Philadelphia, PA. One of the most historic cities I have ever had the pleasure of being in. History and a air
of mystery lined nearly ever street and every block. Old turn of the century buildings tucked in between
newly built houses and shops. The museums, statues, and historic sites make it obvious that this is more
than likely a city unlike one you have ever been in before. You can take a month and travel the city and still
not see all the areas of interest there is. Our team was not there for a month, we had our eyes on the very
historic, Fort Mifflin.
In collaboration with two other groups, GhostFire Haunts and G.A.P.S of NC, we set out too gather all the
evidence we can from this location. Pulling up to the front gate you really cant gauge how huge the area is
on the inside. With plenty of of locations to choose from it became clear that we would not have a problem
with crowding. After setting up base and our sleeping quarters we had a complete tour of all the locations,
thanks to Lorraine and we were ready to go. Stocked up with plenty of food and drinks, compliment of
Wayne the caretaker at the location we had everything we needed to bunker down and make a night of it,
and what a night it would be.
My first stop was the powder magazine room. The room was built into what looks like a bush covered hill
but when you step inside the evident drop in temperature and pin drop silence makes it obvious that you are
not in an above ground structure. There is a heavy feeling in there and every move and word bounces from
wall to wall with an eerie echo. The smooth ground and paint chipped walls make it for a more interesting
atmosphere. Taking a round of pictures and capturing what we could for audio and EMF we decided to press
on, knowing that we have plenty of time to return, which we did several times.
With my first location out of the way I pressed on to my next, this time heading toward a large building that
stands in the center of Mifflin, the Commandant's house. When you first walk into the house you can tell it
was once a beautiful home but now stands gutted and worn. This is where I had my first experience of the
night, in the middle snapping photos and asking questions for EVP I caught what looked like a shadow
standing in what use to be the frame for a door or window. Terri who was with me also said she had seen
some shadows, after reviewing the pictures nothing was caught on camera sadly! Putting in around 30
minutes we decided to press on to the next, bring on the torpedo casemate.
In this casemate you get a strange feeling right off the bat the air just seems a bit more thick and the
darkness a little more, well, dark. With a huge hole in the middle of the room with some standing water we
decided to put down the K2 meters and start with some audio. There was one point in time where the air got
so thick I felt like I had tunnel vision and darkness pulsed with my heartbeat, that lasted about two minutes.
Shortly after that feeling we started getting what seemed to be hits on the K2 meter. They were pulsing and
random, the lights for the room were still on and we chalked it up to the power running to them. We came to
the location later and there were no K2 hits at all... debunked in my eyes, now off to the next.
We now set out too the two most popular areas in Fort Mifflin, Casemate 1 and 5. These casemates are
a large rooms with little ventilation where hundreds of prisoners would be kept cramped up at a time. With
nothing but small square holes for air and wooden bunks you could imagine how depressing and
uncomfortable it must have been. Our first stop casemate 5 that is said to house the spirit of William, who
has a fondness for blonds. We sent Terri who happens to have blond hair off to the room next door while we
sat and attempted to get William to play. Shortly after we began our EVP session Terri asked if we heard the
loud bang... it was not heard by us even though it was in the next room over, but it was caught on tape. This
would happen again, but it was the only activity caught in casemate 5.
Casemate 1 is another story all together. There is a large fireplace at one end of the room and there are
stories of a man who puts his arm around your shoulder. Also there is talks of a child named Michael who
resided at the fort. We began an EVP session and taking pictures asking for either of the spirits to come
forth. After we put in enough time we were getting ready to leave when we heard a very loud woman's
scream, so loud we ran up to the entrance to see if anyone was hurt or injured. The scream clearly came
from the other side of the fort toward the officers quarters where we had investigators, they did not hear
anything.
Casemate 1 the revisit. Intrigued by the scream we picked up a new investigator and headed back into
the room. We once again started our EVP session and photos the whole time asking for a Michael or
gentleman in civil war attire, which is how he was described to us. Several minutes into the EVP session I felt
a steady weight on my left hand shoulder that lasted a good two to three minutes. I felt as though someone
was leaning against me with their arm on my shoulder, then I remember one of the stories about the man
putting his arm around you. I let everyone know around me and they began to take pictures, sadly nothing
showed up on the camera, but it was an experience I will not forget.
It was now early in the morning and we have made several rounds and we decided to go into Casemate
11 which was known for the face seen by Grant on Ghost Hunters the television show. Walking down the
ramp to the very cramped room you do get a very heavy feeling in your chest. We put the recorders down
and started to ask questions in attempts to bring out what ever was in the room with us. The light pop and
crack sound was heard but sadly that was all, although we had stories of the other groups getting some very
interesting evidence from there.
I will have to say that this was one of the more active “public” locations that I have been to. There were
times were a couple of us were just sitting outside of the base and heard clear voices of a little girl and older
man. The location is filled with history and beauty and is worth the trip for that reason alone. If someone
asked me if Fort Mifflin was haunted my only reply would be, yes. With the personal experiences and the
amount of evidence we took from there that could not be explained I don't know how else to explain it other
than paranormal. I would like to thank Wayne and Lorraine on behalf of Virginia Paranormal for the work
they put in and making the visitors and paranormal enthusiast feel at home. This was my first investigation
where they made sure we were stocked with soda, coffee, and plenty of snacks. As if that wasn't enough you
head over to the main building in the morning where they treat you to a nice hot breakfast. Most people
know that Fort Mifflin is in jeopardy of being shut down and yet they still find the need to treat there guests
like family. I hope it remains open so that ghosts enthusiasts, investigators, and history buffs can enjoy this
great place, and its people.
