team because I was very
like, OK, can this stop touchingme, you know, kind of thing.
So they definitely tried to debunk it as much as possible
and really couldn't. But this officer, young officer,
is known to do that on a very regular basis.
He just liked your hair. He he might have just liked my
hair. I took it down after that so he
(33:54):
couldn't play with my ponytail. I just didn't feel like wanted
to draw that kind of attention that night.
Not what I was signing up for. Not what I signed up for.
So, so we're going to take a little bit of a break and then
we're going to come back and go over, just wrap up what we think
potentially could still be at Fort Delaware and maybe what
(34:14):
those hauntings could be and see, you know what you guys
think of it as well. All right, so we'll be right
back. Welcome back to the Haunting
Truth. So I think we just kind of want
to button up the whole entire experience at Fort Delaware.
(34:37):
So we obviously know that it is a hotbed of paranormal
activities, but some people might be a little bit skeptical.
So I do invite you to go there. There are active tours.
I've included a ton of pictures from the day tours that I have
done. I've gone there several
different times. There is a blacksmith you can
bring your kids, they can have interactions with, had a load of
(34:59):
cannon. I mean, it's a really great
place to go and it's a really pretty boat ride over there.
It's about 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back.
The only downfall to that is that it is what we scheduled.
So regardless of how hot it is, because remembering our air
conditioning people, you cannot get back and just jump on a
ferry. It has to be a very scheduled
(35:20):
ferry and sometimes it runs every hour to hour and a half
just depending upon what day yougo.
But it does take you almost the whole entire day.
Plus side, it comes from Delaware City.
So when you go back and forth from Delaware City, they do have
a lot of restaurants, including ones that serve very frothy
beverages that I would highly suggest you go to.
(35:40):
I love to go to Crabby Dick's and get like a good bucket of
margaritas afterwards. It really does help to kind of
cool you off and everything after a very long day of being
there. And remember there are no I
would bring food, I would bring drinks because they have very
little in the way of food or beverages there.
It's just like any other State Park.
(36:02):
You bring your stuff in and out,so I would highly suggest you do
so. But I think at the same time,
even when you're there and it's in the daytime and you're just
walking through the battlements and a lot of the areas.
It also does have a really awesome bat research area as
well. Highly suggest visiting that.
But you still have a consistently eerie feeling even
(36:25):
when it's daytime, even with when you have other people
around you. Overall, it just has a very
oppressive feel to it, why you're there, regardless if
you're inside, outside, or just walking around the perimeter.
It has a very heavy feeling to it.
So I personally do believe that it is haunted.
I don't think it couldn't be haunted with all the devastation
(36:48):
and all the amount of death thatit has seen over the years.
But I suggest that you take it upon yourself to figure it out
yourself. And I would highly suggest going
to visit Fort Delaware and Peapach Islands.
I would agree with that and thatnoise in the background was my
dryer. Agreeing with what Jennifer said
in that it's a great place to go.
(37:10):
It is heavy just because there'sjust so much history there.
But that's why you're there to begin with, right, Is to kind of
see and understand what that looks like from a Delaware City
perspective. You do have to schedule it out,
but it's all good. Like she said, there are some
restaurants that you can kind ofkill your time with, but if
that's not your bag, there's like a cute little Main Street
(37:31):
with cute little shops, you know, up and down.
They have like full time candiesand you know, some other kind of
things that you go through. But definitely take your
mosquito repellent with you and your sunblock with you over
there. I think all they had was like
water and bags of chips. Yes.
And that's pretty much it. There was a really good
convenience store that we stopped at ahead of time that we
(37:54):
could get as many things as we want to.
I met the cutest little 100 yearold man that we were there.
His name was Jack and he really helped me out.
He was riding around on his little bike and everything else
like that, so. So y'all, you guys don't know
Jen, but she always gets impressed into service by
somebody that needs assistance and everywhere we go.
(38:17):
And they're just so sweet. But yeah, this guy was just
super cool. I I I really enjoyed him.
I mean, I sat on a bench and I think I talked to him for 15
minutes while you guys were trying to like go to different
stores and stuff. I was just sitting there eating
my ice cream. Just have live my best life with
him. So, you know, I always love to
talk to people and everybody hasa really good story.
(38:38):
I feel like I'm a sometimes the Forrest Gump of our group but
like this like box of chocolates.
That is true. He was super sweet though.
I I really did like him. So it's a good vibe.
The town itself is very cool to check out and I would definitely
recommend going. It is an all day trip, so just
plan accordingly with that. But the history that you get,
(39:01):
and I will say the enactors, because the folks that do the
tours, the enactors within the rooms and things that you go in,
they're great friendly. They know their stuff and they,
they will, they're so patient. They'll just walk you through
whatever it is you want to you, whatever you want to do.
