Fort Laramie, Part I

EMM & HARMONY

April 22, 2018

Fort Laramie, WY

Nestled in Goshen County, Wyoming, lies Fort Laramie. Built in the 1834 originally as a trading post for the American Fur Company, it established itself as a popular stop along the Oregon Trail. However, in 1849, the post was sold to the US Army so that a military presence could be established along the emigrant trails. Unfortunately, relations that began amicably between Native Americans and the Army began to change as the number of emigrants increased, encroaching upon native lands. As conflicts grew, major military campaigns were launched from the fort against the Northern Plains tribes, who fiercely defended their homeland. As the Indian Wars came to a close by 1890, Fort Laramie had lost its importance and was eventually abandoned and sold at auction. Over the next 48 years, after having almost succumbed to the ravages of time, preservation of the site was secured and Fort Laramie became a national park.

Many stories of the paranormal circulate Fort Laramie including

ghostly figures of a headless soldier and a lady in green. Yet of all

the tales, three in particular stood out to us.

Our first stop on this investigation was the Captain's Quarters,

where doors are said to open on their own, eerie footsteps can be

heard and bright lights shine in the night from a house with no

electricity. Built in 1870 to house the Commanding Officer, it was

later converted into a duplex for company-grade officers.

It was an incredible feeling walking up those stairs, it was like stepping back in time. One could almost hear the sounds of soldiers on the parade field, horses from the stables and the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life here at Fort Laramie. With Harmony and the camera behind me, I turned the handle of the front door and gave a nudge. A blast of freezing cold air came out of the house and the door gave way to a long narrow hallway, revealing a back door at the end of it. We both immediately felt a sense of eeriness about the home and Harmony felt an overall sense of unwelcome. I had to muster my courage to even enter and my attention was focused on the back door. "If I can just make it to the door and get it open," I said to myself. A handful of steps in and I noticed right away that all the room entrances were covered with large pieces of plexiglass, allowing one to view inside but not step in. It gave me a sense of comfort knowing that I didn't have to go into the rooms. I picked up speed and peering around every corner I could, I bolted straight down the hallway, flung the door open, letting the sun and warm air wash in.

Harmony joined me at the base of the stairs and after a little pep talk, I ascended. The staircase was incredibly narrow, as if the wall had been placed right in the middle of it when it was converted into the duplex. The upstairs itself was incredibly small, holding only two unimpressive bedrooms. We circled about, trying to communicate with whatever energies were inside. I got a sense that whoever it was, stayed hidden on purpose and was observing us as we moved.

Thinking back on it now, I had the exact same feeling in all the buildings. Almost as if these energies, spirits, were stuck...bound within the confines of their once homes and put on display for all to see. Suddenly, we heard a noise downstairs, footsteps, at first only a few and then many. Heavy and bounding footsteps we realized that we were no longer alone. I ran downstairs to investigate and ran head-on the park ranger. Very polite, yet curious about us and our intentions, he let us know that we had limited time before he would start locking the buildings and eventually the park gates. We thanked him for the information, assured him we would be out on time and said our goodbyes.

Harmony and I set on exploring the rest of the house but aside from an overall unsettling feeling, we found all to be natural but none of the super kind.