The Ghost of Fort Delaware

Record summary

Fort Delaware, a former Civil War prison on Pea Patch Island, acquired reports of apparitions and unusual sounds associated with prisoners, guards, and wartime deaths. The site’s harsh prison history made it especially suitable for a postwar ghost tradition, while its isolation encouraged stories about voices and figures seen in or near the fort. The lead matters for comparison with other military-site hauntings and with conventional explanations involving acoustics, wildlife, and expectation. The chronology of published reports should be established rather than inferred from the fort’s wartime history.