Gettysburg Battlefield

The Gettysburg Battlefield is sadly notorious for being one of the most haunted locations in the USA. The Battle of Gettysburg, which was undoubtedly a major turning point in the American Civil War, took place from the 1st until 3rd of July 1863.

The former battleground where Americans fought Americans is known worldwide for its bloody and horrific battle, which claimed the lives of so many soldiers. It is estimated that around 8000 soldiers from both camps lost their lives on this blood-drenched field.

Besides, more than 10,000 soldiers were badly injured during the 3 day battle. The exact figures of the casualties and losses were 23,055 for the United States Union and 23,231 for the Confederacy (CSA).

The Gettysburg Battlefield remains one of the bloodiest war episodes in the history and the making of the United States of America.

Since then, the Gettysburg battlefield area, which is located in the Adams County, has been the subject of many haunting, paranormal activities, ghostly apparitions and strange phenomenon.

Tourists, ghost hunters and paranormal investigators are all fascinated by the extraordinary number of paranormal activity happening at Gettysburg. Many experiments have been conducted all over the battleground and other areas of the city.

EVP recordings, photos as well as videos showing ghosts and orbs have been recorded by tourists and experienced paranormal investigators.

Mary Adelsberger’s story…

Experiencing the painful screams of the Battle of Gettysburg is something that is quite common around the battlefield.

Some claim to have heard horrific screams from dying soldiers and again plenty of recordings (EVP recording) have been reported. Needless to say that this kind of experience is quite traumatic, and this is precisely what happened to Mary Adelsberger and her daughters.

In fact, even a book was written based on what they saw and heard.

On a cold and snowy February evening, Mary took her two daughters to tour the most famous Gettysburg landmarks. Despite the very cold weather and the significant amount of snow, she had decided to visit the battlefield.

Upon arriving at one of the most frequented landmarks near a wood, the three women began to hear voices and sounds from afar. The voices of men seemingly having conversations became quite unnerving that Mary decided to go further and check out where the voices were from and if they were real.

She had a sense that these were not usual sounds and voices.

As she ventured into the woodland with her daughters, she heard a sharp voice clearly giving instructions to soldiers. The exact words were “Get up! Get up! Go! Go!” The final word she heard was “charge”- obviously a very military meaning in the Gettysburg area.

The three women became so frightened that they fled the scene immediately. As they were running away, they started to hear the horrific screams of men falling to their deaths in agonizing pain. The experienced left the women absolutely terrified and sad but still wanting to know more.

Eventually, curiosity drove them back to this seemingly haunted area once again. Later in the night, shortly after midnight, they decided to drive to the same place instead of walking and upon reaching the haunted spot; one of Mary’s daughters opened the door. Almost immediately, the screams and agonizing voices started again.

Deeply disturbed and convinced that they had been the witness of some ghostly apparitions, they left the scene horrified and crying and never went back but ended up telling their tale, which as explained earlier was published in a book.

The Devil’s Den and the Barefoot Man

If you visit Gettysburg’s battlefield, you will notice a rather big rock standing on a small hill.

This area of the battleground has become very famous with ghost hunters and tourists, who claim to have seen ghosts and more particularly the figure of a barefoot man.

He is said to wear a Texan War uniform and it is well documented that Texans did take part in the battle and wore the uniforms described by those who claim to have spotted the mysterious barefoot soldier.

Those who saw the Devil’s Den ghost were surprised to hear him speak and say “What you’re looking for is over there” – whilst showing an area known as “The Plum Run”.

Reports suggest that right after saying these words; he then disappears in a flash. Paranormal specialists are quite certain of the existence of this ghost since the witness reports are always the same, and the uniform fits in well with the history of the area. Also, supporting documents have been used to confirm the uniform worn by the barefoot soldier.

The Haunted Inn…

The Farnsworth House Inn is an old building located in Gettysburg. It dates back to 1810 and is said to be haunted by many Civil War spirits. Some are said to be roaming around the Inn and disturb both the staff and the guests.

