Fort Henry

Proudly standing upon a majestic hilltop overlooking the renowned city of Kingston, Ontario, Fort Henry remains an unquestionably iconic symbol of historic identity and resilience. Originally constructed in 1836 for the purpose of defending the shores from threats of an American invasion, Fort Henry has gained an impressive reputation as a primary tourist attraction for history and paranormal enthusiasts alike. (Parks Canada Agency, 1985)

Unlike Gettysburg, whose noteworthy hauntings are allegedly the outcome of a devastating battle in which over fifty-thousand lives were sadly lost over a three-day span, Fort Henry never witnessed any armed conflict. According to the fort's staff, the lost souls forced to spend their eternity confined within the fort's stone walls had met their ends either as a result of a series of tragic accidents, or of those who were forced to swing from a noose for a variety of horrible crimes. An obvious common occurrence at the time!

Throughout the course of my life, I have toured the grounds of the fort for a multitude of reasons, primarily to witness live performances and historical military drills, and of course, to attend nightly ghost tours. Though I had never previously encountered anything unusual during all of my visits to the fort, my latest paranormal tour would unexpectedly break that streak.

The tour started at 8:30 that night. The turnout proved to be far greater than anticipated. Our guide for the evening was a young woman, in her early to mid twenties perhaps. She wore a theatrical black cloak and carried a novelty flashlight crafted into the image of a vintage kerosene lamp. Her appearance was meant to add to the buildup of suspense. In spite of the constant swarming of several clouds of May flies, the tour began smoothly.

Our guide spent the first portion of the tour describing the history of the fort's construction and the many paranormal occurrences reported throughout the years. Though I had been thoroughly familiarized with these tragic events, I have remained fully committed to attending the same lectures periodically in order to relearn many of the more minor details.

The latter half of the tour was spent exploring the basement, followed by a brief stop to the former schoolhouse and bakery. The basement provided a highly dank and claustrophobic environment. A musty stench usually lingers heavily in the air. Many of the hauntings reported by previous guests had occurred within the basement and allegedly involved heavy doors slamming unexpectedly without reasonable explanation. In addition, there were also claims of clear footsteps being heard frantically running down the adjacent hallways towards their location. Understandably, the halls were found completely empty upon investigation.

We neared the end of our tour and we all stood inside the bakery listening to the guide's final lecture. I stood closest to the window and as I continued giving her my undivided attention, I was momentarily distracted by the unmistakable sound of gentle tapping on the window behind me. There was sufficient light outside the bakery and I could clearly see that there was nobody there. The fort had been entirely closed off to anyone not participating in the tour.

As the tour finally concluded and we all wished each other a good night, I mentioned the incident at the window to the guide. She immediately assured me that she heard it too. Though there will never be any solid answers to explain this phenomenon, one can always make an estimated guess. Perhaps it was one of the fort's many ghostly residents attempting to get our attention in order to reach out to the living for help. In either event, I intend to participate in further tours to hopefully encounter more strange activity to share in the near future.