Spooky spirits are restless this weekend and next at Fort Adams in Newport. The Fortress of Nightmares features tours Friday through Sunday that include parts of the fort not usually open to the public.

Be afraid of the Fort, very afraid.

This weekend and next, Fort Adams in Newport grotesquely transmogrifies and becomes The Fortress of Nightmares!

Either that or it offers Halloween tours with a haunted theme. We suspect the latter.

After all, it is a tradition, now in its third year.

Guides will lead you through the darkened fort, which was built in the early 19th century, and take you places you’ve never seen, and introduce you to people you’ve never met: laborers who built the fort, and soldiers and families who lived there. Tales will be told about the folklore of the fort, where no carnage ever occurred.

Fort Adams was never involved in any warfare, though that was its purpose. It was built as a response to the War of 1812. Situated on the western edge of Newport, the fort was designed to defend against foreign invasion into Narragansett Bay.

The construction lasted 33 years, from 1824 to 1857, to accommodate 2,400 soldiers and 468 cannons. The site, which covers 20 acres, was used as a dispatch point for soldiers in the Civil War, World War I and World War II. But never was it involved in a battle.

However, it has had its share of Civil War re-enactments, and also concerts, folk and jazz festivals most notably.

But still, there’s evidence of the prospect and potential for horror. The area between the fort’s inner and outer walls is known as “the killing zone,” where intruders would encounter gunfire and cannon fire through slits in the walls. And there are also “the listening tunnels,” which soldiers would monitor to hear an enemy’s attempt to dig beneath the walls.

Who knows, maybe there will be an unexpected invasion this weekend.

The tours, which are Friday through Sunday with $10 tickets sold between 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., are weather-dependent and are not recommended for those younger than 12. Food and hot beverages will be available for purchase.

Sturdy footwear is recommended. Hand holding is permitted.

For more information, visit www.fortadams.org or call (401) 847-0707.