Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Battle of Gettysburg took place on July1-3, 1863. Nearly 8,000 soldiers and 3,000 horses died on the Gettysburg Battlefield over those three days in Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania.
Since 1933, the National Park Service has maintained the 6,000 acres making up the Gettysburg Battlefield.
The Devil’s Den is a paranormal hotspot at the Gettsyburg Battlefield. It is an area that is characterized by the presence of large boulders. Confederate troops would hide behind these large craters and shoot Union soldiers as they would pass through.
The community of Gettysburg itself is also host to paranormal activities. After all, the battlefield itself took place on the land where a number of Gettysburg businesses are now situated. The number of dead bodies, human and animal, made the whole town of Gettysburg smell violently of decaying flesh and the residents of the small town tried to cover the horrible stench with lilac water, peppermint, and vanilla. Ladies were only able to walk through the town of Gettysburg with a handkerchief scented with peppermint and vanilla. Still today, when ghost sightings occur at Gettysburg, folks often report the simultaneous smell of lilacs, peppermint or vanilla.
Cameras reportedly malfunction regularly on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Often, the photographs taken on the Battlefield are blank, apparitions regularly appear in pictures.
The ghost of Jennie Wade (the one known civilian casualty at the Battle of Gettysburg) is regularly reported wandering around her home where she was killed by a stray bullet inside her home. After Jennie’s death, her father had to be institutionalized.
The Farnsworth House is well known as a hotspot for ghosts. The home was taken over by Confederates on the first day of the battle. Confederate sharpshooters took up residence in the Farnsworth House. (Some say that it was a Confederate sharpshooter who killed Jennie Wade). Ghosts, disembodied footsteps, the smell of cigar smoke, objects moving, and the strange sensation of being touched or grabbed by unseen hands are regularly reported at the Farnsworth House near the Gettysburg Battlefield.
The George Weikert House is another well known Gettysburg haunt. Apparently, a door on the second floor of this home absolutely refuses to stay closed. Some occupants of this house even tried nailing it shut, to no avail.
Resources:
Taylor, T. (2008). America’s Most Haunted Places. Retrieved April 22, 2011 from http://www.prairieghosts.com/mosthaunted.html
GhostEyes (2011). Most Haunted Places in the U.S. Retrieved April 22, 2011 from http://www.ghosteyes.com/