Fort Zachary Taylor – Haunted Civil War Fort in Key West, Florida

Built between 1845 and 1860, Fort Zachary Taylor stands as a imposing sentinel near the southern tip of Key West, its five-foot-thick walls rising 50 feet above the water. Though this military fortress never saw hostile action during the Civil War, thousands of soldiers died within its walls from yellow fever, tuberculosis, and other deadly diseases, creating what paranormal investigators call a “hotbed” of supernatural activity.

Historical Background

Year Built: 1845-1860

Original Purpose: Fort Zachary Taylor was constructed as part of a coastal defense system following the War of 1812, designed to protect the southeast coast from naval attacks. The massive fortress featured three levels of casemates housing 42 guns with a three-mile range, troop barracks with capacity for 800 men, and underground cisterns for collecting rainwater.

Significant Events: The fort was named after President Zachary Taylor in November 1850, just months after his sudden death in office. Yellow fever epidemics ravaged the fort during construction in the 1850s and continued throughout the Civil War era, claiming thousands of lives over the decades. During the Civil War, Union forces seized the fort in 1861 under Captain John Milton Brannan, and it remained in Union hands throughout the war despite being deep in Confederate territory. The fort also served as an execution site, with prisoners and deserters hanged at noon from the gallows.

Paranormal Activity Summary

Witnesses report seeing entire battalions of ghostly soldiers mustering and drilling on the parade grounds, particularly during bad weather or in the deserted evening hours. At precisely 12 o’clock noon, visitors hear unearthly screams from invisible voices begging for their lives, followed by the sound of the hangman’s trap door snapping open.

Unexplainable cold spots occur throughout the fort’s thick walls in areas where drafts are physically impossible. The sound of cannon fire, military whistles, and marching footsteps echo through empty corridors when no living person is present.

Ghost Stories & Reports

The most famous spirit is “Wendal,” a soldier believed to have died from yellow fever during the Civil War who now haunts the entire fort. He has appeared in numerous photographs over the years, often showing up as a translucent figure in period military uniform.

Mass graves of yellow fever victims are said to lie beneath the fort’s parade ground, and the spirits of these forgotten soldiers are believed to be responsible for much of the paranormal activity. A young girl’s ghost with severe burn injuries is frequently seen near the old hospital area, her identity and the circumstances of her death remaining a mystery.

Multiple witnesses have reported seeing a full-bodied apparition of a Civil War soldier walking straight through the brick divider walls between the old cells. Both believers and skeptics have witnessed this same phenomenon, often in broad daylight around noon.

Most Haunted Spot Inside

The old cell area near the entrance is where visitors most frequently encounter the soldier who walks through walls, appearing suddenly and vanishing into solid brick. The parade ground at noon is the epicenter of the most disturbing activity, when the sounds of executions replay like a gruesome recording.

Can You Visit?

Open to the Public? Yes

Entry Fee: Florida State Park entrance fees apply (varies by vehicle)

Tour Availability: The fort is open daily as part of Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Self-guided tours are available during park hours, and ghost tours of Key West often include stops at the fort.

Photography Allowed? Yes

Visiting Hours: Daily, 8:00 AM until sunset (park hours may vary seasonally)

Best Time to Visit

Visit at noon to potentially hear the haunting sounds of executions that occurred at this specific time of day. Evening hours just before the park closes offer the best opportunity for witnessing ghostly soldiers mustering on the grounds, particularly during overcast or stormy weather when paranormal activity reportedly increases.

First-Hand Accounts & Eyewitness Reports

A documented account describes three visitors walking past the old cells around noon when two of them simultaneously witnessed a soldier in period uniform walking straight through the brick wall between rooms. Even the previously skeptical member of their group was shaken by what they saw, converting from disbeliever to believer in an instant.

Park officials and regular visitors have reported hearing disembodied voices, the sound of military drills, and experiencing sudden temperature drops in sealed sections of the fort. Multiple photographs taken at the fort have captured unexplained figures, mists, and orbs that weren’t visible to the naked eye.

Local Legends & Myths

Local legend claims that at 12 o’clock noon, the exact time when executions were carried out, the fort replays the final moments of condemned prisoners. Visitors report hearing desperate pleas for mercy, followed by the chilling sound of the trap door opening and the condemned falling to their deaths.

Some believe that Wendal, the fort’s most famous ghost, continues to patrol the grounds as he did in life, unable to accept that his watch has ended. His appearances in photographs are seen as proof that he’s still on duty, forever trapped in the fort where he died.

Paranormal Investigations & Findings

Paranormal investigators have documented the fort as one of Key West’s most actively haunted locations, attributing the intense activity to the concentrated number of deaths in such a confined space. Ghost hunters report consistent EVP recordings capturing voices, footsteps, and what sounds like military commands echoing through empty corridors.

The discovery of the largest collection of Civil War cannons in the nation buried within the fort’s walls has led some investigators to speculate that disturbing these artifacts may have intensified paranormal activity. Multiple investigation teams have recorded unexplained electromagnetic fluctuations and temperature anomalies throughout the fort, particularly in the oldest sections where disease claimed the most lives.