So I, I highly recommend going as well just to prepare yourself
(39:22):
and be ready for the ghost toursbecause I think the one time
that we went, I ran across, we ran across the ghost tours that
were up in the soldiers barracksthat are rolling little cat toys
away. Yep.
There's always somebody investigating there, but.
In the middle of Daya. Even in the middle of the day.
So if you've liked this episode,please make sure you like and
subscribe and explore other episodes.
(39:43):
Don't forget to join us next week.
But thank you for joining our spine tingling journey to the
haunted grounds of Fort Delaware.
So until next time, remember that past never truly fades.
It always leaves a mark echoing through time.
Keep your eyes open, continue toseek the truth, and please do
not. Drink the water.
I would not drink the water fromthere at all.
No. Remember poop soup, OK?
(40:07):
All right, if you guys have any experiences you want to share
with us, feel free leave us comments and we'll we will talk
about it in one of our next future episodes.
All right. See you next time.
Thank you. Bye.
Sherlock Holmes once said when you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the
truth. But what if the truth isn't just
improbable? What if it's horrifying?
What if it's something so baffling that our minds can't
accept it? What if it's because our senses
can't confirm it? Or it makes your very soul
shudder from committing such a depraved act.
(00:38):
In this podcast, we'll journey through haunted history,
metaphysical happenings, unexplained disappearances, and
unconventional murders, events that challenge everything you
thought you knew. And sometimes we'll uncover the
truth, but perhaps not in the way you were hoping.
I'm Jen. And I'm Lou, and this is the
haunting truth where facts blur into the unknown and what
(01:01):
remains after we question everything might just shake us
to our core listener discretion advice.
(01:27):
To another spine chilling episode of the haunting truth
and those who might be new to us.
I'm Jen and my other Hostess with the most is here is whoa.
So here we're going to dive intoan eerie and the unexplained.
In today's episode, we're going to journey to a historical and
supernatural location as known as Fort Delaware or P Patch
(01:48):
Island. So located on Pea Patch Island
in the middle of the of the Delaware River.
Fort Delaware has witnessed decades of war, death and
turmoil and today it stands as ahistoric site.
But for many, it's also a site where restless spirits still
roam. With its historical history
eerie tales, Fort Delaware has become one of the most infamous
(02:11):
places for ghost hunters and thrill seekers alike.
So take a seat, turn down the lights, and we're going to
explore the histories and mysteries.
And we might go into this, but just for our listeners who are
not from around the Northeast, I'm going to assume Fort
Delaware is in Delaware. It is in Delaware technically.
So it is in the middle of the Delaware River, and I'm going to
(02:33):
get into that, but it is. So it is in the middle of Fort
Delaware, or excuse me, it's themiddle of the Delaware River
between New Jersey and Delaware,and it's actually at its
narrowest point. Like the Straight of Gibraltar.
So, yeah, so it was decided to actually do this because the War
of 1812, so when the British burned Washington DC and several
(02:56):
other cities, they wanted to find a way to protect the ports
of Wilmington, Philadelphia, andthe major hubs that they had.
So one of these things is they wanted to make sure that they
put forts in strategic places. So they were able to obtain, the
federal government obtained PetePatch Island in 1813, which as I
said, is located in the middle of the Delaware River between
(03:18):
Delaware and New Jersey, and it was actually completed in 1859.
Now Pete Patch Island has had become a Union prison camp
during Civil War and had more than 40,000 Confederate PO WS
plus hundreds of civilian detainees and hundreds of Union
Army prisoners under the sentence of military court
(03:41):
martials that were held at Fort Delaware during the Civil War.
How? How big is it?
Like how? I'm assuming not the 40,000 plus
the hundreds plus the other hundreds were all there at one
time. Do we know how big it is?
Harmonic is there. No, they kind of shuffled in and
out. So it is a mile long.
So it in in circumference at this particular time.
(04:02):
But during the time of the CivilWar, it was only 75 acres.
OK, 75 acres. Yeah.
So basically it is 1/4 of what it, you know, used to be.
So or it's a quarter more than what it used to be.
And the reason for that is because in the 1900s they
(04:25):
started dredging and they wantedto add to how big the island was
in case they had to use it for any other strategic military
points, which they did. So they ended up manning it
again during World War One and World War 2 just to make sure
that there were no enemy enemiesthat were able to get into.
I didn't know we had that open and one and two.
(04:47):
I thought it was just the Civil War type era.
That's interesting. No, they actually did man it
just in case, because if you think about it, at the mouth of
the Delaware River is where theyalso had a couple other military
installations. But during this time, a lot of
German U boats as well as submarines were trying to creep
(05:09):
up and down the coast. It happened in California.
