LOCATION:

The town of Gettysburg is located in southern Pennsylvania where highway 15 and 30 meet. Gettysburg is 13.7 miles north of the Maryland border, 24.96 miles east of Chambersburg and 38.32 miles south of Harrisburg, the Capitol of Pennsylvania.

The town has realized the importance of its part in the Battle of Gettysburg, and have restored the historical downtown, offering tours which explain what life was like during this time period.

HISTORY & DESCRIPTION:

The Civil War battle of Gettysburg was a 3 day fight; July 1st to July 3rd, 1863, over a distance of 40 miles in the countryside and farmland near and around the town of Gettysburg.

General Robert E. Lee was on his way to bring the war to the north, aiming for Harrisburg, taking the pressure off Virginia, in areas where his soldiers could live off the land, perhaps forcing a settlement, letting the south become its own country.

One of the crafts located in Gettysburg was the tanning of leather and making of shoes. General Robert E. Lee, who needed boots for his troops was well aware of this, so he headed for Gettysburg, took over the town, and purchased or just took boots for his troops.

Another source said that the first stop for Lee was a small village, called Cashtown, a village located between Chambersburg and Gettysburg. After learning through a spy that the Union Troops, led by General George Meade were onto his plan to attack the north at Harrisburg, Lee sent a reconnaissance team to Gettysburg, while preparing to meet the Union troops in battle, when they were spotted. This confederate reconnaissance team inadvertently bumped into the Union reconnaissance team also sent to Gettysburg, which began the battle in the city of Gettysburg itself. The confederate forces after fierce street fighting, pushed the battle outside of town, during the first day of battle, July 1st.

These confederate troops, pursued the Union Army which resulted in a bloody confrontation on the farmland and country side located just outside Gettysburg, and were involved in a battle which lasted 3 days. This fight turned out to be incredibly bloody and costly in human lives; 50,000 men, (almost as many killed in the 7 year war in Viet Nam). It was the turning point in the Civil War, giving the advantage to the Union forces.

The people in Gettysburg were in for a terrifying, horrifying adventure that only war can bring, as they were experiencing events first hand near the front lines of a battle so close to town. Some houses and buildings became makeshift care stations and operating rooms for the wounded. Many frightened people hid in their basements, afraid to venture out, trying to remain safe from the enemy and the dangerous aspect of war; Gunfire, enemy soldiers of unknown character, combat. There are also many stories of bravery and honor of courageous citizens who risked their lives to help the Union army, which sometimes didn't turn out at all well for them.

Wars break things and kill people. The worst part was yet to come after the battle was finished. The townspeople became first responders, as well as secondary victims. They did their best to help the thousands of men through their pain and care of their bloody wounds, dealing with all the dead bodies decomposing in the hot summer sun, while facing problems of a personal challenge; the loss of food, crops and destruction of buildings. For months, they nursed men back to health, while trying to put the pieces of what was their way of life back together.

Many houses and buildings in Gettysburg were part of the battle and were used by both sides of the conflict. Psychic energy attached to such traumatic events lingers on. Many also are homes to entities involved in such actions, who either don't know they died, weren't ready to die and wish to stick around or are stuck reliving what happened to them.

MANIFESTATIONS:

1) Phantom Smells - Many bodies were left to decompose and rot on the streets of Gettysburg. In order to walk outside at all, people in town had to use peppermint / vanilla scented -soaked hankies/ handkerchieves up to their noses to keep from gagging from the awful stench of death.

a) At times, the living can still smell the scent of peppermint and vanilla.

2) The Farnsworth House Inn - Built in 1810, with an brick addition built in 1833 by John McFarland. In 1864, the Sweeny family lived there. In 2005, the house is now a very successful bed and breakfast inn and restaurant, since 1900. It still has the original walls, flooring and rafters. There are still over a 100 bullet holes found in the walls.

Location: Can be found 401 Baltimore Street | Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (PA) 17325

Phone: 717-334-8838 * Web-Site: farnsworthhouseinn.com

During the battle, Confederate sharp shooters, who had taken control of the house,were up in the attic, shooting at Union soldiers on Cemetery Hill, just a few 100 yards away. It is from this attic that the sharp shooter inadvertently killed Jennie Wade in her house near them, busy baking bread for the Union side.

