 |
Haunted Farnsworth House InnGettysburg, Pennsylvania
You know, that famous place where the Battle of Gettysburg took place. There are even a bunch of bullet holes in the wall on the south side of the Farnsworth House, a left over from that famous battle. Count ‘em! There’s more than 100!!! A bunch of the bullets themselves are on display inside. That’s not all that’s left over from the battle. Ghosts of soldiers and townsfolk populate the area. Lots of ghosts in Gettysburg.
The Battle of Gettysburg pretty much took place in the whole area, not just the official confines of the battleground. (Which, by the way, is haunted, also.) Pennsylvania Hall at Gettysburg College was turned into a field hospital during the battle. It positively teems with ghosts. Maybe even the ghost of General Lee pacing the cupola of the Old Dorm, keeping an eye on the progress of the battle. And if it’s not him, someone is still up there. A few someones. Soldiers - maybe sentries, maybe messengers, maybe Lee himself… A tangled maze of rocks known as Devil’s Den was considered strange and haunted long before the battle came along to make it famous. During the 2nd day of the battle, Devil’s Den was the site of an extremely unorganized, extremely bloody battle. The Confederates lost tons of soldiers, but finally triumphed and ruled the jumble of boulders and dead bodies. Dead bodies everywhere - strewn amongst the boulders, in the crevices, covering the ground, bloated and decaying, left to rot in the hot Pennsylvania summer. Their ghosts have merely added to the weirdness of an already weird area.
If you see a Civil War re-enactor scrambling amongst the rocks, he may just not be a re-enactor! He may be the real thing. Or the real dead thing, that is. And now for the haunted Farnsworth House. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate sharpshooters hid out in the attic there They had a great shot at Union soldiers on Cemetery Hill, a few yards away. Perhaps, in between their bouts of shooting, they played the jew’s-harp to wile the hours away. It was a common music instrument of the Civil War soldiers and sounds of one have been heard coming from the attic…when no one is there. That's just one of the ghostly happenings at the haunted Farnsworth House.
Be alert for movement out of the corner of your eye, shadows moving through the dining room, ghostly footsteps, chairs that move for no reason, unexplained coldness, drifting misty fogs, you know, normal ghost-type stuff. Farnsworth House has it all. And those re-enactors in the Tavern? Those guys dressed up as Union and Confederate soldiers? After all, both sides enjoyed a cool one now and then. Well, as with places all around Gettysburg, they might not be re-enactors. They could be ghosts! Though you can just visit the Tavern or take in a candlelight ghost tour, for maximum ghostage enjoyment, you gotta stay the night in one of the haunted rooms. The Sara Black room is reputed to be the most active room in the haunted Farnsworth House as far as spirits are concerned. It was in the (now) bathroom the (now) famous Jeremy died. Jeremy was a little kid of about 4-6, who lived (and died) back when, thought to be sometime after the Civil War. He and a bunch of other kids were playing tag in front of Farnsworth House. Their version of tag was to run out and tag a horse as the carriages trundled down the road. Ooooops. A horse tagged him. His dad carried his trampled little body to the room that is now the bathroom of the Sara Black room. He died there and haunts not only the Farnsworth House but the house across the street, the Homan House. He’s a traveling ghost! He also likes to play with toys left in the room, so be sure and bring some toys and photograph them where they are before you leave the room. And then a photo of them when you came back and voila! ghostly activity! Well, if they’ve been moved, anyway. The Sara Black room is home to Mary. She was a midwife and lived at the inn, dying in that room. She likes to sit on the bed while you’re sleeping and fiddle with your hair, move personal items and sometimes even show herself.
The Jennie Wade room is also supposed to be haunted. She was the only civilian killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. It was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or perhaps it was the wrong place at the right time. She probably would’ve been lost in history if she hadn’t got killed. Now she’s famous. At least in Battle of Gettysburg circles. It is thought one of those sharpshooters in the attic was testing out the strength of the wind by firing at a doorknob on a house a little ways away. The bullet went through the wood door and blasted a lady kneading bread in the kitchen. Her name was Jennie Wade. Somehow, I don’t think they had bread that night. And hey, what about down those spooky stone steps into the gloomy cellar of the haunted Farnsworth House? What’s that all about? Well, there’s a recreated 19th century funeral parlor! Now, where else can you stay at a haunted hotel that has an old-timey funeral parlor in their basement???? Folks dressed in period costumes
tell stories by candlelight. The stories of Jeremy and Mary are included and maybe, just maybe, the famous ghosts of the haunted Farnsworth House will put in an appearance while you’re there. Be open-minded! You never can tell…… To prepare for your haunted Farnsworth House ghost trip, you might want to invest in a copy of the Ghost Hunter's Guidebook And if you have a digital camera and a laptop you can bring along and download the photos to, you are almost ready! If you can get a hold of an EMF detector Here’s one couple’s story of their ghostly encounter at the haunted Farnsworth House . So are you ready to head for Gettysburg now??? Are you ready to get started on your own ghostly adventure???? Read more about the Farnsworth House Inn here.
From Haunted Farnsworth House to Pennsylvania Tourist Attractions
|
The haunted Farnsworth House Inn is a cool old bed and breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
. It’s a ghost hunting must.
, all the better. And a digital voice recorder that captures voices that can’t be heard by human ears called EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena) is a good idea, too. And let’s not forget a flashlight! A flashlight is really a good idea!