It did happen also off the East Coast as well in order to gain
traction for, you know, war, cutting off war supply.
I didn't think EU boats came up that close to.
Us they were they were actually they were definitely spotted
really close in California and Ithink there was also spottings
(05:31):
as well at least a mile off of Delaware as well.
All right. I don't know if you have a map
in here of kind of like the Delaware River, but if not, I
think we can probably add that so people can kind of see, you
know, the layout of the locations.
But. Yeah, I can definitely put in a
map. I did include a ton of photos,
(05:52):
including a layout of what people look like during the time
of the Civil war so you could see exactly how spread out it
was, where the different encampments were, and things
along the I try not. To look at all the notes before,
before we talk. So my apologies, I'll take a
look at it there. All right.
(06:13):
Yes, I have. I have a picture of it.
It's actually from when we did atour.
Of it was a very cool tour, by the way.
Yeah, it was definitely an awesome tour.
Now, Fort Delaware did become a State Park in 1951, and it still
remains A historic destination for schoolchildren and many
other visitors, as well as ghosthunters and thrill seekers
(06:33):
alike. But Fort Delaware, we're going
to talk more about its Civil Warhistory because that seems to be
a lot of where these hauntings originally came from because
that was the most occupied portion of its history.
So you would think that, you know, Fort Delaware would be a
perfect place for a a Union prison camp for the Civil War.
(06:55):
In theory, it's only accessible by boat.
It's in the middle of the Delaware River, which is 5 miles
wide. And this is the narrowest point.
But the depths fluctuate rapidlydue to shifting currents and
sandbars, which makes it almost as unescapable as Alcatraz
Islands. Yeah.
So. So as I said, the island was 75
(07:16):
acres during the 1800s, but it mostly consists of low
marshlands. So during, you know, the summer
months, you had a lot more land to it and then it would get very
boggy. A lot of you wanna watch a
Mythbusters episode where they did that Escape from Alcatraz
reenactment with like the materials from the cells.
I wonder if we could do that in Fort Delaware.
(07:36):
Like if they're still on TV, Like, could we tell them to come
and escape from Fort Delaware and see if they could do it?
I mean, I think that would be awesome because it's about a 10
minute ride from Delaware City over to Fort Delaware.
But the issue is, is if you takethat journey you have, it's a
(07:57):
lot of twists and turns because of the sandbars and how much
dredging has happened, that sometimes it's so low during the
winter time, you could walk, literally walk across, but then
you'll hit a really deep point and then you would definitely go
under. So it's just very treacherous a
lot of times because everything's shipping so much.
(08:18):
It's a huge commercial channel for like the Port of Wilmington
and also for Philadelphia as well.
So they're constantly dredging. So it always makes an issue.
And they were still continuing to navigate it and having these
navigational issues even during the 1800s.
So the Fort itself is one of thelargest masonry forts in its
(08:42):
time in the United States. So it's Pentagon shape with
solid granite walls varying in thickness from about 7 feet to
30 feet. And it stands about 32 feet
high. So it is huge.
And it's surrounded by a 30 footmote.
Let me ask you a question which you may not know the answer to.
In our last episode, Eastern State, you were talking about
(09:05):
the construction of that and howit became the model for other
penitentiaries worldwide. Was Fort Delaware like a a
precursor for any others or did it adopt the architecture for
somewhere else? I'm thinking in my head like it
sounds like the Fort Office, Saint Augustine off of
(09:26):
Charleston. It might be around the same time
era. I don't know if you knew that or
not. So the the one in the Fort at
Saint Augustine is actually a lot.
Older. Than this one.
This one was only built in the 1800's.
The one that was at Saint Augustine, I think was built in
the 1700s, I believe. But this particular Fort, it was
(09:47):
such a marvel of engineering is because of how hard it was to
build on such soggy ground to begin with and be able to house
something so heavy. So there was a specific army
engineer who came in and he was the only one that could solve
this problem. Man, I feel like that is because
(10:09):
you're right. Like I'm thinking in my head as
we go through, like because it'sstill there.
It's very solid. When you get out there and it
was the only thing, yeah, it is very solid.
It's one of the only forts to have as minimal damage even
after so many years of disuse. So if you think about 1944 to
1951, you would really want to have to upkeep this thing.
(10:29):
But they have had to do very minimal repairs on the Ford
itself. It's just the interior where
they had wood is really where they had to rebuild everything,
and that's because they really disassembled everything.
For the world, why this guy didn't go down to Florida and
like sell that idea around the coasts down here so we don't
have our homes like dissolving. Every year, Disney World, it's
(10:55):
still going. To hang, All right.