It was also used as Federal headquarters after the battle was over. Because it is one of the most haunted houses in Gettysburg, the owners operate a theater for ghost stories in the basement and have Ghost tours as well.

a) When the inn is quiet and no one is in the attic, the living are treated to a Jew's harp concert, played by an entity soldier still on duty in the attic.

b) Footfalls are heard on the staircases, and heard pacing throughout the main floor. Employees have heard foot steps following them around as they tend to their duties. When they look behind them, no one is there.

c) Invisible presences have been known to pay the living a visit, by sitting on their beds.

d) Out of the corner of the eye, the living have seen apparitions, shadows moving. At night the living have seen in front of them shadows moving through the dining room.

e) In the restaurant, entities have been known to be rather rude and cheeky to the waitresses. On two occasions, both women were turned completely around by an invisible presence who had yanked hard on their apron strings

f) Down the hallway which runs between the tavern and the kitchen, A lifelike apparition of an older woman dressed in 1800's attire has been seen looking over the items stored on the shelves there. She disappeared without a trace. She has been spotted for many years but no one is sure who she is; perhaps a former mistress or head housekeeper, checking up on the supplies.

g) One Halloween, a local radio station made a broadcast from The Farnsworth Inn, via remote. Because all the phone lines were down at the Inn, the crew dressed in blue had to run cables from the house to other locations. They called their boss at the radio station, Captain. This all caused the Confederate soldiers entities great panic and concern, and they tried to make their worries known to the psychic brought along as she walked throughout the house, seeing what she could discover. The entities thought that their position was about to be discovered. The psychic told one individual entity that he could move on now and didn't have to be a soldier any more. It didn't work.

Location: The Jenny Wade House was originally a double-unit dwelling and is located on the southern end of Baltimore Street as you approach Cemetery Hill. Jenny and her sister Georgia rented one unit, while Susan McClean was in the other unit. Georgia's husband, Louis was fighting in the war. Jenny and Georgia were warned to leave because their house was right in the middle of gunfire. Instead, they baked bread and gave out water to passing Union troops. As mentioned above, Jenny was killed by a stray bullet fired from the sharpshooter stationed in the attic of the Farnsworth House, during the 3rd day of battle.

The house is now a museum and is open for tours. It looks very much like it did back in 1863. "Authentically furnished from cellar to attic, The Jennie Wade House Museum is not only a shrine to a heroic martyr but has become a museum of life and living during the American Civil War."

Address: Jennie Wade House Museum, 528 Baltimore Street, (Originally was 758)Gettysburg, PA 17325 717-334-4100

Group Reservations at 1-800-447-8788

Web-Site: www.jennie-wade-house.com

a) An apparition of a young woman, presumed to be Sarah has been seen around the house, who is apparently still baking bread, as the aroma of freshly baked bread delights the living. Her favorite perfume which was rose-scented is noticed as well by visitors and museum caretakers.

1) Perhaps she feels her work isn't finished and she still waits to hear about the fate of the love of her life, Sergeant Johnston (Jack) Skelly who went off to war on the Union side. He was taken prisoner and died from his wounds at Winchester. She never found out. Their mutual friend, Wesley Culp, who had joined the Confederacy, was supposed to bring her the news as he had been there when Jack died and had promised Jack he would tell her. Unfortunately, Wesley didn't have the chance because he died on July 3rd in the Gettysburg Battle, on Culp's Hill.

b) Many spirits of the children from a nearby orphanage (originally 785 Baltimore Street) used to come and play in this house, enjoying a few happy times, a kind oasis away from their sad reality of suffering at the hands of their abusive orphanage director with personal issues and temper problems.

1) On the second floor, the children like to swing on the chains which are there rope off areas with antique furniture. They have been known to yell, "Hey! in a friendly greeting. If they take a liking to a person, they have been known to grab onto the ankles in an affectionate way and travel with the person during the tour. Other times they'll touch the person's hand.

2) They like to play with the bedskirts around the bottom of the beds in the upstairs bedrooms.

3) They like to play downstairs in the first floor bedroom on the rug in from of the deacon's bench. As it is in this room that the downstairs stories are told, the little entities like to play with visitors' jewelry or tug on coats.

c) A male entity is known to haunt the upstairs area, who smokes cigars and on occasion lets invisible ashes fall on visitors. He needed another lesson or two in the social graces.

Still Haunted?

Definitely yes.

There is no denying the existence of restless souls in this area with so much death and mayhem.

Ghost Tours are offered to visitors.gettysburgbattlefieldtours.com

Haunted Places by Dennis William Hauk

Sources include: gettysburg.com * graveaddiction.com * theshadowlands.net