The Camera's Eye

Now that things have settled down somewhat from my trip to Gettysburg a few weeks ago, I thought I would go back and talk a little about some of the ghost stories surrounding the area that the "ghost hunt" took us on. As I mentioned in the previous post we were taken out to an area called "The Grove" which is on the edge of East Cemetery Hill where much of the fighting on the second day took place. One of the units fighting that day were the Louisiana Fighting Tigers. These rough and tough men were not just your ordinary solider, but were made up of the worst of the worst. Most of the men were murders or worst and had been serving time in prison when the war broke out and were promised their freedom if they fought. You can only imagine the surprise on the Union troops when they came rushing at them out of the woods that day not only rifles but hammers, rocks, sticks, knives and bare fist. The union army struck back with anything they could find and the woods were full of dead and injured men when it was over. Like much of Gettysburg men were buried where they laid in temporary graves, until months and even years later they were removed and placed in cemeteries.
Fast forward to modern times: A new middle school is built along side the battlefield. Where the stadium now stands we know that several bodies had been buried. It was along this area that my blog friend Linda and her daughter Amanda, and Amanda's friend Darci, my husband and myself explored. With Linda's permission I am posting the photos that she captured that night

This strange mist showed up in one of the first photos. No one was smoking, it was not cold enough to see your breath, and nothing we can explain made this mist. We did not see it with our eyes. Only with the camera.

The next few photos are of orbs in the area.
Now I know a lot of people don't believe an orb is anything but dust, and yes some of this might be dust, but I do believe some of these are true orbs because they seem to hold there own light

See the orb at the top

This one is near the wall

Some of the stories of haunting of this area include woman being pinched..sounds of gun fire, smells of tobacco,

Here are some photos from my previous visits to the same area

Is this dust in every photo? Or could it be the energy of lost souls, still haunting the grounds of Gettysburg...
You decide

Ghosting Around Gettysburg Part 2

After the disappointment of the "Ghost Hunt" I debated about taking a different tour. I knew I wanted to go on another one, I just wasn't sure who to pick. I have always heard that the Ghost of Gettysburg (Mark Nesbitt) had the number 1 tour, but have never booked it because I have all but memorized his books Ghost of Gettysburg. I thought I would be bored and know all the stories.
Mark has several different tours to choose from, but on the night we went the only thing offered was the Baltimore Street Tour.
When we arrived we found a large crowd, in fact it was so large that they divided us into two groups. Our guide Rogers started the tour in the courtyard, telling us not only the battle history, but the history of the home that is now the tour headquarters,


After spending a few minutes there we went across Baltimore Street to the Twin Sycamores Where we were told stories of modern day haunting. This home was standing during the battle and to learn more about it click on the link I have listed.

We then headed up the street where we heard more stories, including the one of a little boy who was an orphan. It seems that some of the young ladies at the College took pity on the young boy and hid him in there room. He stayed there for several days until the headmistress heard about him and came knocking on doors. The girls hurriedly sent him to the balcony outside the window and closed the curtains. When the headmistress knocked she made the girls come downstairs leaving the poor child outside in bitter temperatures. Several hours later they were allowed to return to there room where they rushed to the window. When they opened it, no one was there.
What had happened to the boy? They hurried outside thinking he perhaps jumped or fell, but did not see him, nor any footprints in the snow. Many years went by and new students came. The story managed to be passed on as countless students recounted it. One night one modern day young lady was studying in her room. She heard what sounded like a tapping on the window. Thinking it must be the wind she opened the curtains and there on the other side was the blue face of a young boy. She screamed and ran from the room. By the time she returned with someone the face was gone..and in its place the words

E-M P-L-E-H (Help Me)


On the out side of the window..

We also heard several other stories and very much enjoyed this tour.Would I recommend it?

Yes, this one was worth the time and money. We were also very lucky to capture two photos of "interest" I am posting them here for your judgement..

The first was taken by my husband as he looked down an alley way

You can click on this photo to enlarge it. See the yellow snake like trail?
It seems to go into the wall.
Some people believe that this is spirit activity.

The next photo also has some strange lights in it.
At first I thought maybe it was the reflection of a light source, but that does not explain how the lights are in more than one place in the photo.



Leave me a comment and let me know what you think

Ghosting Around Gettysburg-Part One

If you want to take a ghost tour in Gettysburg Pa. you can find one on most any corner. For my trip this year I choose two. The first one I will tell you about was booked through the Farnsworth House Inn.

What drew me to book this tour was the advertisement that you are taken on a ghost hunt and allowed to use "real" ghost hunting equipment.

We were all gathered into the cellar of the house where we were met by a very giggly young tour guide. She seemed to have a hard time explaining what we were suppose to do with the equipment without breaking into laughter and I found her very unprofessional. She did manage to finally tell one story and at the end of it we did hear a muffled sound which was a bit hard to believe since it seemed to come on cue at the end of her story. We were at this point all given a bag with our equipment and taken outside.

I found the equipment was very basic. We were given a set of dowsing rods. A temperature gauge, an EMF detector (which lights up when spirits are present) a voice recorder, and a night vision viewer that also had infra-red. When I asked the guide to show me once again how to use this piece she stated that ours had the broken button and that area of the viewer did not work. This should have been my first clue that this tour was going to be a bit of a bust. The viewer reminded me a bit of a kids toy and although I did see something move across the trees at one point because the viewer was not working properly I couldn't tell what it was.

We were taken out to the edge of the tree line in an area near the middle school and told of three areas that were suppose to have high paranormal activity. I had visited these area's on two other tours so I already knew the basic story. Once there the guide plopped herself down on a tree stump and we were set loose for approximately 30-40 minutes.

My husband and I had met up with a fellow blogger for the tour so we did enjoy teaming up with them.
I did get several hits on the EMF detector but no photo's of any interest. I had my own voice recorder with me but have not reviewed it yet. If I find anything on there I will be sure and post about it.

One of the young ladies that was in our group did have good luck with the dowsing rods and was able to get some simple yes and no answers. She felt as if she were connecting with one of the soldiers.

All in all I was a bit disappointed in this tour. Especially for the money. I personally felt that the guide could have made it more interesting if she had investigated with the entire group for a few minutes before breaking us into groups. Would I recommend this tour...No I am sorry to say that I would not. However this does not mean that I would not recommend other tours given by the Farnsworth House Inn. I have taken the combo tour of the attic and basement and found it to be very very good. Of course we all know that the guide makes the tour and perhaps if you were to take this same tour you might be more impressed or the young lady who was giving it might do a better job on a different night..

Next..Ghost of Gettysburg Tour(Mark Nesbitt)