Fort Mifflin

Named by the History Channel and Travel Channel as one of the most haunted sites in the world. Built before the American Revolution and active until 1950, this Delaware River fort was the site of the greatest bombardment of the Revolutionary War, when the British fired over 10,000 cannonballs at it.

Fort Mifflin was commissioned in 1771 on Mud Island, south of Philadelphia, and witnessed some of the most brutal fighting of the Revolutionary War. In autumn 1777, a small garrison of cold, starving American soldiers refused to yield as the British Navy unleashed a six-week assault—the heaviest bombardment of the entire war. They were the only thing standing between the British and George Washington's army reaching Valley Forge. The fort later served as a Civil War military prison for captured Confederate soldiers, wayward Union troops, and unruly civilians.

The most chilling spirit is the Screaming Woman, identified as Elizabeth Pratt, wife of a local officer. After disowning her daughter for eloping with a soldier, Elizabeth never had the chance to reconcile before typhoid fever claimed her daughter's life. Wracked with grief, Elizabeth sobbed for a week before hanging herself from the second-floor balcony of the officers' quarters. Her blood-curdling screams are so loud they have prompted police calls—the first reported occurrence was in 1778, just one year after the war ended and only seven years after the fort was built.

The most infamous apparition is the "Faceless Man," believed to be William H. Howe, a Union soldier executed for desertion on August 26, 1864—the only public hanging at Fort Mifflin during the Civil War. Howe had been lauded for bravery at Fredericksburg but later deserted and killed an officer during his apprehension. His hunched figure sits in the darkness of Casemate No. 5, diligently sewing in solitude. When witnesses approach, he slowly raises his head to reveal his most horrifying feature—he has no face.

Other spirits include "The Lamplighter" seen making his rounds, "The Tour Guide" who escorts visitors, a blacksmith at his forge, a "Sad-Looking Man," and the ghosts of children and dogs playing on the grounds. Visitors report seeing soldiers cleaning their guns when no historical actors are present, catching whiffs of baking bread or wood fire smoke. The fort is featured on paranormal television and offers overnight ghost hunt packages through its historical society.