Beds jolt in the middle of the night, especially in the Sara Black Room. This room is located in the second, newer part of the Inn.

However, the main paranormal activity seems to take place in the oldest part of the ancient brick building. The spirit of a boy apparently called Jeremy is said to appear to some people and wander around the rooms of the Inn.

A regular visitor named Jerry, used to experiencing paranormal activity at the inn, told of his encounter with the ghost of the boy back in 2009.

On one occasion, he had been staying at the Inn and was accompanied by his girlfriend. Jerry seemed disappointed that nothing strange had happened during his stay whilst he wanted his girlfriend to experience the same kind of paranormal activity he had witnessed-

Whilst in the shower, Jerry begged the spirit of the boy to manifest his presence before the check out time, which was approaching fast. When he finally got out of the shower, his girlfriend casually asked if it was the first time that he had got out of the bathroom since he went to take his shower.

Jerry responded that it was and looked puzzled by the question until his girlfriend explained that before Jerry had gotten out of the room, she had heard steps going from the bathroom to the closet and evidently thought it was Jerry.

Jerry then explained to his girlfriend that he had asked if Jeremy could manifest his presence before they left. Whilst some sceptics would scoff at this story, Jerry, who has experienced so many ghostly apparitions and phenomenon at the Inn, remained convinced that the ghost of the boy was present in the room.

George Washington’s Ghost at Gettysburg…

Whilst George Washington died in 1799 and could not have taken part in the American Civil War, his ghost was sighted during the war itself.

The 20th Division, which was approaching the battleground stopped for a while to decide which direction to take, when the ghost of George Washington reportedly appeared out of nowhere, wearing his military uniform to guide them into the right direction.

The soldiers did not realize straight away that the man on the horse was not a Union General until they noticed a strange ethereal glow surrounding the figure and the horse. Then, some soldiers formally identified the man as being George Washington thanks to the paintings and drawings they had seen of the famous man before.

What’s even more puzzling is that the ghost of the first president of the United States of America did lead them to a strategic spot known as the Little Round Top, where the division managed to stop and push away a big group of Confederates.

A formal investigation was launched after so many soldiers came forward to tell of the surreal story. To this day, this mystery remains unsolved but the investigation made it clear that George Washington could well have taken part in the war from beyond his grave.

Gettysburg College…

Gettysburg College seems to be one of the most haunted places of the Gettysburg area. Civil War ghosts and spirits have been sighted so many times that it is hard to keep the exact records of all of them.

Aside from Civil War ghosts, many other strange occurrences have been reported and Mark Nesbitt who remains one of the top experts on the Gettysburg haunting and paranormal activities often relates the story of what two of the college staff witnessed one night in the building.

Like so many other buildings during war times, the college had been requisitioned by the state of Pennsylvania to accommodate the many badly wounded soldiers. This of course represents a small part in the history of the building, and the two college administrators, although aware of it, had certainly not been focusing on it as they got on the elevator to get down to the first floor.

The elevator reached the first floor but never stopped and went straight on to the basement which, was used as a storage room. What they saw when the doors slid open will forever remain on their minds.

The storage room had mysteriously turned into the scene of a war makeshift hospital. All of the artefacts of a hospital scene were right in front of them. Blood-covered bed sheets, doctors and nurses, seriously wounded soldiers and dead bodies.

A complete chaos from a war time movie scene was literally unfolding in front of them. What is even more interesting is that both witnesses later confirmed that they heard no particular sound or noises. It was just a sad, chaotic but silent scene.

They further explained that once they had realised that they were witnessing a ghostly apparition, they managed to get the elevator moving as rapidly as possible but when the doors closed down, the ghost of a tired-looking nurse stared at them with the saddest and most disturbing expression on her face.

Tours and Visits…

The Gettysburg Battlefield is open to the public for guided tours and visits most days of the year. There is also a Museum and many activities are organised in relation with the historical background of the area.