America's Most Haunted -- Gettysburg, PA "Devil's Den"
82Gettysburg Battlefield, PA -- Devil's Den
As I discussed in my "3 Types of Ghost Hauntings" hub, there is a direct connection between a tragic, violent or untimely death and a haunting. If a young man passes suddenly and instantaneously in a terrible car crash, the energy emitted at the time of the accident is so strong it tends to leave an imprint on the environment. This event will continue to playback year after year like a segment on a video recorder, leaving behind voices, noises and images, until the energy dissolves and the tape wears out. If the death of just one young man is extreme enough to permanently impact the area for years to come, then what about the death of 51,000 men?
On July 1, 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his troops from Northern Virginia up to south central Pennsylvania, to a small, rural town called Gettysburg. He was confronted there by Union General George G. Meade, and although a scrimage had not been planned, a three-day battle suddenly ensued that was extremely violent and ultimately very bloody. The Confederates were defeated and pushed back to Virginia, but the battle resulted in 51,000 American casualties, including one civilian casualty, a woman by the name of Jennie Wade who died when a stray bullet entered her window at the very beginning of the battle. It was a morbid massacre, and is considered to be the turning point of the Civil War even though the fighting would continue unabated for another two years. Because of the instances of brutal hand-to-hand combat and high number of deaths, it is believed that nearly all 40 miles of the Gettysburg battlefields are ripe with paranormal activity. The most active location, however, is the area known as "Devil's Den".
The rocky area full of massive boulders really does look like a lion's den. Due to it's unique layout, a sharpshooter was able to hide behind the rocks in "blind spots", and systematically take out hundreds of soldiers as they passed through unknowingly without being seen. Eventually, Union forces were able to use mirrors and field glass to determine the sharpshooters location and kill the man. Photography was in it's infancy during the Civil War, and it is said that photographer/war correspondent Alexander Gardner was at Devil's Den snapping pictures right after the battle ended. In order to get a better shot, he instructed his assistants to move the bodies of dead soldiers to different locations so he could get a better picture. Supposedly, he even went so far as to drag one particular fallen soldier to the pile of rocks behind the blind spot so he could snap a picture and fabricate a story about the unrelated man being the infamous sharpshooter.
It is believed that since these men were not left in their final resting places, their souls have never found peace. From that infamous day on, photographers have had inordinate amounts of difficulty taking pictures in Devil's Den as well as in several other areas of notorious fighting.
My mother and I visited Gettysburg a few years back, and we experienced this for ourselves firsthand. Before heading out to Devil's Den, we both put new batteries in each of our digital cameras, brought along extras just in case, and fully charged the battery on the camcorder. Regardless, within minutes after entering the den, both our camera batteries went from full to empty in a matter of moments. We replaced them with new ones only to have it happen again. At this point, I brought out the camcorder, which held a better charge. I captured about five minutes worth of footage before the battery went completely dead. There are also reports of malfunctioning cameras developing images that weren't actually there, such as apparitions of soldiers or weapons. Triangular Field, in particular, is one place where tourists will take pictures of the grassy field but will see only black when the film is developed.
OTHER ANOMALIES
Jennie Wade, the one civilian casualty I mentioned, is said to wander the house where she died along with the ghost of her father, who was institutionalized after her death and ended up passing away in the "poor house." Several people have reported seeing a rugged man, barefoot, with a floppy hat and sloppy, ragged clothes on the rocks at Devil's Den. According to Civil War buffs, this perfectly matches the description of the unkempt, poorly dressed Texans who were at Gettysburg fighting for the Confederate Army in 1863. Gettysburg Battlegrounds frequently has volunteers scheduled to reenact the prominent battles for the enjoyment of passing tourists. However, there have been countless reports of visitors witnessing a "reenactment" on a day when there was not one scheduled, and no actors were even in the area.
Devil's Den hasn't changed much in the 144 years since the battle was fought, which could account partially for the high level of paranormal activity that takes place there. For the spirits that exist in this location, the surroundings look exactly as they did the day they died, a factor which could lead the restless ghosts to believe that the war has never ended, as they continue to fight the same battle day after day after day.
GETTYSBURG GHOST PICS
GETTYSBURG GHOST VIDEO -- At 00:15 on the left hand side, a ghostly figure begins coming in and out of the frame
GETTYSBURG EVP -- At 00:12 a little girl speaks in a sing-song voice
GETTYSBURG GHOST INVESTIGATION with Mark Nesbitt
Interesting Links
SOURCES
- GETTYSBURGGHOSTS.NET
Images courtesy of this site. - CASTLEOFSPIRITS.COM
Some images courtesy of this site. - STRANGEHAPPENINGS.ORG
Some images courtesy of this site.