Written By
Thomas Lisk
of mystery lined nearly ever street and every block. Old turn of the century buildings tucked in between
newly built houses and shops. The museums, statues, and historic sites make it obvious that this is more
than likely a city unlike one you have ever been in before. You can take a month and travel the city and still
not see all the areas of interest there is. Our team was not there for a month, we had our eyes on the very
historic, Fort Mifflin.
In collaboration with two other groups, GhostFire Haunts and G.A.P.S of NC, we set out too gather all the
evidence we can from this location. Pulling up to the front gate you really cant gauge how huge the area is
on the inside. With plenty of of locations to choose from it became clear that we would not have a problem
with crowding. After setting up base and our sleeping quarters we had a complete tour of all the locations,
thanks to Lorraine and we were ready to go. Stocked up with plenty of food and drinks, compliment of
Wayne the caretaker at the location we had everything we needed to bunker down and make a night of it,
and what a night it would be.
My first stop was the powder magazine room. The room was built into what looks like a bush covered hill
but when you step inside the evident drop in temperature and pin drop silence makes it obvious that you are
not in an above ground structure. There is a heavy feeling in there and every move and word bounces from
wall to wall with an eerie echo. The smooth ground and paint chipped walls make it for a more interesting
atmosphere. Taking a round of pictures and capturing what we could for audio and EMF we decided to press
on, knowing that we have plenty of time to return, which we did several times.
With my first location out of the way I pressed on to my next, this time heading toward a large building that
stands in the center of Mifflin, the Commandant's house. When you first walk into the house you can tell it
was once a beautiful home but now stands gutted and worn. This is where I had my first experience of the
night, in the middle snapping photos and asking questions for EVP I caught what looked like a shadow
standing in what use to be the frame for a door or window. Terri who was with me also said she had seen
some shadows, after reviewing the pictures nothing was caught on camera sadly! Putting in around 30
minutes we decided to press on to the next, bring on the torpedo casemate.
In this casemate you get a strange feeling right off the bat the air just seems a bit more thick and the
darkness a little more, well, dark. With a huge hole in the middle of the room with some standing water we
decided to put down the K2 meters and start with some audio. There was one point in time where the air got
so thick I felt like I had tunnel vision and darkness pulsed with my heartbeat, that lasted about two minutes.
Shortly after that feeling we started getting what seemed to be hits on the K2 meter. They were pulsing and
random, the lights for the room were still on and we chalked it up to the power running to them. We came to
the location later and there were no K2 hits at all... debunked in my eyes, now off to the next.
We now set out too the two most popular areas in Fort Mifflin, Casemate 1 and 5. These casemates are
a large rooms with little ventilation where hundreds of prisoners would be kept cramped up at a time. With
nothing but small square holes for air and wooden bunks you could imagine how depressing and
uncomfortable it must have been. Our first stop casemate 5 that is said to house the spirit of William, who
has a fondness for blonds. We sent Terri who happens to have blond hair off to the room next door while we
sat and attempted to get William to play. Shortly after we began our EVP session Terri asked if we heard the
loud bang... it was not heard by us even though it was in the next room over, but it was caught on tape. This
would happen again, but it was the only activity caught in casemate 5.
Casemate 1 is another story all together. There is a large fireplace at one end of the room and there are
stories of a man who puts his arm around your shoulder. Also there is talks of a child named Michael who
resided at the fort. We began an EVP session and taking pictures asking for either of the spirits to come
forth. After we put in enough time we were getting ready to leave when we heard a very loud woman's
scream, so loud we ran up to the entrance to see if anyone was hurt or injured. The scream clearly came
from the other side of the fort toward the officers quarters where we had investigators, they did not hear
anything.
Casemate 1 the revisit. Intrigued by the scream we picked up a new investigator and headed back into
the room. We once again started our EVP session and photos the whole time asking for a Michael or
gentleman in civil war attire, which is how he was described to us. Several minutes into the EVP session I felt
a steady weight on my left hand shoulder that lasted a good two to three minutes. I felt as though someone
was leaning against me with their arm on my shoulder, then I remember one of the stories about the man
putting his arm around you. I let everyone know around me and they began to take pictures, sadly nothing
showed up on the camera, but it was an experience I will not forget.
It was now early in the morning and we have made several rounds and we decided to go into Casemate
11 which was known for the face seen by Grant on Ghost Hunters the television show. Walking down the
ramp to the very cramped room you do get a very heavy feeling in your chest. We put the recorders down
and started to ask questions in attempts to bring out what ever was in the room with us. The light pop and
crack sound was heard but sadly that was all, although we had stories of the other groups getting some very
interesting evidence from there.
I will have to say that this was one of the more active “public” locations that I have been to. There were
times were a couple of us were just sitting outside of the base and heard clear voices of a little girl and older
man. The location is filled with history and beauty and is worth the trip for that reason alone. If someone
asked me if Fort Mifflin was haunted my only reply would be, yes. With the personal experiences and the
amount of evidence we took from there that could not be explained I don't know how else to explain it other
than paranormal. I would like to thank Wayne and Lorraine on behalf of Virginia Paranormal for the work
they put in and making the visitors and paranormal enthusiast feel at home. This was my first investigation
where they made sure we were stocked with soda, coffee, and plenty of snacks. As if that wasn't enough you
head over to the main building in the morning where they treat you to a nice hot breakfast. Most people
know that Fort Mifflin is in jeopardy of being shut down and yet they still find the need to treat there guests
like family. I hope it remains open so that ghosts enthusiasts, investigators, and history buffs can enjoy this
great place, and its people.
Written By
Thomas Lisk
FORT MIFFLIN INVESTIGATION
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Virginia Paranormal save Fort Mifflin.
Virginia Paranormal save Fort Mifflin.