Haunted Fort Taylor

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The Spirits of Fort Taylor

Key West, Florida. 

The name alone conjures images of sunny beaches, thriving nightlife, and colorful cuisine. However, when one hears Key West, one probably does not think of large, imposing fortresses, deadly diseases, or ghost hauntings.

And, yet, one site in Key West has had all of that and more in its long and storied history. 

Fort Taylor stands looming over the sunny shores of Key West and stands in stark contrast to the rest of the area. And behind its rather intimidating walls, some say, are a horde of even scarier ghosts. 

Read on to find out just who those ghosts may be, why they haunt Fort Taylor and the history behind the fortress itself. After reading, if you’re interested in learning more about the haunted history of the area, be sure to book our in-person ghost tour with Southernmost Ghosts – it will let you gain a greater, more hands-on understanding of the ghosts that haunt Florida. 

Who Haunts Fort Taylor? 

This question is one that gets asked frequently by visitors to Fort Taylor. The answer isn’t quite so clear-cut because there isn’t one ghost that inhabits the fortress. There are many; some say a whole battalion’s worth!

Fort Taylor History

Fort Taylor’s full name is Fort Zachary Taylor, named after the US President. President Taylor’s nickname was “Old Rough and Ready”, a name he earned during his Army service in the Mexican-American War. The nickname is fitting for both the President and the fort itself, as Fort Taylor was an imposing vessel that always stood ready to defend America, even though it never really saw any action. 

The fortress spreads across over 50 acres and its construction predates the Civil War. Built at a time when America had only just emerged onto the global stage and feared attack from every corner, it was designed to be the first line of defense from enemies attacking America from the South. Naturally, Key West was a perfect spot to defend against such attacks. 

Two Civil War soliders
Copyright US Ghost Adventures

Interestingly, despite its Southern location, the fort actually was in use by the Union during the Civil War. Captain John Brannan occupied the fortress even before the war officially kicked off and, thus, served as the headquarters for the Navy to launch its East Gulf Coast blockade. The blockade involved a squadron of ships stopping other supply boats and relief ships from entering or leaving Confederate ports near the Gulf of Mexico. 

While Fort Taylor never saw any gunfire during the war, it served its purpose as headquarters beautifully and many historians say the reason the Civil War ended as quickly as it did is because of the success of the blockade. 

Nowadays, it serves the nation in other ways—as a National Historic Landmark and the home of the largest collection of Civil War cannons in the world. 

Hauntings at the Fort

Ghost at fort
Copyright US Ghost Adventures

Despite being an impressively intimidating structure, Fort Taylor never saw any action in terms of actual battles. One could argue that this fact is a mark of success for a fortress; after all, if your goal is to intimidate attackers and no one attacks you, that seems like a job well done.   

But despite having not seen any action, Fort Taylor has still seen its fair share of death over the years. Like many of the early American states in the 17th and 18th centuries, the fortress was a breeding ground for all kinds of diseases.   

Due to a rudimentary understanding of germs, bacteria, and hygiene, the cramped conditions of Fort Taylor ensured that the deadly killers of the day – like diphtheria, yellow fever, and tuberculosis spread like wildfire.   

As such, the death toll grew with each passing year, and the exact number of soldiers who died in Fort Taylor is unknown, although it has to have been at least numbering in the dozens. However, those soldiers might have stuck around, even after passing on to the next life.   

Many people – including soldiers, museum staff, and visitors – have reported catching sight of old soldiers mustering on the grounds. Perhaps these ghostly soldiers don’t like a crowd because these sightings are normally after-hours, in the dark, and in stormy weather when other people aren’t around. These soldier’s uniforms are from a range of eras, from the Civil War to World War I. 

And yet, despite the hodgepodge of dress and identities, these soldiers come together every so often as a unit – drilling and keeping their battle instincts sharp.  

Perhaps it’s just a way to maintain discipline in the afterlife, or perhaps they’re making sure they stay ready in case Fort Taylor ever sees a battle. 

A Deadly Time of Day

The ghostly battalions that pop up aren’t the only unexplainable phenomenon reported at Fort Taylor over the years, either. While the drilling ghost troops are seen in the deserted hours of the museum or when the weather is particularly bad, these next phenomena are always glimpsed at a very specific time of day.

That time is 12 o’clock noon. For most people, this is a relatively benign time of day. Perhaps it’s lunchtime or when it’s time when your favorite television show comes on the air. But for the soldiers at Fort Taylor, noon signified that death was imminent. 

This was because, in Fort Taylor, noon was the time that prisoners – whether they were deserters or enemy combatants – were due to be executed. The method of execution at Fort Zachary Taylor was a “short drop and a sudden stop” of the hangman’s noose. 

These days, those grim executions have apparently left their mark on the place. Visitors to the fortress have reported feeling unusual feelings of queasiness when they walk near the spot the gallows used to inhabit. 

If they walk even closer, they’ve also reported feeling a sudden drop in temperature, as though the season suddenly changed. But, curiously, when they move away from the “gallows spot,” that cold feeling disappears. 

Even more disturbing, some have even claimed to have heard sounds emanating from the gallow-less spot. These sounds range from a creaking hinge – much like the gallows’ trapdoor would have made – or even more chilling, human screams of terror. 

Even after execution, it seems as though some men are hard to get rid of completely.

Haunted Key West

That wraps up the history of Fort Taylor and the story of the ghostly troops who still muster there today. If you’re still interested in learning more, we have many resources available. 

As always, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Florida hauntings and ghost sightings in other states.  

And again, if you want to get a more up-close-and-personal look at haunted Key West, be sure to take our in-person ghost tour with Southernmost Ghosts, which covers more ground than just Fort Taylor. 

If you do find yourself in Key West and happen to see a ghost army drilling, make sure and be respectful. They may be doing their job to protect us all from ghostly attackers coming up from the South!

Sources:

  • https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/fort-zachary-taylor-historic-state-park
  • https://www.fortzacharytaylor.com/park-fort/
  • https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g34345-d104136-r143487936-Fort_Zachary_Taylor_Historic_State_Park-Key_West_Florida_Keys_Florida.html
  • https://www.ourhauntedtravels.com/post/fort-zachery-taylor-key-west
  • https://vacationhomesofkeywest.com/spooky-key-west-hauntings-on-the-island-of-bones.html

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