Diamond State Ghost Investigators are the lead paranormal group responsible for the Paranormal Adventure Tours at Fort Delaware, on Pea Patch Island, each October. We volunteer to lead paranormal tours, and as a reward, we are given an opportunity to stay overnight on the island each year. (Tickets go on sale July 1, 2024!) This year, we stayed overnight on June 1. The weather was absolutely perfect; there were far fewer mosquitoes, and, of course, we experienced much laughter through the night.
We know that Fort Delaware is the most haunted location in Delaware. This is likely because it is old and has such historical significance. In 1847, Congress set aside a whopping one million dollars to construct the biggest fort in the country for guarding Philadelphia and the harbor. It was actually put into use in 1861 during the Civil War and was used to hold Confederate prisoners until 1865. The fort was also garrisoned during the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II before being shut down in 1944. You can find more history about Fort Delaware here.
We spend a lot of time on the island and inside the Fort. As a team, there has never been a time when something paranormal hasn’t happened to at least one, usually many, of us during each visit. However, this year, the activity was relatively low, at least for me.
I so very much wanted to see the tan man or a shadow figure, some apparition, but I didn’t. Others on the team did. I wanted to hear the phantom canon sounds or booming footsteps going up the metal stairs. Even a door opening and closing would have made this spooky gal happy. I didn’t hear or see any of those things over the weekend. Even though I know there is usually that type of activity, Perhaps my energy was off, I don’t know.
Some of our paranormal experiences
While Adam, Fred, Michelle, Sherri and I were in the Casemates we heard and saw several bats. The bats were screeching and swooping down. I’ve never seen so many bats on the island. It made me so happy! Seeing more bats means seeing less mosquitoes. Fred, Sherri and Michelle saw shadow figures walking past the windows in the Casemates as we stood in the grassy area that we call the wedge. I kept looking, and while there were moments when it did appear that something blocked the ambient light through the windows, I couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just a bat or my eyes playing tricks on me because I was staring into the dark for so long. If those were shadow figures trying to get my attention, I apologize ghosties, because I didn’t sense anything at the time.
What I did experience, however, was hearing voices in what I’m calling the newer rooms of the Fort. I heard full discussions, though I couldn’t say exactly what was said. Now, there are no new rooms, and this Fort is very old, but I had not taken the circle through the Officer’s Quarters in full before. I hadn’t been through the library and around back to the staircase. So, when I was in the red room with the circle table, I sat down with my weary legs on the velvet sofa and listened. I kept hearing voices; we all did. Adam, Fred, Sherri and I were in the room then. It sounded like people on the other side of the staircase were having full conversations. However, no one else was in that building, let alone in those other rooms. So, it was cool to experience that type of paranormal activity. Adam had a recorder running in one of the back rooms at that time, so I hope he was able to catch some EVP evidence.
Energy depletion
One thing I can say with one hundred percent certainty is that many of our devices went through several iterations of batteries. Something was most definitely draining the energy of the batteries. And, I felt drained. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an early bird who likes to be in bed by 8:30 so I can curl up with a cozy mystery and fall asleep. I’m an early riser! So it’s challenging for me to stay awake, but usually there is so much activity that I just have to be alert and ready. I don’t know if it’s adrenaline, but I didn’t have it Saturday night into Sunday morning. I was DRAINED. So drained. Running on fumes. I was the first to fall asleep, head down on a picnic table and then eventually on a bench. All in all, I got about 3 hours of sleep, one and off, according to my FitBit. Most of the team didn’t sleep at all.
When I got home, I cleaned off the Fort dust and promptly took a nap. Every muscle in my body ached and felt tight. I usually experience congestion and exhaustion after a night at the Fort, but this felt different. I physically could not do anything for hours. I tried. I couldn’t even play computer games with my daughter as I had promised; I couldn’t keep my eyes open or my head up. So, while I’m not typically a napper, I had to sleep and recharge. I don’t know if something had drained my energy, too, or if it was a myriad of other reasons why my body completely rebelled, but it was intense.
My ghostie peeps
More than anything, I realized that even with the paranormal hangover/flu feeling, there is nothing like spending a night with my ghostie peeps. Being a part of Diamond State Ghost Investigators is truly one of the best things. We laughed, we cried, we were feisty, we were chatterboxes, we were serious at times, we were all of the things and it was all completely accepted and okay. Even in the morning, when we were ready to get off the island and get home, we sat together as a team under a tree full of spiders, talking and laughing. It was quite an abdominal workout to get all that laughter in 😉
In addition to DSGI members, Michelle from the State Park, Daryl Marston and his wife Melanie were also at the Fort. They are such great people and really added to the overall investigations and camaraderie throughout the weekend. Andy Lendway, a fabulous friend, teammate and artist, had surprised Trey and Daryl with an amazing painting of the two of them with Jeff Bader for their My Haunted Manor endeavor. I’ve talked about Haunted Manor and the Samuel Miller Mansion in a previous post. They are such great people, and what they are doing with Haunted Manor is incredible. If you’re interested in immersing yourself in a paranormal investigation at a safe, haunted location steeped in history, definitely book a night at the mansion.
It is refreshing to be a part of a team that also encourages me to be exactly who I am. So I’d like to thank my teammates and friends, my ghosties peeps, for having my back and for accepting me no matter if I’m being super silly and upbeat or if I’m acting like a hangry lunatic. You are my people.
