Southernmost Ghosts

4. Fort Zachary Taylor

Key West, FL

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Welcome to Fort Zachary Taylor where there are more deceased souls wandering these corridors than there are live ones.Construction began in 1845, shortly after Florida was named a state. During the 1850s, construction was painfully slow due massive outbreaks of yellow fever and limited supplies. At one time, as many as fifteen people died each day inside the fort from yellow fever. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, union officers seized control of the fort to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands. The fort was used heavily during the 1898 Spanish-American War. Countless people have died within these walls and many of them remain here. Visitors to the fort often see soldiers line up in formation amid the sounds of whistles and gunshots that can't be explained. This fort was the sight of several executions. Every day at noon, the sound of the trap door is heard, the noise of an unseen hanging. Although located in the tropical heat of Key West, cold spots occur in several areas of the fort. The temperatures of these cold spots are simply not possible in this climate and can only be caused by a ghostly presence. Some of these occur in the jail area from which staff and visitors hear screams and pleas for mercy. Many believe that below the fort lie mass burials of those who died from yellow fever. A visit to the hospital wing of the fort may afford you a look at a young girl who is often seen there. You can't miss her. She has severe burns covering her body and seems unwilling to leave the hospital area. Almost everywhere you go in this fort, there are unearthly spirits waiting to welcome you. Take care you don't join them.