Date: Friday September 18, 1998
Time: Started at 4:00 PM and ended at 7:00 AM
Location: Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia Pa.
Equipment: Camera -- Cannon Snappy AF (Auto Focus) with the strap removed. Film -- Kodak Gold 400 speed. Thermal Scanner -- Raynger ST2. Tape Recorder -- Sony Portable Cassette Recorder with external microphone. Video Camera -- Sony Camcorder.
Weather: The weather when we first arrived was clear and warm with temps in the low 80's. As night fell, the weather became cooler with temps in the mid to low 60's. No fog, rain, or mist was present. The sky was clear.
History: Please visit the website of Fort Mifflin for further details. As for ghostly history, the following are just a few:
1. People have been given very detailed tours about
the Fort by an unknown tour guide.
2. A man has been spotted carrying lumber over his shoulder in front of the
Officer's Quarters.
3. A crying/screaming woman has been seen high atop the Forts walls.
4. A faceless man has been seen by visitors.
5. Unknown noises and voices have been heard throughout the Fort.
The list really does go on and on.
Those Present: Lew & Sharon G., Donna & Kenny B., Bob R., Andy K., Rachel G., Danny & Nancy S., Jen J., and a worker at the Fort, Diane.
Report: This was our second investigation of Fort Mifflin and unlike our previous one, this was an overnighter. The first investigators to arrive were (4:00 PM): Lew & Sharon G., Kenny & Donna B., Andy K., and Bob R. The following arrived at 8:00 PM: Danny & Nancy S., Jen J., and Rachel G.
After dropping our stuff off in the first Casemate of the Dungeon (this is where we'd sleep if we chose to do so), we quickly gathered our equipment and headed out to walk the grounds. As with every investigation, we like to walk around a bit to get a feel for things before we just start taking pics and using the rest of our equipment.
Fort Mifflin is rather large and has many rooms and buildings. We had full access to all of them. Because it would be nearly impossible to document how many times, when, and in what order I had entered these buildings, I have decided to list each building and document my findings and experiences while in them.
Dungeon/Casemates:
At no time during our stay did I personally have any type of experience in
this area of the Fort. However, at one point after coming into the Dungeon
and entering the first Casemate (the one with our things in it), I was asked
by Bob and Donna (who had already been in the room) if I had said anything
while entering the Dungeon. After telling them no I hadn't, they went on
to say that they both heard what appeared to be the voice of a female child
say either "Hi Bob" or "Hi mom".
Oven Room/Kitchen:
It was still daylight out when I had first visited this room. During this
time I felt very apprehensive about being in the room. I took various pics.
I did return to this room several times throughout the night but didn't have
the same feeling as I did during my first trip into the room.
Cannon Shed(?):
This room was not open during our first investigation of the Fort so I didn't
know what it was used for and I still can't remember it's proper name. Inside
this building they have several barrels and cannons stored. I entered this
building a few times during our investigation. At no time did I have any
impressions or results with my equipment.
Torpedo Magazine:
I visited this building a few times. Each turned up no results.
Artillery Shed:
My first few visits to the shed turned up nothing. However, later in the
night while Me, Lew, Andy and Rachel were walking past, we heard some type
of metal or equipment move. Upon stopping and investigating, we could find
no reason or explanation for the sound.
Blacksmith's House:
I had no experiences in this building.
Sallyports:
I had entered this building several times this night. The first time was
with Lew when we were setting up our audio recorder. I felt rather frightened
to enter the small room to the left of the main hallway. I don't know why
I felt this way.
Later, when Rachel, Danny and myself were there, we heard rather loud breathing coming from the left room while we were standing right outside the door. We also seen movement in the same room by the door.
Later that night, Andy told me that Lew felt nauscious while the two of them were in there and that Lew had also seen a small red light come from one of the rooms and enter the hall.
