Built in the late 19th century, Coyotepe was a key stronghold- captured after fierce fighting during the 1912 U.S. Marine assault on Coyotepe Hill. Under the Somoza regime, its dungeons were used as a political prison with surviving cells and torture rooms giving the site its ominous reputation; today local Scouts oversee access and tours, the fort’s so-called “Beast Tower” featured on Ghost Hunters International, with reports of whispers, chains, and ritual activity after dark.