I don't know. I feel like he missed out, Like
I don't, I don't know this guy'sname, like, you know.
He died before the Fort was completed and I did put the
episode that specifically mentions his name.
So if you want to go ahead and look at the source information,
there's a couple different podcasts that I have on there
(11:17):
where you can look at that information as well or videos
that are on YouTube. So, and it's all from, you know,
the Delaware history and everything else like that.
They did a really good job around this, but the inside of
the Fort itself was like its owncity so it was specially
designed to deflect cannon and small armament fire.
And the inside of the Fort is 3 stories high, and by the end of
(11:40):
1861 it housed about 156 heavy 5caliber guns and hundreds of
soldiers 2. Stories I thought was 2 or did
we miss a story? It's three.
It's three because some of the levels are just specifically for
military uses. But if you go through the
residential quarters, there's three stories to it.
(12:02):
It's just they you can see the doors, but they actually took
the. Stairs.
That's why it wasn't. Yeah.
So a lot of people you'll see like doors that go to nowhere.
It was actually. Not like the Winchester house
where they were building to escape ghosts, but yeah.
No, no, no. Well, I mean it.
It serves as a purpose now. But we'll get there.
All right. Let me, let me stop it, all
(12:24):
right? No, you're no question away.
So with the interior of it, it had a laundry, a mess hall,
kitchen, a blacksmith, A commissary.
It had indoor bathrooms. Now, sanitation wasn't the best,
so those indoor bathrooms did goright into the Moat, but they
had them nonetheless. Well, it's not anything
different from any other area inat that period of time.
(12:46):
Just dump it out out the window.Dump it out and then drink the
water anyway. That's what I drink here.
Yeah, Yeah. So all of these great things.
However, Delaware's weather and environment were a challenge.
So Delaware has harsh winters that are usually below freezing
by October to March, which usually ends up freezing the
(13:09):
river at most of the points and cutting off supplies which did
leave at points to starvation onthe Ford itself because usually
it's not really thick enough as I said to walk across
completely. Also it is a pretty hot and
humid in the summer so from May to the end of August it's
usually around 95 to 100° with at least 100% humidity.
(13:31):
So it feels like 115. And with the overcrowded
barracks, the spread it spread disease, I'm sure.
And with all that boiling hot, nasty bacteria water, we've got
mosquitoes like nobody's business.
Oh yes, Yup. So they had typhoid fever, which
was spread regularly due to poorsanitation since the freshwater
(13:52):
cisterns that were underneath the Fort would become polluted
by the Moat water which was contaminated by the Fort so
much. So it was, it was not just
prisoners, but it was soldiers alike who are getting sick from
this and dying. Malaria was common, as you said,
because of the island's massive mosquito population and marshy
(14:13):
conditions. Everybody jokes that the New
Jersey State bird is a mosquito.So this kind of.
Off does not work. Off deep woods does not work.
I don't know what works, but we haven't found it yet.
We have not, No, we have not. Also common illnesses brought by
overpopulation. Another like smallpox,
(14:34):
dysentery, scurvy. These were all scurvy.
Yes, yes, they were all very common.
I don't know that if I should ask this personal question, but
for for our folks that are listening.
Jen has a specific allergy to citrus, which makes it
interesting when we go out. So how do you avoid scurvy?
(14:56):
Because you're like, it's vitamin C that you're supposed
to be. It is.
Do you have scurvy? So kale is I do not have scurvy.
I definitely don't. Kale has a lot of vitamin C in
it and I do eat a lot of kale and a lot of other things to
supplement that. So I I'm very cognizant of my
vitamin intake. That's good to know.
(15:17):
I was just getting to wondering and I'm going to guess they
didn't have a whole lot of kale hanging out on Fort Delaware.
I don't think so, and I definitely don't suggest eating
the marsh cabbage, if anybody knows what that is.
That's a hard task. Smells love, smells lovely.
So all of these cause health epidemics in waves throughout
the island's population. But it doesn't stop there.
(15:41):
There were also various insects that besieged the residents with
lice, fleas and ticks which madethe prisoners lives this.
Totally sounds like Club Med forfor prisoners.
I want to go here now I get besieged with lice.
Sign me up. That's just terrible.
Oh yeah. And at one point they used to
(16:01):
have like games because there were so many people with lice
and you would see them scratching that they used to
just take the lice and do like little bets on.
What? Yeah, so they used to have like,
'cause they don't have anything else to do and they're very
bored, so they would take their most prolific jumping lice and.
See which one could not to throwback to Bugs Wedding again
'cause I know we did it in the last episode.
