Fort Wetherill in Jamestown, Rhode Island, is an abandoned military installation overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The property, now a Rhode Island state park, is open to the public for exploration. When exploring, be smart. Use the buddy system. Just like the Cursed Titus Mansion Ruins, this is no place for unsupervised children.
I don’t know what had gotten into Benny lately. Ever since we visited the Rutland State Prison Camp, he’d been obsessed with abandoned places. So, I wasn’t surprised when he said that he heard of an abandoned fort to explore. I reminded him that we had visited Maine’s Fort Knox, but he said that it didn’t count because it wasn’t, and I quote, “spooky enough.”
Apparently, he wanted to get his adrenaline pumping and, as you’ll see later on, mine as well.
Fair warning: Just like our post on our trip to the Rutland State Prison Camp mentioned above, there’s a lot of graffiti. Photos haven’t been blurred out, so while I tried not to focus on anything too obscene, it’s possible you may see traces of offensive material that may not be suitable for a younger audience.
As we walked near Fort Wetherill we could tell that Benny would indeed get his wish to visit a spooky place. Whether we were picking up on ghostly vibes or just getting dehydrated and a bit woozy, one thing was for certain: We just didn’t feel right.
We trekked down the path that follows the perimeter of the fort, which is about half the length of a football field. (No, I did not want to just say “50 yards.”)
The eeriness of Fort Wetherill was starting to take a toll on Benny; I could see it in his face. But to his credit, he didn’t suggest we turn around. I mean, sure, we got here when the sun was setting, and we probably should have headed home, but did we do that? No. There was a sort of creepy calmness to being there at this time — well, at least after a raucous group of people who were blasting music and screaming decided to finally go home. :ahem:
“This is is really cool, but do you know what would be even better?” asked Benny, with a nervous smirk on his face.
“If we leave here and get Del’s?” I responded, hoping that he wasn’t thinking what I thought he was thinking.
“We should go inside!” he exclaimed. And without asking, he took a step and walked inside one of the ungated entryways.
Seriously, I can’t believe that I let him talk me into going in. To say the inside of Fort Wetherill is creepy is an understatement. Thankfully we had our masks with us, because it was damp inside.
It’s completely dark in the depths of the fort, and I needed to use a flashlight. I turned a corner to take a photo, and when I looked behind me, Benny was gone!
“Benny! Where are you?” I shouted.
No response.
This was just great. It was completely dark down here, the sun was setting above ground, and Benny was nowhere to be heard (or found).
I thought I heard a noise come from a corner, where I saw a staircase going down even deeper.
“Benny?”
Still no reply.
I figured I’d take a chance and go down. Everyone knows that you just don’t leave a friend alone in a potentially haunted fort.
My efforts were rewarded with a dead end. My phone, which I was using as my flashlight, was running low on charge. I started picking up the pace, a dangerous endeavor when you’re alone below ground. I backtracked and went down another path.
I heard a scream in the distance. Hoping it was only the hooligans that I saw loitering earlier, I shook off the case of the heebie-jeebies that was starting to take residence in my mind.
I turned dark corner after dark corner, frantically yelling out Benny’s name. The only response was a silence punctuated by the distant echo of water dripping. After a time, even the distant howling stopped. My phone, as if trying to highlight that feeling of isolation, couldn’t find any network to connect to.
My phone’s battery was down to 10%. Searching for Benny proved to be a fruitless struggle. I’m almost ashamed to say that I had to give up. Maybe, just maybe I would have enough battery to call for help.
I made my way back to the entrance, trying to remember which way I came. I climbed to the top of fort and called out Benny’s name in a last, futile attempt to locate him. There was no reply, and my phone’s battery had just run out. Defeated, I began walking back to the car where I’d be able to charge my phone and call for help.
Then, I heard an almost imperceptible whimper. At first, I thought it was just the wind making its way through the chambers of Fort Wetherill, but it slowly began to get louder.
I tried my best to find the origin of the noise. Then, I spotted it. It was Benny!
“Benny! What happened?” I asked. I thought this was just another one of his tricks that he loved to play on me, but he didn’t respond. He looked completely frightened.
“I…..I…..I……” he began to say……”looooookkedd…..ghhhoooosssssttttttt …………dizzzzzzyyyyyy……climmmmmbedddddd out,” he took a breath. “I don’t know……I thought I saw a ghost…..and it told me to run….somehow I got here….”
At this point, I knew that Benny wasn’t playing a trick on me.
“Benny, how about we go get that Del’s now?”
He perked up. “Yeah…..let’s get out of here….”
We’ll never know for certain what happened down there. Did Benny see a ghost? Was he momentarily under the influence of an evil spirit? Who knows? But one thing is for certain: He definitely had a spooky adventure.
For more information, check out the State of Rhode Island’s site on Fort Wetherill State Park. Admission to the park is free.
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[…] imagine how many times I had to remind Benny of this? Unlike the Abandoned Rutland Prison Camp or Fort Wetherill, there are explicit signs telling you, (note, not warning, not asking – no, telling you) that […]