Fort Henry: The Haunted Fortress Above Kingston Harbour

Fort Henry stands on Point Henry above Kingston’s harbour, a massive limestone fortress built to guard the Lake Ontario end of the Rideau Canal. Restored in the 1930s, it is one of Canada’s best-known living history museums, home to the scarlet-coated Fort Henry Guard and part of the Rideau Canal UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is also one of Kingston’s most storied haunted places. The fort’s own history supplies the material: rebels held after 1838, a commander hanged on its grounds, enemy aliens interned in the First World War and German prisoners of war in the Second. This guide covers what happened here, the ghost stories told about it, and how to visit by day or after dark.

History of Fort Henry

When the War of 1812 began, local militia built a blockhouse and battery on Point Henry to protect Kingston’s naval dockyard, and regular troops added batteries and barracks in 1813. After the war, the British planned the Rideau Canal as a secure supply route from Montreal to Lake Ontario, and Kingston, at its southern end, needed a stronger fort.

The present fortress was built from 1832 to 1836, with thick limestone walls, casemated barracks and a dry ditch, to guard the canal, the harbour and the dockyard. It never came under attack. After the rebellions of 1837 and 1838 it held prisoners, including the men captured at the Battle of the Windmill near Prescott in November 1838.

Their leader, Nils von Schoultz, a Finnish-born adventurer who had joined the American Hunters’ Lodges, was tried by court martial at Fort Henry. A young Kingston lawyer named John A. Macdonald, later Canada’s first prime minister, acted as his legal adviser, though the rules forced von Schoultz to conduct his own defence. He was hanged at the fort on December 8, 1838, aged 31, and is buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Kingston.

In the First World War the fort was an internment camp for German, Austrian and Turkish prisoners and civilians labelled enemy aliens, including Ukrainian immigrants. In the Second World War it held German Luftwaffe and navy prisoners. In the 1930s, as a Depression work project led by Ronald L. Way, it was restored, and Old Fort Henry opened as a living museum on August 1, 1938, with the newly formed Fort Henry Guard.

The ghosts of Fort Henry

Nils von Schoultz

The fort’s most famous ghost is the man it hanged. Visit Kingston says von Schoultz is said to appear in a tattered blue uniform on clear nights, and his execution is the centerpiece of The Haunted Walk’s evening Fort Henry Ghost Tour. Older ghost lists place him near the commandant’s quarters.

His history is well documented: the trial, Macdonald’s role and the hanging on December 8, 1838. The ghost is legend.

Soldiers on the ramparts and in the ditch

Older accounts describe a soldier killed when his gun misfired, seen lying in the ditch around the fort, and an artilleryman killed while reloading a hot gun, seen walking the grounds. We found no records of these deaths, so they belong with the fort’s folklore.

Deadman's Bay

Just below the fort lies Deadman’s Bay, where Visit Kingston’s ghost trolley stories tell of a drowned mason and the fiancee who mourned him, both said to be seen repeatedly. The Haunted Walk’s fort tour also includes the bay’s legends.

Fort Fright

Each October the fort becomes Fort Fright, a staged haunted attraction with actors and effects, including flashlight-only Dark Nights on Thursdays. It is entertainment rather than ghost hunting, but it draws on the same history.

Where to look

• The casemates: The vaulted stone barracks rooms where soldiers lived and prisoners were held.
• The commandant's quarters: Where older lists say von Schoultz is seen.
• The dry ditch: The deep ditch around the walls, where a dying soldier is said to call for help.
• The ramparts: For views over Kingston harbour and Deadman’s Bay at dusk.

Visiting Fort Henry

Fort Henry’s main season runs from mid-May into the fall, with spring preview days in early May. Daytime visits include drills, musket and artillery demonstrations by the Fort Henry Guard and the interpreted rooms of the fortress. Check the official site for current hours and admission.

For the ghost stories, book The Haunted Walk’s 75-minute Fort Henry Ghost Tour, which runs on summer evenings and covers the hanging of von Schoultz, the legends of Deadman’s Bay and encounters on the grounds. In October, Fort Fright takes over select nights, and popular dates sell out.

It sits just east of downtown Kingston across the Cataraqui River.

• Visiting Operated by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission for Parks Canada; admission charged
• Tours Daytime living-history visits; The Haunted Walk’s Fort Henry Ghost Tour (75 minutes) on summer evenings; Fort Fright in October
• Hours and season Main season mid-May to early fall, plus Fort Fright nights in October

Tips for your visit

• Book the evening ghost tour for the best atmosphere.
• Visit Kingston Penitentiary the same day; both are run by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission.
• Walk the ramparts at sunset for the view over the harbour.
• Fort Fright Thursdays are flashlight only, and not for young children.

More haunted places nearby

• Kingston Penitentiary: Canada’s most notorious prison, now open for tours
• Hochelaga Inn hotel guide: stay in a haunted Kingston inn
• Haunted places in Ontario: more of the province’s haunted history
• Haunted places in Canada
• Haunted places in Ontario

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the official website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and investigators tell them, and we say where records contradict a story.

• Wikipedia: Fort Henry, Ontario
• Fort Henry (official site)
• Wikipedia: Nils von Schoultz
• Visit Kingston: 6 places to hunt for ghosts in Kingston
• The Haunted Walk: Kingston tours