(16:22):
But do you remember the Bugs Wedding cartoon where they had
the flea circus? The flea.
Yes, the flea circus. Yes, yes, absolutely.
So because of all of these factors, about 2500 men perished
because of this perilous conditions, which seems to be a
small number compared to how many shuffled in and out.
(16:42):
The Max amount of prisoners was about 18,000 prisoners at one
time, and this was after GeneralGrant refused to do prisoners
exchanges. Traditionally, prisoners only
stay there for about two weeks and they were shuffled back to
either, you know, between Confederate and Union soldiers.
But in April of 1864, he stoppednegotiations until the end of
(17:05):
the Civil War, which was in April of 1865 S for a whole
year, these soldiers, and that'swhy there was so much of a
population. There was about 18,000 soldiers
at. One time, all right, So I can't
wait to hear more about the soldiers, but I think we are
going to take a minute or two for a break and we will
reconvene in just a second all. Right, we'll be right back.
(17:58):
The. Now, as I stated before, you
know, they stopped having prisoners exchanges because of
General Grant and the end of theCivil War, but that really
didn't stop the expansion of thecamp.
So how did the Confederate soldiers live?
Really dependent upon when they got there.
(18:18):
And also there wasn't enough housing for them, so they did
have to form some small groups with small camps around the
island itself. Obviously it was very limited
because Fort Delaware is really not that big and Pea Patch
Island is even smaller back thenthan it is now.
So they did have large barrack houses that are about two
(18:40):
stories tall and had about 3. There were three levels high.
So essentially it was three stories and they were just
planks that were along the wallswith dividers and obviously
depending upon your seniority iswhere you had placed.
So if you were on the bottom level and you were towards where
(19:02):
the stoves were, that means thatyou are one of the more higher
ranking people within the barracks.
If you were at the very top and towards the doors on either
side, that means that you are one of the lower ranking people
within the barracks because you were not getting the air flow,
you weren't getting any of the fresh water and you weren't
getting any of the heat, especially in the winter time.
(19:23):
So it really had a one, it had ahierarchy within it, but also
had, you know, it was three stories high.
So there was a lot of men shovedinto one specific place.
You know, there was 3 stoves, soyou would have two on the end
and 1 towards the middle of it. And then also there was access
to water on either side of the barracks with pumps.
(19:45):
But the bathrooms were set up onthe edge of the river.
So traditionally, somebody would, you know, have a
facility, you would basically goto the bathroom in the river.
Unfortunately, because of the currents, most of the time it
would wash up along the shore and cause a ring of waste around
the whole entire island. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
(20:09):
Can you imagine that? And then if there was any kind
of storm system, because it was such a low lying island, it
would then sweep the waters inland and carry the ring of
sewage along with it. Oh, OK.
And this is the same water that they're pumping into, Yes, the
(20:30):
prison for use for food. Yes, they they had a rainwater
system where we would catch the rainwater and they would put it
in these sorts which were underneath of the Fort.
But the problem with the sewers is they would constantly be
contaminated by the Moat water and also by the sewage water
that would overflow and flood onto the island during
(20:52):
rainstorms. Yikes.
Yeah. So it was just like a lot of
disgusting things that were breeding diseases, essentially.
So a lot of these soldiers at the Fort, essentially, it became
a grave. So there are a lot of spirits
that never left this facility. So visitors do report strange
(21:14):
sightings, unusual occurrences, and some say the ghosts of these
prisoners still wander the fort's cold stone walls.
The fourth dark history is matched only by the paranormal
activity that has emerged from the island.
So some of these claims that they've seen Confederate
soldiers in tattered uniforms along the battlements.
(21:36):
Others say that they hear soundsof change dragging along the
grounds that are heard late at night, which are possible
restless spirits of prisoners who died.
As I said, a lot of times the prisoners did have free reign of
the island, or at least specificsections.
But if you were the worst of theworst, you were taken into the
Fort itself and you were chainedup in specific locations.
(21:58):
And some of those people, if youthink about how many soldiers
were there, you might have forgotten for about them for a
period of time, unfortunately. Yeah, that's, it's pretty
horrific. I, I don't know that it was
uncommon though for this period of time.
Like we've had forks, we have forks up and down the East
(22:19):
Coast, right? We've got office in Augustine,
we've got off in Charleston, we've got McHenry off of
Baltimore. Was there and, and maybe you've
said this, but maybe we can bring it back forth again.
Was there anything of more specific about this particular
area that makes it more haunted than any of the others?
(22:40):
Because I think those other onesare haunted.
But from what I recall, this this one, Fort Delaware is the
most across the US. So it is one of the most haunted
and I think a lot of it has to do with, yes, there were quite a
few soldiers, but there was alsoa lot of not just prisoners but
(23:03):
also Union soldiers that passed away from the same diseases.