Officer's Quarters:
While walking through a very small kitchen on the first floor with Andy and
Rachel, the lantern that I was carrying turned itself on. I believe that
this is all that I experienced in this building.
Parade Grounds:
While standing in the doorway of the Blacksmith's House (and right outside
of the building), Rachel, Andy, Lew and myself all saw a light in the window
of the building right next to the Officer's Quarter's. The strange thing
is that this light would blink on and off as we watched it. This room was
also on the second floor and was off limits to visitors to the Fort, including
us. There was no one up there. After watching it for a few minutes it
ceased.
Later in the night, or rather early morning (around 4:00 AM), Rachel, Andy and myself were standing outside of the Dungeon talking while we waited for Lew. As we stood there, I heard what appeared to be the muffled voice of a man say "hello". This happened twice, one right after the other. No one else heard this but me.
Powder Magazine:
Wow! Where do I start? This building consists of one large room that is dome
shaped and windowless. There is only one way to get in and out. The first
hall you must go through to get to the room is straight (about 20-30 feet
long by 3 feet wide). After this first hall there is another hall (turn left)
that is about 10 feet long and 3 feet wide. Once inside this second hall,
you turn right into the dome shaped room.
I felt and seen a lot in this room during the night. I had very strong feelings of "not being alone" that would come and go when I was inside. I saw a few orbs and several times I had witnessed a dark form move about in various places throughout the room and hall. It was incredible. Through his night vision scope, Bob was able to see an actual apparition and also several orbs many times during the night.
At about 1:00 AM, we decided to split up into three groups of three and the remaining group would consist of two investigators. Each group would pick a location and stay there for half an hour and document their experiences while there. When the half hour was up, we would then switch locations until all areas had been covered by each group. Afterwards, we would compare notes. At least one person in each group had night vision.
Besides myself, my group included Danny and Rachel. During our time in the powder magazine Rachel and I both witnessed some of the same things at the same time.
When we first got into the Powder Magazine (as a group), we sat on the floor inside the large dome shaped room. It was completely dark and there were no lights except for Rachel's small flashlight. Danny sat with his back against the wall to the doorway and Rachel and I sat next to each other on Danny's right, but against the side wall. We had a clear view of the doorway and all other areas in the room from where we were sitting.
As Rachel and I sat talking to Danny, I saw a large dark figure standing in the doorway. I quickly put my head down slightly but kept my eyes fixed on the door. The figure then disappeared. As soon as this happened Danny replied that he had just heard footsteps next to him. It was as if someone had come through the door and walked right past him. Obviously, no one walked past. At least no one that we could see, but Rachel and I were both able to witness (at the same time Danny heard this) an orb to Danny's left and slightly above his head. It then moved and shot down towards him. After talking about what just happened, Rachel told us about how she thought she saw a dark figure in the doorway just before the footsteps. It was at this time that I told them that I had seen the same thing around the same time. Needless to say, we were all a bit freaked and waited impatiently for our time to end so that we could switch to another location.
That above is a brief explanation of what I personally experienced this night. If I went into every move I made and explained everything in detail as it happened, this report would be much much longer. If you have any specific questions regarding this report, please let me know and I will answer you as soon as I get the chance.
I have left out a lot of information regarding the other members and their experiences. They will tell you in their own words and reports, just what had happened to them.
Throughout the entire night, Lew and I had personally shot off over 6 rolls of film, had taken over 8 hours of video, and recorded over 12 hours of audio. We will post any EVP and anomalous pictures we obtain from this investigation (once we find the time to go over it all). Just be patient. Thank You!
Impression: Once again Fort Mifflin has proven to be a good location to investigate. I hope that we can continue our investigation here since there are so many buildings and rooms to document. Two visits are hardly enough time to do it all.
Once again I would like to thank Dori and Diane for allowing us the opportunity to stay overnight and continue our research. We are very grateful! Thank you!
Sharon G.
Vice-president
PGHA
9/16/98