They Loaded 80 Families in this Fort, Now it's Haunted

Pricketts Fort was built to defend early European settlers from hostile Native Americans. After a band of settlers led by Daniel Greathouse perpetrated the Yellow Creek Massacre in 1774 all settlers in the Ohio River Vally where at risk of an attack from the native Americans. Because there was safety in numbers the settlers built a number of forts including one on the land of Jacob Prickett. There were upwards of 80 families or several 100 people that would gather at Pricketts Fort during crisis times and they would stay there for days or even weeks. Pricketts Fort was never attacked although some men were killed by native Americans in the area. 

Paranormal experts and ghost hunting groups point to the the 1774 stockade, log cabins, and surrounding 1858 Prickett House as a site for disembodied voices and unexplained sensations. 

There have been reports of people feeling like they are being watched or that someone is standing right behind them. People turn to see who is behind or beside them only to find no one is there. The have also been reports of cold spots while walking through the fort. Another report is the report of shadow figures or a man dressed in frontier attire pacing the grounds while the sound of marching boots echo on the stone paths. 

Though no one lives on the property any longer this homestead is far from empty. 

Several antique items are on display inside the fort visitors center. Although not all relics are connected to the fort directly they have been acquired from nearby 18th and 19th century homes. Many people think that these items may be connected to some of the haunting that occur here at Pricketts Fort. 

The cemetery of Pricketts Fort is another location where visitors feel the presence of spirits. An unmarked grave said the be the grave of a child who died during one of the many freezing frontier winters has been known to give a particularly uneasy feeling. EVPS have been known to give the sounds of moaning and or singing and one in particular told the person to “go home.”