As I said, this was there because the water was
contaminated. There was a lot of food
shortages that happened because of the inability to get to food
sources because of either the river was freezing over or they
just hit and have the ability toget supplies over to the island.
(23:27):
So there was quite a few actual sold Union soldiers as well that
were not prisoners here that perished along with everyone
else. So, and you have to think there
was a limited amount of doctors.So there was only a few doctors
that gave, you know, respite to any and, and service all of
(23:47):
these officers as well as prisoners.
So there was a limited amount ofsupplies.
You as I also said, malaria was also extremely prevalent on the
island because they didn't have a lot of quinine tablets to go
around and malaria is very deadly.
And there is a large mosquito population in this area.
(24:08):
As I said, that is, you know, basically they joke around.
It's the state bird of New Jersey.
And when you even go on the island today, like you really
need to spray yourself down. And even then, like, it doesn't
work. So it's just the overwhelming
conditions caused quite a few deaths on this island.
And it was also people who worked there.
(24:29):
So it wasn't just the prisoners themselves.
Now this was by no means as bad as Andersonville on the
Confederate side, but it still was considered hell on earth for
the soldiers that were there. A lot of matter in the South,
it's hot mosquitoes. You're sitting in poop soups
like. Poops.
(24:50):
Yeah, you basically. Are after we use the Stone Soup,
the children's book from way back when, But yeah, yes, yeah.
And also there were people who worked there who really loved
what they did, who are still there today as ghosts.
So I'm going to go over the mostprolific ghosts that they are
aware of on the island itself. Now, around the stockades.
(25:13):
They're very basic. They just say that there has
been a Gray unions, a Union soldier, excuse me, a
Confederate soldier in a Gray uniform who people have seen in,
you know, his face is twisted inanguish.
He is a full apparition that appears to people, and it's near
the stockades, so they don't know who he is because there
(25:35):
were so many people who died within the stockade area, it's
hard to pin it down. There were a lot of Confederate
soldiers that had been there. But the one person they're very
aware of is not a soldier, as I said, at all, but it is one of
the previous workers and it is in the kitchen.
And her name is Susan Burns. She was the head cook.
(25:58):
She is still to this day found in the kitchen.
She is very active within this area.
So there is a ghost hunting, ghost hunting that it's called
the Diamond State Ghost Investigators and they regularly
investigate this. State of Delaware Park Service
has actually coordinated ghost towards with them.
(26:20):
So they do actively investigate this area and she is always
there and she is very specific as to what she likes you to do
and not do in her kitchen. So what is it that she likes you
to do? In her so she you have to be
respectful while you're in her kitchen.
Fair enough, she does not like you to move things around.
(26:40):
Also fair enough, I don't like it when people touch things
much. She does not like you to go into
her pantry. She does not like men to go into
her pantry. So get out like, you're welcome
to be here, but don't disrupt my.
Absolutely. And she also communicates with
people. So if you she is known to move
objects and to turn on flashlights and open and close
(27:02):
doors. So if you have questions, she
she will actually communicate byturning the flashlight on and
off. If you go into the pantry and
you're a man, she will actively either try to push you or she
will close the door so you cannot get into the pantry.
I like her. Yeah, she definitely demands
(27:24):
respect. This is still her kitchen.
That's that's kind of awesome though.
So with that, it just said she was probably, you know, one of
the ones that is most seen, observed or so on.
Yes. One that they can actively
identify. I would say yeah.
So. And I think if she's just super
(27:45):
chill, just hanging out, like what's the vibe like?
Is it a scary vibe? Or is it just like this is my
place? And this is my place.
She definitely has. This is my place.
You need to be respectful. As long as you respect my
quarters or what my you know what I like people to do here,
then you're fine to stay there. If you do not respect it, then
(28:08):
she will start moving things, she will start closing things
and she will not communicate with you.
Oh, OK. Well, we don't want that.
Yeah. So it's just all a matter of
respect with for her. She left like any of her
favorite recipes that we should be trying.
She has not, she has not divulged anything, but she does
(28:28):
like the fact that apparently that people are constantly there
and that people do still continue to visit the area.
So I mean, they do, they have over the years had several
paranormal investigations that have flocked, as I said, to Fort
Delaware. But the one I think I like the
most is the one that has continued tours throughout
(28:49):
October. OK.
So they do have paranormal toursthat they have.
They've been doing it since 2009and a lot of things have been
documented, but I think the one that's most famous and has the
most views that I saw is in 2008during a night investigation.
