Fort Henry, Kingston – the Ghosts of the Lakeside Fortress

When

since 8 December 1838 date from records made at the time

Where

Fort Henry, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Verdict

Legend

The British fortress where Nils von Schoultz was hanged in 1838 is said to have haunted tunnels, a ghostly schoolroom and a phantom bombardier on the ramparts.

What happened

Fort Henry, on a hill above the mouth of the Cataraqui River, guarded Kingston and the entrance to the Rideau Canal; the present stone fortress was built by the British in the 1830s. In 1838 its walls became a prison for the men of the “Patriot War” – members of the secret American Hunters' Lodges who wanted to “liberate” Canada from British rule. Their commander, the Finnish-born Swede Nils von Schoultz, held out for nearly five days in a stone windmill near Prescott before surrendering on 16 November. A court martial, in which he was defended by the young John A. Macdonald, the future prime minister, sentenced him to death, and on 8 December 1838 he was hanged at Fort Henry. According to the fort's guides, its ghosts include a grey-bearded “wandering ghost” in a blue bombardier's uniform whom many staff claim to have seen, a prisoner pacing the ramparts, a tall, disfigured figure called “Scuddles” in the old schoolroom, and unseen watchers in the underground tunnels through which prisoners were led to the gallows. There are also tales of soldiers who collapsed and died on the parade square while marching as punishment in woollen greatcoats in the summer heat.

Witnesses

Accounts by fort guides and staff (including in the Queen's Journal) and by The Haunted Walk tour operators; no accounts from the 19th century.

Explanations and hypotheses

The fate of von Schoultz and his companions is well documented – their lives and trial are covered by the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, among others. The ghost stories, however, are modern folklore, developed by night-tour guides and autumn attractions such as “Fort Fright”; there is not a single account of an apparition from the 19th century. Figures like “Scuddles” look more like part of a tour script than a record of anyone's experience. Stone corridors, tunnels and casemates with a dramatic past make the feeling of being watched come easily.

Legend A story handed down through generations – it can be neither confirmed nor disproved.

Sources

More: Wikipedia (en)