Ghosts in Fort Monroe | Roulez Magazine

“A Spectral Who’s Who”

Old Quarters One is the most elaborate and distinguished residence on fort grounds. Said to visit these quarters where they once stayed during military business are Lincoln, Lafayette and Grant.

Lincoln visited during times of great stress. He is now said to appear in his dressing gown standing in front of the fireplace in the guest bedroom. That room is now called “the Lincoln Room.” He appears there engrossed in thought, likely pondering the battle of the ironclads or the Hampton Roads Peace Conference of 1865, as he did during his living years.

Chief Black Hawk is also said to be among the ghostly residents. He and other Native Americans were held hostage in the fort in 1832. Chief Black Hawk spent time in Quarters One.

Beyond seeing well-known apparitions, former residents noted hearing heavy boots, rustling silk skirts and distant laughter. Residents also awoke to fresh flower petals strewn at the base of the grand staircase. Cupboards and doors open and close randomly, just as the water and lights turn themselves on and off. A lady in a ball gown is seen, as is a young man in livery.

Perhaps these ghostly sounds and sights are merely imprints in time from the Marquise de Lafayette’s purported two days of pomp and circumstance of 1824, when he hosted all fort officers in Quarters One.