Exploring The Ghosts of Fort Morgan

Fort Morgan is a lonely structure on the end of a very long, thin stretch of land.  It is surrounded by water on all sides and you can hear the constant crashing of the waves as you wander through its seemingly endless arched hallways.  The fort is made of brick and shaped like a star.   Its long tunnels dip underground and water drips constantly from the brick.  The water has dripped so much that stalactites have started to grow from the ceiling of the fort.  Even during the day,  their are portions of the fort that are completely isolated and dark.  Although hoards of tourists fill the main portions of the fort, there are portions of the fort that are utterly empty.  The tourists avoid the darkened, moist corners of the fort that have been left to the ghosts.
Even during the day,  even filled with people,  there are portions of the fort that seem haunted and are creepy enough for people to completely avoid.

I have written about the fort's history and ghosts before and I will attach a copy of my prior post below this post.  Here are the photographs from my journey to this haunting fort.

The Fort Morgan area has become a vacation spot. Its beaches sit overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and tourists come from all over to watch the Dolphins and dip their toes in the sand. The sands of Fort Morgan carry an older, forgotten history, however. Most tourists will never know that the sands they play in were once soaked in blood.


Fort Morgan began construction in 1812 and was finished in 1834 and was widely regarded as the "finest example f military architecture in the New World." The fort was constructed in a unique star shape that made it easier to defend. Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines sat on opposing sides of Mobile Bay and acted together to close the Bay off and defend the waters.

Fort Morgan saw heavy fire during the Civil War. I was used defensively by the Confederates and was also a starting point for blockade running ships. The Union took the Fort during the Battle of Mobile Bay. After Fort Gaines fell, Union soldiers laid siege to the fort an set the wooden parts of the fort on fire. Many men died in this battle and the Confederate soldiers did not meet happy ends

It is not surprising that this old Fort has more than its fair share of ghosts. It has a long history filled with war and fire. The old barracks are said to be one of he most haunted portions of the fort.. In 1916 or 1917 a prisoner hung himself in the barracks. According to local lore, you can still hear the hanging man cry late at night. He is not alone in his sorrow. During the Civil War, a bomb went off in the fort and several men met a horrible fiery death. The bomb went off in a room with a big fireplace and they say you can still hear the men screaming at night.

The final ghost comes from an unconfirmed story of woe and sorrow. They say that some time in 19th a young woman was drug into the fort by unknown men. The woman was beaten, raped and murdered. According to legend, she still wanders the Fort looking for justice.

The Ghosts of Fort Morgan

The Fort Morgan area has become a vacation spot.   Its beaches sit overlooking the Gulf of Mexico and tourists come from all over to watch the  Dolphins and dip their toes in the sand.  The sands of Fort Morgan carry an older, forgotten history, however. Most tourists will never know that the sands they play in were once soaked in blood.  

Fort Morgan began construction in 1812 and was finished in 1834 and was widely regarded as the "finest example f military architecture in the New World."   The fort was constructed in a unique star shape that made it easier to defend.    Fort Morgan and Fort Gaines sat on opposing sides of Mobile Bay and acted together to close the Bay off and defend the waters.

Fort Morgan saw heavy fire during the Civil War.  I was used defensively by the Confederates and was also a starting point for blockade running ships.  The Union took the Fort during the Battle of Mobile Bay.  After Fort Gaines fell, Union soldiers laid siege to the fort an set the wooden parts of the fort on fire.  Many men died in this battle and the Confederate soldiers did not meet happy ends.

It is not surprising that this old Fort has more than its fair share of ghosts.  It has a long history filled with war and fire.  The old barracks are said to be one of he most haunted portions of the fort..  In 1916 or 1917 a prisoner hung himself in the barracks.  According to local lore, you can still hear the hanging man cry late at night.   He is not alone in his sorrow.  During the Civil War, a bomb went off in the fort and several men met a horrible fiery death.   The bomb went off in a room with a big fireplace and they say you can still hear the men screaming at night.

The final ghost comes from an unconfirmed story of woe and sorrow.   They say that some time in 19th a young woman was drug into the fort by unknown men.  The woman was beaten, raped and murdered.  According to legend, she still wanders the Fort looking for justice. 

Oddly, I've been to the beaches at Fort Morgan on many occasions, but never visited the old Fort.   I hope to fix that mistake this summer on my visit.   The very shape of the old fort seems to lend itself to ghosts stories and call to spirits to stay and linger.   I can't believe I missed this little gem.

Searcy State Mental Hospital

Circe was the first book I ever wrote and I got a publishing deal for the book.  However, the publisher forgot about Circe and it was shuffled around and buried and I had gotten to the point where I thought it would never see the light of day.  Circe is a dark book and I thought maybe that was for the best.  However, yesterday my editor contacted me and said they were planning on publishing it soon.  Yay!  So in order to celebrate, I thought I'd bring back an old post on the hospital that inspired me to write Circe.

Searcy is one of my favorite haunted places. I did my internship here a very long time ago and I fell in love with it's history and it's white chipped walls. Everything about this old hospital spoke to me. It was even more remarkable because most of those who worked there and lived there every day were oblivious to it's history. I found this hospital so fascinating that I wrote I book about it which will be coming out this April.

Searcy State Hospital is located in Mt. Vernon Alabama. Prior to being a state hospital the old hospital has along and dark history that is very difficult to find, but easy to see upon casual observation. The hospital is encased in long, chipped, white walls that seem as old as anything in the United States. From outside these walls, you can see a battered watchtower that gives testament to the fact that the hospital is in the same location as a 300 year old fort. The fort bears witness to American history and was originally a Spanish fort. It switched hands during the Louisiana Purchase and became a US fort. After the US took possession of the fort it was converted to a military arsenal and became known as the Mount Vernon Arsenal.

The Arsenal switched hands again several times and was taken by the Confederates during the civil war only to be passed back over the United States again in 1862. From 1887 to 1894, The Arsenal became a Barracks and was used as a prison for the captured Apache people. The most famous of the Apache people to be held in these barracks was Geronimo. The infamous Aaron Burr was also held at this secluded prison at some point.

In 1900 the Barracks were transformed once again and the prison became a mental hospital. Searcy hospital was built as the African American mental hospital in Alabama. Conditions in the hospital were beyond questionable and at one time there were over 2000 patients in the crowded hospital and all were seen by one psychiatrist. All patients were expected to work in the fields.

The hospital was desegregated in 1969, but it’s history is all around it. The hospital is still in used today, and although the residents live in new buildings, many tell stories of ghosts and devils that linger in the white walls and abandoned buildings that surround the new facilities. These stories are usually ignored, because the patients are crazy, but I’m not the only sane person who saw a few ghosts while they were working there.