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Gentle Ghosts Prefer BlondesA mere ninety minutes from Washington, DC and Philadelphia, there is a sleepy green town where the smell of honeysuckle is strong and the local strawberries are ruby-sweet: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, site of the military turning point of the Civil War. I went to Gettysburg in search of ghosts, but was surprised to learn that there is nothing dusty and stiff about a visit to Gettysburg. History lives, walks and breathes here, and not just in the form of the re-enactors who flood the town every July.
“What does Geoffrey do?” I asked Suzanne when she suggested I spend the night alone in Primrose. “I'll let you find out for yourself,” Suzanne said, crooking an eyebrow. “But I know he likes blondes.” Later she told me that several blondes who have stayed in Primrose have had their feet rubbed as Geoffrey sang a love song in their ear and got in bed beside them. I decided to stick to the Marigold room in the carriage house, which is frequented only by a woman who stands at the foot of the bed. I like my ghosts to keep their distance.
Like most buildings in Gettysburg, Baladerry Inn served as a hospital during and after the great battle. The casualties in three days' worth of fighting at Gettysburg almost top the total number of American casualties in the entire Vietnam War. More wounded Confederates were left behind than were soldiers in the Army of the Potomac, which is perhaps why there seems to be more Confederate unrest in the town today. It seemed to me that more ghosts wore grey than blue. The Farnsworth House, which has been featured as one of America's most haunted places on A&E, The History Channel, and the Sci-Fi Channel, claims to host more than thirteen ghosts. On the side of the inn, dozens of bullet holes prove that the battle didn't only occur on the sweeping fields. The Farnsworth House's Walking Ghost Tour begins in the attic, where two Confederate sharpshooters poked holes in the wall so that they could fire at Union soldiers down the street. Historians believe one of these men accidentally sniped Jennie Wade, the only civilian casualty of the battle. The Jennie Wade House, actually her sister's house, is now obscured from view by a Holiday Inn, where Farnsworth House guests reportedly run when ghosts chase them from their rooms. Apparently seeing a guest run up the street in nothing but their pajamas in the wee hours of the morning is a common occurrence in Gettysburg. The walking tour passes the Jennie Wade House, where she shows her unearthly face in the window from time to time, perpetually waiting for that fateful bullet. But it was while we were still in the attic that we had our brush with a ghost. Our guide, Mark, was in the middle of a story when the attic door, which had been firmly shut, swung open with a long creeeak . “Oh, that's just Jeremy,” Mark explained. Jeremy was a little boy who had been killed in a carriage accident right in front of the house. During tours, Mark explained, Jeremy loved to pull the hair of and climb into the laps of women, especially teachers, nurses, and other caregivers. “He also likes blondes,” Mark added nonchalantly as I tucked my hair into my collar.
If you're not looking for ghosts during your trip to Gettysburg, there are plenty other things to do, but be prepared for grisly stories wherever you turn. A visit to Shriver House – called the only house in Gettysburg without a ghost – shows what the life of a typical 1863 Gettysburg family was like. Our guide explained their method as “teaching history through the back door:” explaining history through the story of what happened to the Shrivers, a wealthy family who lived in town. When the Rebels came marching through their town, Hettie Shriver and her daughters escaped to the Weikert farm. Mr. Shriver was away at war and would never return to protect his family – he died later at the notorious Andersonville prison. The tour ends in the attic, where two Confederate soldiers met their bloody end. Our guide told us a fascinating story about forensic investigators who came to the Shriver attic in spring 2006 to see if centuries-old blood would still be detectable using modern forensic technology. It was. Our guide told us breathlessly how the giant pools of blood glowed under black light. She could even see splatters on the wall from when the bullets hit the sharpshooters: an anecdote that proves that history is very much still being made in Gettysburg. Even if you are traveling to Gettysburg primarily in search of ghosts, I highly suggest a battlefield tour that will help put all the stories in context. Tours are offered on horseback, or a licensed battlefield guide will accompany you in your car. I did the latter and handed Ted, my guide, the wheel. Ted is a retired steel working fulfilling his life's dream. He, like the other licensed battlefield guides, is passionate about the battle and puts more life and excitement into the story than can any professor in a classroom. The guides are happy to take you to your state's monument and ready to answer any questions with an encyclopedic capacity. Gettysburg is a patriotic, friendly town, gracious to tourists and history buffs, with much to attract ghost hunters. You'll leave with a greater appreciation of three very important days in our history, when almost as many American sons perished in a tiny Pennsylvania town as did in the entire Vietnam War. You're guaranteed to leave with the shivers. If You Go: Gettysburg Convention and Visitors' Bureau Sleepy Hollow of Gettysburg Farnsworth House Ghosts of Gettysburg Candlelight Walking Tours Baladerry Inn Historic Cashtown Inn Adams County Winery Guided Historic Walking Tours Boyds Bear Country |
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JustSayGO Travel Show
My first stop was the Baladerry Inn. Suzanne Lonky has owned this quiet country bed and breakfast on the edge of the battlefield for only four years. But in that time she and her guests have observed enough ghost activity to fill an entire binder of testimonies and photos of orbs and human forms. Some are stunningly clear: where there were two men standing, a developed photo revealed three, one of whom is unmistakably a Confederate officer. Suzanne was eager to tell me about the seven Confederate soldiers allegedly buried under the tennis courts, and “Geoffrey,” or “Lover Boy,” the randy spirit who haunts the Primrose room.
In the morning it was easy to forget the Baladerry Inn is haunted by dozens of spirits as I feasted on butterscotch scones, baked omelets with black forest ham, and oranges marinated in honey. Sprightly African violets grace the tabletops in the dining room, and Suzanne chatted with me and served me coffee. But she was quick to remind me that every September, Baladerry Inn hosts a Haunted Happenings Weekend. Each year several psychics visit and hold a séance, which is how Suzanne first found out that Confederate remains lie under her tennis court. She learned Geoffrey's name by asking him questions with a tape recorder running: though they couldn't hear his answers in person, they were clear as a bell when the psychics rewound the tape.
Another delightful experience in haunted dining is the restaurant at the Cashtown Inn, where you can eat hearty American food and sip creative cocktails such as the “Cannon Fire,” made from raspberry liqueur, blue curacao, and champagne, with a cherry garnish. For dinner I recommend the crab and avocado martini and the seared king salmon with cucumber and dill aioli. After dinner, I stopped in the bar, made from the original shiny floorboards of the Inn, and listened to the owner's stories of their ghosts, a man in black and a woman in white.
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