The paranormal team called TAPS,which was on the show Ghost
(29:11):
Hunters that was on the Sci-fi Channel, recorded a disembodied
voice stating to get out. OK so two questions.
This is Ghost Hunters and not Ghost Adventures where the guys
had his wife. No, no, very different.
(29:31):
Yeah. Yeah, it is a it is a different
1. So this is Ghost Hunters, which
is called TAPS. That's the paranormal investor.
I think it's the Transatlantic Paranormal Society.
Yeah. As opposed to Ghost Adventurers
that has Zach, who's a demonologist in it.
(29:52):
That is not the same thing. OK, All right.
Sure it wasn't the same thing because I know they've been in
the news lately, although I haven't really been been
watching it. I haven't really been.
Following it either but. Yeah, I, I don't know, I came
across I think the other day. But I, the other thing I wanted
to say is too, like you said that, you know, in October, this
is when they do all of their, not all of their, but they do a,
(30:15):
you know, a lot of walkthroughs and so on.
And I have been trying to get through myself for years and it
sells out so quickly. Especially the overnight ones,
like as soon as they open it on the website, like you got to get
it or you're not getting in. It's ridiculous.
Yeah. So I luckily it's very, yes.
(30:36):
So it's very small. It's very hard to get into.
I luckily was part of the first paranormal investigation round
in Halloween around Halloween in2009 because nobody had heard of
it before. So I was lucky enough to get put
in a group. Now I don't know how lucky I
was. I went with a bunch of people
and unfortunately we had an odd number so I ended up in a
(30:59):
different group and I can vividly remember this since one
of the couple pregame. I don't know if anybody knows
what that is, which means that. You're pretty sure most of our
audience, yeah. I hope you know what that means.
Well there is alcohol is not allowed in any of the state
parks including Fort Delaware and Pea Patch Island so they
pregame pretty hard. And I mainly remember the
(31:21):
husband since he was very loud he didn't know what it inside
voice was. But also he kept telling us the
reason he came here is because his house is haunted.
And the only thing that I could think of the whole entire time
is that poor ghost is going to be stuck with you for the next
30 years. Oh my God.
(31:42):
That's terrible. I mean, it was like, that's the
only thing I could think about because he was just, he was the
instigator in every single scenario when they're like, hey.
This ghost feel like I didn't sign up for this.
No, this is no. I feel like the ghost would have
been like can I go to Marge's next door?
Like I feel like she's a lot more chill.
Can I just skip this and anything that they said?
(32:05):
Hey this really aggravates the ghost.
He was the first one to be like I'll do it or he would do it
actively without even being asked.
Oh, he sounds like a treat. Oh it was definitely a treat,
but I definitely remember very vividly.
I was in the offered officers quarters and they were putting a
flashlight on the desk so that anybody who wanted to
(32:28):
communicate could go ahead and communicate.
Now it was on a slate grade and it had a lip to it so and they
put it on like the little ledge.It was almost like a school
desk, and one of the things thatI remember is the flashlight
turned on by itself all of a sudden and it started to spin on
the ledge, so it was rotating byitself.
(32:50):
Yeah, OK. Yeah, that's not it.
Just sliding because of whatever.
No, it was very obvious and it it completely turned on by
itself. Now the woman next to me, she
practically jumped into my arms as soon as it turned on.
So she was scared to death that this was happening.
So. And apparently it was supposed
(33:13):
to be the ghost of a young officer that frequently touches
people. He will go ahead and pull like
he likes hair a lot. And I definitely had a lot of
those interactions with him where my shoulder, my hair was
being touched. And it I did try to debunk it in
several ways. And I couldn't debunk it and
(33:33):
neither could anybody else on the team because I was very
like, OK, can this stop touchingme, you know, kind of thing.
So they definitely tried to debunk it as much as possible
and really couldn't. But this officer, young officer,
is known to do that on a very regular basis.
He just liked your hair. He he might have just liked my
hair. I took it down after that so he
(33:54):
couldn't play with my ponytail. I just didn't feel like wanted
to draw that kind of attention that night.
Not what I was signing up for. Not what I signed up for.
So, so we're going to take a little bit of a break and then
we're going to come back and go over, just wrap up what we think
potentially could still be at Fort Delaware and maybe what
(34:14):
those hauntings could be and see, you know what you guys
think of it as well. All right, so we'll be right
back. Welcome back to the Haunting
Truth. So I think we just kind of want
to button up the whole entire experience at Fort Delaware.
(34:37):
So we obviously know that it is a hotbed of paranormal
activities, but some people might be a little bit skeptical.
So I do invite you to go there. There are active tours.
