Fort Phantom Hill, built in the mid-1800s, was given such a spooky moniker simply because it didn’t have a legal name. Interestingly, it was built in the wrong place: Instead of being built on Pecan Bayou as originally ordered, the general in charge mistakenly had it constructed in this barren land. Now a historical landmark with legends of hauntings attached, the fort has been seen on TV’s Unsolved Mysteries. Native American ghosts have been seen on the grounds, and other apparitions, footsteps and feelings of being watched have been reported by visitors and employees. Phantom Lake has its own stories as well. One legend surrounds the apparition of a Native American woman. According to legend, she is Nadassa, who drowned herself in Phantom Lake after her warrior lover was lost in a flash flood. Another legend tells of an apparition of a woman in a tattered dress, said to be an officer’s wife who set out to find her missing husband, but she drowned when a storm capsized the boat. However, some dispute the stories because Phantom Lake is a manmade reservoir not created until 1938.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- 10818 FM 600
Abilene, TX 79601
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 32.64286289811689, -99.67874300484254
- County:
- Jones County, Texas
- Nearest Towns:
- Hawley, TX (8.2 mi.)
Impact, TX (10.6 mi.)
Lueders, TX (11.5 mi.)
Abilene, TX (13.8 mi.)
Anson, TX (14.9 mi.)
Tye, TX (17.0 mi.)
Clyde, TX (19.6 mi.)
Potosi, TX (21.7 mi.)
Stamford, TX (22.1 mi.)
Merkel, TX (22.8 mi.)
Contact Information
- Web:
- http://fortphantom.org/
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Disclaimer: The stories posted here are user-submitted and are, in the nature of "ghost stories," largely unverifiable. HauntedPlaces.org makes no claims that any of the statements posted here are factually accurate. The vast majority of information provided on this web site is anecdotal, and as such, should be viewed in the same light as local folklore and urban legends.
My mother told me this story, and I do not doubt her words. One day, when her and about four of her friends were seniors in High School, they all decided to go “ghost hunting” at, as you can guess, Lake Fort Phantom.They all had different cameras, as they thought it would be a good idea to do so in case one was more sensitive to paranormal bodies. there was a normal camera, a water-proof camera, a basic single use, and my mother had one that developed the photo immediately. They were at the cemetery night. At the time, there was a circle of trees, and inside those trees was a ring of stone benches (that have long since been removed). They began taking pictures, seeing if they could catch anything. My mom took one specific photo that changed her outlook of death. When the photo developed, there were six extra people in it, whom were not visible to the naked eye. They were all earth brown, and in very old time clothes; clothes that would be the time period when the battles here were fought. Sadly, my mother only remembers two of them. A woman in a dress and a bonnet, and a man dressed in a military uniform for this time period. Very sadly, the man who led the group kept the photo and camera, so my mother never got to show me the picture. They quickly left that place, and soon discovered it had a very dark presence inside that lifted as soon as they left.
It is a very interesting story. I enjoy hearing it.
thats a big mistake in placement since pecan bayou is in brownwood 90 or more miles away….lol
You know, I believe in spirits that have been left behind or cannot transfer to the other side, but I’m not too sure about this place.. I intend to “investigate” it as soon as I can, and comment my findings.
It’s not the hill that I worry about. It is the lake. Yes the hill has hauntings as well but they are stuck in a time warp and relive their lives like they can’t even tell we are there. As far as the lake goes, there are so many stories like a woman in a wedding dress walking along side the lake. Supposedly fish jump out of the water as she walks by. Another is of a woman who was waiting for her boyfriend and when he showed up, he flickered his head lights to let her know it was him. When she went to greet him, he strangled her in a blind rage because his friend had jokingly told him that he had kept her in good company while he was at war. Supposedly if you flicker your lights on the bridge, a dense fog will wrap around your car.
Now my experience was nothing like those. My husband and I were on the east side of the lake where most of the fishing docks are. We were sitting on the hood of the truck talking when all of a sudden the truck shook like someone had gotten into the bed of the truck. Brandon got up and walked behind the truck and saw nothing. He came back and sat back down. We began to hear whispering and laughing, we thought it was teenagers messing around but it got louder and louder until our truck shook again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a movement so I flipped out, got in the truck and begged my husband to get me out of there. When he started the truck and turned on the headlights, It was a woman in regular everyday clothes standing right in front of where I had been sitting, her eyes were blacked out and her skin was as white as paper. I screamed my head off and ducked to where I couldn’t see her anymore. My husband backed up as fast as he could and got us away from that area. I haven’t been back at night since then. I will only go during the day. I have tried doing research on the lake for murders and accidental deaths but I couldn’t find anything on the woman I saw. My husband claims he didn’t see anything, but my screams made him get out of there fast. I don’t know if he did see her or not. But this woman looked to be about 21, had black hair and appeared to be my height which is 5’5″.
I lived right at Lake Ft. Phantom on Arrow Point Road off of East Side Dr.( right beside the sailing association ) between 1987 & 1990 and yes the house I rented was indeed haunted. On several occasions I experienced things being turned around by themselves and music boxes starting playing by themselves, but I think the most memorable thing was in July 1987 about 3 weeks after we moved there from Md. My husband was working at Dyess AFB and I was still unpacking boxes from the move . I had put all of my nail polish in the louvered cabinets in the master bedroom a few days before and decided I wanted to redo my nails went to get the polish and the brush was sitting on top of the bottle crossways, then in August my husbands sister and her husband came for a visit and they had the second bedroom with bath and she come to get me to tell me there was no water in the bathroom, well it took me about 20 seconds to go with her and YES there was water in the bathroom, but all in all they never hurt me or made me feel like they did not want me there because if they had I would have moved to a different location. I was open to them like there is room for all of us here if you want me to leave just tell me and I will go.. I have told these stories many times since then and wonder if the house is still there or if the property has been sold by the owners of The Arrow Ford Dealership in Abilene, who lived right across the road from me,( I used to house set for them when they would go on new car shows during the fall and spring time)I have a lot of wonderful memories of that place even if it was haunted.
I remember going there years ago but I still remember this vividly. My dad’s girlfriend and I were walking around one of the standing chimney stacks, I was walking behind in the group then all of a sudden I hear something. I couldn’t describe it at the sound but I heard the sound of a metal wagon wheel rolling on gravel. Looking around, I asked my dad’s girlfriend if she heard that and she asked “What?” I also felt like we were being watched the whole time but I could just blame my normal anxiety for that one. That wagon, I couldn’t deny that.