Kind of place · 12 hauntings
Haunted Battlefields & Forts
Battlefields, forts and barracks where soldiers are said to march on.
- 12 places
- 9 in the USA
- 12 you can visit
Battlefields and forts carry the weight of mass death, and ghost stories have gathered on them for centuries. Two pamphlets of January 1643 described a phantom re-enactment of the Battle of Edgehill in the night sky over Warwickshire, which King Charles I is said to have sent officers to investigate. Gettysburg, where some 51,000 men were killed, wounded, captured or missing over three days in July 1863, is probably the most ghost-hunted battlefield in the world; the Alamo in San Antonio, Culloden in Scotland and forts such as Fort Delaware have their own phantom soldiers.
These are places where visitors arrive with vivid pictures in mind – from films, reenactments and tour guides – and where dawn mist, wind across open ground, distant traffic and the sounds of other visitors are easily heard as drums or musket fire. Many reports are of residual phenomena: marching, gunfire and figures who take no notice of the living.
Battlefields are also war graves and memorials. Most are protected by national parks or heritage bodies, with rules about night visits and metal detecting. We tell the history of the battle and the men who fought there first, and respect the sites as places of remembrance.
Haunted Battlefields & Forts in the USA
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Civil War’s bloodiest battle left over 50,000 casualties. Visitors tell of phantom gunfire, marching men and a ragged soldier at Devil’s Den. Widely reported
The Alamo
The mission where the Alamo’s defenders died in March 1836 is a memorial first. Ghost tours tell of phantom guardians, soldiers and a child at a window. Widely reported
Fort Leavenworth
Founded in 1827, Fort Leavenworth is called one of the Army’s most haunted posts, with ghost stories in its old quarters, the Rookery and its cemetery. Regional legend
Fort Mifflin
A Revolutionary War fort on the Delaware that survived a brutal 1777 siege. Its best-known ghost is a “screaming lady” heard from the officers’ quarters. Regional legend
Chickamauga Battlefield
The north Georgia battlefield of September 1863, where some 34,000 men fell – and where legend says a green-eyed figure still prowls at night. Regional legend
Fort Delaware
A granite fort on a Delaware River island that held tens of thousands of Confederate prisoners in the Civil War; some 2,500 died there. Regional legend
Custer House, Fort Abraham Lincoln
A rebuilt 1870s cavalry post where George and Libbie Custer lived before Little Bighorn. Guides tell of a woman at the window and unseen hands. Local legend
Fort Knox (Maine)
A vast granite fort on the Penobscot that never fired a shot in war. Visitors report a tall shadow in its passages – said to be its long-serving caretaker. Local legend
Fort Washita
An 1842 frontier fort in the Chickasaw Nation, burned in the Civil War, whose best-known ghost is “Aunt Jane,” a murdered woman no one can identify. Regional legendAround the world
Castillo San Felipe del Morro
The great Spanish fortress at the mouth of San Juan Bay, said to be walked by a white lady and phantom sentries – near the legendary Devil’s Sentry Box. Local legend
Fort George National Historic Site
A War of 1812 fort on the Niagara River, burned, rebuilt and now home to Canada’s longest-running ghost walk – footsteps, cold spots and phantom soldiers. Widely reported