This Civil War fort was also used later as a prison for Apache chief Geronimo and his braves. The spirits of Native Americans have been both seen and heard here by several witnesses.
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Geographic Information
- Address:
- Fort Pickens
Santa Rosa Island, FL
United States
Get Directions » - GPS:
- 30.32820629999999, -87.29256809999998
- County:
- Escambia County, Florida
- Nearest Towns:
- Warrington, FL (4.0 mi.)
Myrtle Grove, FL (6.5 mi.)
West Pensacola, FL (6.8 mi.)
Pensacola, FL (7.9 mi.)
Gulf Breeze, FL (7.9 mi.)
Goulding, FL (9.0 mi.)
Bellview, FL (9.3 mi.)
East Pensacola Heights, FL (9.7 mi.)
Brent, FL (10.3 mi.)
Oriole Beach, FL (12.4 mi.)
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Comments (27)
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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.
I’ve gone into some of the outer lying batterys if they are open which Is rare but still possible. I have heard voices and seen lights and have also been tapped on the shoulder when I’m alone. I have lived in this area my whole life and love it experiences are scarce but the fort is still great.
There are the old Apache souls still there, they were said to be kept prisoners, but they weren’t. The Apache’s that are still there are there to still remember their past. The same reason we go to see it. I have personally seen the Apache’s dancing around their campfire and having a good time. They celebrated the corn festival every year and they sometimes are seen to do this dance. It is a rare but amazing sight to see if you are lucky enough to catch even a short sight of it.
Sounds amazing.
I visited the fort in July 2014. I never saw or heard anything but I had a very sensitive feeling all over my skin like energy running through my body. I’ve never felt anything like that before. I do believe there are spirits there.
Our family went there to take pictures and my daughter and I went exploring. I was sitting in one of the windows taking a picture and someone breathed heavily in my ear. It was very loud and I asked my daughter if she heard anything and she said no. Pretty neat experience. Would love to do more investigating at night.
Been there caught an picture of an ghost
I have been there many times and am sensitive to spirits but only felt something once while in one of the main batterys I kept getting tapped on the shoulder and saw an apparition far a way but could make out exactly what he looked like
I’m more of a skeptic but I have a photo I snapped
of where one of the soldiers during the Civil War
was to have been killed by a tumbling cannon.
When you look very well at the photo, it looks as
if there is the out line of someone sitting on the steps
leaning with his back against the wall.
Otherwise, nothing much experience out here but good fishing.
I once stayed there when I was younger. I’ve always been able to sense things and I remember being there walking around an outer wall and feeling followed and watched. I told my mom and we ended up leaving the site. Every time I return I always feel something. Like I’m being watched or followed but no one is ever around. It could just be me, but these feelings are always really intense.
Been there plenty of times over the 12 years i have lived here. Never have seen or felt anything. All these people are crazy and just want to believe in it.
I was here yesterday. My husband went in one of the very dark corridors. I just went in a few steps. All of the sudden I saw this form, kind of transparent. At first I thought it was my husband’s shadow and then when he moved the form was still there. I could see it cleare then. It appeared to be the shape of a girl and definitely I could see the very long silky black hair. I yelled at my husband and took off running. Then a few steps from there I read the marker were it said Apache Indians were kept prisoners here. I had no idea of this as I had never been here and didn’t know any of the history of this place. I am convinced I saw the ghost of an Apache.
I had something follow me home. As soon as we pulled around the curb I got an overwhelming sense that I shouldn’t go in there. I told my husband immediately it’s haunted. We forged on. During the walk through I couldn’t focus on the history I felt wierd, just off balance mentally. Walking up the tight stairs was hard for me I had to force my body to go. There is a hole in the wall, I just stared at it. I think something hides its there. My husband was scratched multiple times. I felt pulled to a specific place twice. The first time when our daughter found me she screamed monster. The second time I knew I shouldn’t go into this specific cave, went anyway. Something followed me home. I couldn’t get warm had chills constantly (it was summer in florida) I didnt feel comfortable in my bedroom. Felt like I was being watched, it tried to jump make multiple times. It took a while of being afraid before I got mad and drove into from my house. I learned listen to your instincts because my body warned mass not tonly go into. I did intent anyway.
Guess I can’t spell lol. The last part of the paragraph is that it tried to jump me. It took a while of me being scared and randomly angry. To get mad at the spirit and drive it from my house. Whatever it was made me very uncomfortable. I learned to listen to my instincts because my body warned me not to go in but I did anyway.
This was years ago. We used to camp Ft. Pickens almost every weekend during the summer. Can’t think of the name of the fort, it’s the one with the train track that runs over the top of it. It has been closed for some time. Before it was closed me and my cousin used to go into it. Both of us have heard screams and seen shadow figures. I saw a man walk right in front of me while walking from the front of the fort to the back. There are steal doors that block the entrance where I saw this figure now. But yes Ft. Pickens is haunted.
My brother,daughter, and myself explored the fort about a week ago got some strange vibes but the main thing is a picture i took of one of the dead end tunnels.. i didnt even notice it until we were back at our hotel..
This is similar to our situation we were at fort Pickens around June 6th and looked at our pictures later but ours were more like orbs. I posted on this website.
We were at fort Pickens with family on June 6th, we have weird orbs I. Some of the pictures.
Here is another photo of an orb
A 2nd photo
A 3 rd photo at fort Pickens
anybody remember the Egyptian Room in battery Langdon?
My family took a trip to Florida and went here one year when I was a teenager. My mom was kind of messing around talking to ghosts because she thought my and my dad’s squeamishness was funny. She put her hands in some chains and acted like a prisoner while my dad and I kind of tensed up and asked her to stop. We didn’t necessarily believe anything was going to come of it, but we generally play things like that on the safe side. Just a bit of caution towards things we don’t really know about. Nothing happened at the fort, but I was on the second floor of the condo that night—while my family was asleep— watching tv and playing computer games when the kitchen lights turned on and off a couple times. I thought it was weird but chalked it up to some electrical glitch. Then the ceiling fan turned on. It made me a little nervous but I just turned it off. When I went to sit back down, the electricity blew and everything went dark. I sat in the dark, terrified and still, until the lights came back on. Then I nervously yelled for my dad without ever leaving the couch. He came upstairs, and I told him what happened. He told me it was just electrical glitches and said I should get into bed. He didn’t tell me until after we left Florida that after I left to go down to my room, the kitchen lights started flickering and it made him really uneasy. My mom apologized and stopped teasing after that.
I went here back in 2010. There was a constant feeling of being watched around the civil war fort. The WWII area was pretty benign until we started leaving. As we we walking away, we heard a metal door slamming repeatedly. Those doors were heavy. I couldn’t imagine slamming one on my own. This happened late at night and there was no one else in the immediate area.
Just today, my family and I visited Fort Pickens. I have very strong feelings when it comes to spirits and energy. My stepmom took a lot of pictures and we caught some greenish blue orbs. Here are some pictures.
Hello. Here are some new pictures taken today the 1st April. And no. It’s not an April fools jokes. Took many pictures and the five I took in a row had the blue orb. These were taken at the mine chambers.
I walked down to the jail yesterday… and SOMETHING {someone} was watching me. I attached two photos. I’d always ” felt” the presence of spirits when visiting the old fort area { I live in Pensacola), but yesterday was the first time I sensed something watching me.
We went yesterday an me an my mother was walking down the stairs an we heard a Indian call an rustling of like feet on the floor an the baby was screaming anytime we would try walking into the prison. Definitely scared the heck outta us.