I've included a ton of pictures from the day tours that I have
done. I've gone there several
different times. There is a blacksmith you can
bring your kids, they can have interactions with, had a load of
(34:59):
cannon. I mean, it's a really great
place to go and it's a really pretty boat ride over there.
It's about 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back.
The only downfall to that is that it is what we scheduled.
So regardless of how hot it is, because remembering our air
conditioning people, you cannot get back and just jump on a
ferry. It has to be a very scheduled
(35:20):
ferry and sometimes it runs every hour to hour and a half
just depending upon what day yougo.
But it does take you almost the whole entire day.
Plus side, it comes from Delaware City.
So when you go back and forth from Delaware City, they do have
a lot of restaurants, including ones that serve very frothy
beverages that I would highly suggest you go to.
(35:40):
I love to go to Crabby Dick's and get like a good bucket of
margaritas afterwards. It really does help to kind of
cool you off and everything after a very long day of being
there. And remember there are no I
would bring food, I would bring drinks because they have very
little in the way of food or beverages there.
It's just like any other State Park.
(36:02):
You bring your stuff in and out,so I would highly suggest you do
so. But I think at the same time,
even when you're there and it's in the daytime and you're just
walking through the battlements and a lot of the areas.
It also does have a really awesome bat research area as
well. Highly suggest visiting that.
But you still have a consistently eerie feeling even
(36:25):
when it's daytime, even with when you have other people
around you. Overall, it just has a very
oppressive feel to it, why you're there, regardless if
you're inside, outside, or just walking around the perimeter.
It has a very heavy feeling to it.
So I personally do believe that it is haunted.
I don't think it couldn't be haunted with all the devastation
(36:48):
and all the amount of death thatit has seen over the years.
But I suggest that you take it upon yourself to figure it out
yourself. And I would highly suggest going
to visit Fort Delaware and Peapach Islands.
I would agree with that and thatnoise in the background was my
dryer. Agreeing with what Jennifer said
in that it's a great place to go.
(37:10):
It is heavy just because there'sjust so much history there.
But that's why you're there to begin with, right, Is to kind of
see and understand what that looks like from a Delaware City
perspective. You do have to schedule it out,
but it's all good. Like she said, there are some
restaurants that you can kind ofkill your time with, but if
that's not your bag, there's like a cute little Main Street
(37:31):
with cute little shops, you know, up and down.
They have like full time candiesand you know, some other kind of
things that you go through. But definitely take your
mosquito repellent with you and your sunblock with you over
there. I think all they had was like
water and bags of chips. Yes.
And that's pretty much it. There was a really good
convenience store that we stopped at ahead of time that we
(37:54):
could get as many things as we want to.
I met the cutest little 100 yearold man that we were there.
His name was Jack and he really helped me out.
He was riding around on his little bike and everything else
like that, so. So y'all, you guys don't know
Jen, but she always gets impressed into service by
somebody that needs assistance and everywhere we go.
(38:17):
And they're just so sweet. But yeah, this guy was just
super cool. I I I really enjoyed him.
I mean, I sat on a bench and I think I talked to him for 15
minutes while you guys were trying to like go to different
stores and stuff. I was just sitting there eating
my ice cream. Just have live my best life with
him. So, you know, I always love to
talk to people and everybody hasa really good story.
(38:38):
I feel like I'm a sometimes the Forrest Gump of our group but
like this like box of chocolates.
That is true. He was super sweet though.
I I really did like him. So it's a good vibe.
The town itself is very cool to check out and I would definitely
recommend going. It is an all day trip, so just
plan accordingly with that. But the history that you get,
(39:01):
and I will say the enactors, because the folks that do the
tours, the enactors within the rooms and things that you go in,
they're great friendly. They know their stuff and they,
they will, they're so patient. They'll just walk you through
whatever it is you want to you, whatever you want to do.
So I, I highly recommend going as well just to prepare yourself
(39:22):
and be ready for the ghost toursbecause I think the one time
that we went, I ran across, we ran across the ghost tours that
were up in the soldiers barracksthat are rolling little cat toys
away. Yep.
There's always somebody investigating there, but.
In the middle of Daya. Even in the middle of the day.
So if you've liked this episode,please make sure you like and
subscribe and explore other episodes.
(39:43):
Don't forget to join us next week.
But thank you for joining our spine tingling journey to the
haunted grounds of Fort Delaware.
So until next time, remember that past never truly fades.
It always leaves a mark echoing through time.
Keep your eyes open, continue toseek the truth, and please do
not. Drink the water.
I would not drink the water fromthere at all.
No. Remember poop soup, OK?
(40:07):
All right, if you guys have any experiences you want to share
with us, feel free leave us comments and we'll we will talk
about it in one of our next future episodes.
All right. See you next time.
Thank you. Bye.
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