This fort is located in Leavenworth, Kansas, near Kansas City’s airport. According to the military magazine Soldiers’ Digest, Fort Leavenworth is the Army’s most haunted base.
This fort was built in 1827. It was first used to protect travellers along the Santa Fe Trail. Its military units were involved in the Mexican-American War and the Indian Wars.
The famous Buffalo Soldiers originated at Fort Leavenworth. But the fort became known for its notorious military prison—the old Disciplinary Barracks.
Parts of this prison were torn down in 2004, but several buildings still stand, including the guard towers.
A fort volunteer involved in haunted tours, Lessu Wojtkum, states that almost every building on the base has a ghost story connected to it.
During World War II, a prison riot broke out. Afterwards, 14 men were hanged as punishment. The gallows didn’t have enough space, so an elevator shaft in the prison administration building was also used.
Since then, military police who patrol this area have heard screaming coming from this shaft when no one is close by.
An eerie story is told about one of the old watchtowers. Tower 8 was closed and never used again after a soldier killed himself there with a shotgun again after a soldier killed himself there with a shotgun. Several witnesses have seen an apparition in this tower.
One sighting involves a soldier going through basic training in the late 1990s. He was assigned the swing shift in Tower 10. He saw a person moving about in Tower 8. Knowing no one was supposed to be in there, he felt someone was playing a prank.
He called his command and stated, “Knock it off.” He was told the tower was abandoned and locked. Thinking his mind was playing tricks, he eliminated several possibilities—it wasn’t a tree limb or a trick of the light—no, it was definitely a person.
He called for control again. This time the radio was handed to the commander of the new prison, who happened to be there. The MP told him, “I see someone in there.” “Who’s in Tower 8?” The commander told him firmly that no one was there.
The soldier continued to see the figure moving about, so he thought maybe it was Tower 7 playing the prank, but he received a negative response. At the end of his shift, his relief told him the story about the guard’s suicide.
This soldier told him in stride that what he saw was a ghost.
The most famous ghost seen at Fort Leavenworth is Catherine Sutler. I tell this story here. Catherine’s ghost is seen at night wandering around with a lantern at the fort’s cemetery and on the adjacent golf course.
This story has been embellished so much over the years that it has become legendary. Tragically, it is believed Catherine is still looking for her two lost children.
People are told that if they encounter her ghost, they should tell her that her children are safe and she can rest.
The Rookery is the oldest occupied home on the base. Since the early 1900s, it has been used as a family residence.
One ghost seen at this location is more aggressive. The story goes that a lady was at the post while her husband was out on a cavalry patrol. Indians attacked the fort, and this wife was tortured and killed.
She is known as the Lady in White since she wears a white dress. She has gray, tangled hair. Witnesses who have encountered her say she screamed and then ran after them.
Carlos Munoz and his family once lived on one side of the Rookery duplex. One day while driving back from Fort Scott, his wife startled him when she exclaimed, “Oh, my God.”
He looked around, expecting to see something blocking their car. His wife was waving a book she had bought in his face. “This is who I saw in the basement.”
It was a picture of Major Ogden. He oversaw the construction of Fort Riley in 1853. While quartermaster, he lived at the rookery. He died during a cholera outbreak.
Mrs. Munoz’s wife had seen his apparition. She stated he wore a western-style shirt and vest and rough-cloth pants. Munoz and his children later saw this apparition as well.
While living at the rookery, the Munoz family also heard constant noises. Mr. Munoz was able to debunk some sounds, but others remained a mystery. By the time the family moved out, he was convinced the building was haunted.
Before they left, he called in a paranormal team that intended to stay the night. This team left after only two hours. They told Munoz that four ghosts were in residence and that Ogden had told them arrogantly to “get out.”
