top of page

The Ghosts of Gettysburg

As one of the most popular tourist destinations in Pennsylvania, Gettysburg is popular for paranormal phenomena, while also rich in history.

In the center of it all, hundreds of monuments rise out of the ground to commemorate war heroes and tragic losses. After the Battle of Gettysburg, 7,000 soldiers died and 51,000 were wounded or captured. What is left is the legacy of Cemetery Hill, Culp’s Hill and Round Top fighting grounds. As you walk through, you cannot help but imagine the lives of these men as they hid in the trenches and charged up the hills.

The Battle of Gettysburg was an instrumental point in the Civil War. It was the only battle to take place in the North, and its loss would have rewritten history. As a meeting point for major roads, Gettysburg was situated in an unfortunate position during the Civil War. It was never intended to be a battle; yet due to a Confederate scout spotting only a small Union regiment and not the full force, it became a bloody site.

Even though bullets were flying throughout this Pennsylvanian town, miraculously, only one citizen was killed. While making bread in her kitchen, a stray bullet went through her house and killed Jennie Wade. Today, you can see a statue of her holding bread outside of her house. It is said that some people have seen her peering out from her window.

The Gettysburg National Military Park is roughly 5 miles long and 5 miles wide. There is no admission to this site, and you are free to walk or drive to the sites. Throughout the landmark you can see over 1,700 monuments and displays of the set up.

A Tasty Lunch

There are so many places to have lunch in Gettysburg, but my favorite is The Dobbin House. There are two options for dining at this restaurant, but I would suggest having a bite at the downstairs Springhouse Tavern. While the upstairs is a nice, fine dining option, the Tavern is an experience of eating in the period atmosphere. With dim lighting, close tables and period dressed wait staff, the Tavern takes you back to the time of the Gettysburg Battle, while filling your tummy.

The Ghost Tour

This is not a sponsor post.

In such a town, a Ghost Tour lurks on every corner. With all the options, it may be overwhelming. I would recommend Gettysburg Ghost Tours, because they are educational and entertaining for a low cost. On these candle-lit tours, you can hear the stories from the Jennie Wade House, Orphanage, the Reynold’s Death House, Haunted Creek Bed, the Rupp House Museum, the Dobbin House and many more haunted sites.

Since the battle raged on for days and both sides experienced considerable loses, the dead were not moved and buried right away. Instead, after laying out for days in the hot, summer sun, the bodies started to decompose and melt. As our tour guide so eloquently phrased it, “the bodies turned to soup as they lifted the dead.” Such a pleasant image…

As the skin and blood mixed in with the soil, parts of the soldiers were absorbed into the earth. Which our tour guide suggested could be the effect of the high paranormal activity in the area. Try not to think about that while you look at the lush and green vegetation in the area.

With all the bloodshed, it said that the stench of the city wafted as far as Harrisburg, which lies 25 miles away. As you walk around the town, you may sniff a phantom scent of sulfur from the gun powder or hay from the horses, yet it has been over a hundred years ago.

While you walk around, make sure you take photos of EVERYTHING. It is a great late night activity to look through all your pictures from the day right before bed. Keep an eye out for faces in the windows, illogical shadows and moving orbs.

While I was on the ghost tour, our group consisted of me, my sister, my mom, an older couple and a young couple. Outside of the one haunted locations, I took a picture of the front window. I am not saying I caught a picture of a ghost, but… the reflections of the man and woman in the window were not from anyone in my group. It could have been two people stopping behind us, and peering over our shoulders, but I did not notice anyone there.

This is the picture I took... Look closely in the 3rd row, 3rd pane.

I lightened and zoomed in on the picture for you to see them.

___

Have any of you had a paranormal experience at Gettysburg?

You Might Also Like:
bottom of page