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Comments
Great hub. Gettysburg is one of my favorite places. The paranormal activity there is unreal.
i'm really into the paranormal, have had a few strange things happen to me in the past, some things still do. i've never had the chance to go and explore ghettysburg,but would love to sometime.
Your first "ghost" photo is bogus. My family and I took the same photo of that statue at night and joke about it being our ghost photo. Shame on you. Now you put the credibility of any of your other photos in doubt.
what a great story, i will be visiting gettysburg in a few days, where are the best places to go to maybe see ghosts? if anyone has any info on some haunted spots in gettysburg post it, thanks
i had the same thing happen to me in the past and it was really scary!!!
Great summary, and well written. Love Gettysburg. Been back dozens of times since I was a kid. There is something about that place that makes it different than anywhere else I've ever been. The physical beauty of the place and the immense importance of what happened there make it unforgettable. Will be heading back soon for more pics & hopefully some EVPs. Thanks becauseilive.
OMG!! Gettysburg is so awsome, but scary at night!! BETTER CHECK OUT THEM GHOSTS!?
51000 people didn't die in Gettysburg. It was 51000 casualities. That means dead, wounded, missing
I've been in Gettysburg for college for about 2 months now and have been to devil's den at least a dozen times so far. I have never experienced anything paranormal. Not saying I don't believe in it, I just haven't seen any of these things prove themselves true yet.
Nice "ghost soldier" photo....just as mo said, shame on you now your credibility is shot. It undermines belief in those of us who really HAVE had experiences there. Gettysburg is a beautiful and magnetizing place, don't undermine its history and paranormal activity with fakes.
Devils Den and Jennie Wade House paranormal activity all the time there.
experienced it first hand in spring of 2006
Well Written!nice piece of work with lot of interested video.LOL
I'm heading down there next month. Where are some good places to check out that wont cost a fortune?
WOW
what the hell does "the exorcist" have to do with the video clip of the ghosts?
My sister and i have been to Gettysburg and we took a picture and saw paranormal activity in almost every picture!! we were so freked out!!
i was just at devil den with my kids last weekend. ive lived in gettysburg for a couple yrs now and been to the den many times. this is the first time i took pics with my cell it wasnt until i read this that i realized my phone went dead on me there. it did not loose charge it simply wouldnt stay on it kept turning off after every shot but i did manage to get pics and there was nothing strange in them unless you count my kids LOL
Omg! This is so scary why do they show the excorist? God I hate it when peoples like that SCARE THE HELL OUT OF ME!!!
When i went 2 devils den for a school field trip, we ate at the d.d. and i exculy seen a ghost seating on the rock i told the teacher but he did not believe me ... I WAS SCARED!!!!!!
I have been there a gazillion times- even with a six pack in the midle of the battlefield- looking for ghosts or paranormal activity. All I received was a 'talking to' by park rangers. I have even taunted them (ghosts) while there. Nope-notta-zilch. I did have a deer come close to me though. Remeber that paranormal science is a psychological study. Guess that I'm just psychologically sound and not worthy of contact. Imagine that... Just to be sure- now that I am older- I am going to do a research paper on ghosts for a college class and go there next weekend. I bet I can reaffirm that no such ghosts exist there. Next I suppose one would say that I have to possess a special sensitivity to experience them. As my Scotish friends would say, "It's crap."
Yo Frank, been there, done that. If you haven't witnessed anything, then maybe you should leave the 6 pack home. And why taunt them? Didn't they die a horrible death as it is? And by you going out into the battle fileds is what makes it difficult for people of sound mind to be there, without the park rangers lurking around. Take a hint, stay at home. And NO, you don't have to have a special "gift", but you do have to have a brain. Next time you feel like going somewhere, keep your 6 pack at the pub!
I agree 100% with what Big T said. Frank, you don't need to be sensitive to ghosts to see or experience something paranormal for that fact. First of all, you need to respect the dead's spirits. Taunting them only makes you look like a fool. They gave their lives in a war, probably one of the most traumatic and heart-wrenching ways to have your life ended, and you antangonize them..? And to bring a 6 pack nonetheless?! Sheesh. The one thing Gettysburg doesn't need is nonsensical characters, so in the words of Big T "Take a hint, stay at home." You're disgraceful.
The evp of a little girl sounds a lot like a piano, not a little girl.
I was just there the other day with my cousin and uncle, we went really far in, and both of their (freshly charged) camera/iPhone died! I'm not lying. I swear on everything that can be sweared(I know it's not a word)upon. We also saw weird yellow light things (one per pic in most pics, don't tell me it's pollen or something like that). Not to mention the creepy paranormal/demonic feeling I got... why do you think it's called DEVIL'S den? I swear all I'm saying is true. This is coming from a practicing Christian.
When we were at the Sach's Bridge my young son said he smelled flowers at a certain point on the bridge. I did as well--but we could not see any growing flowers on the banks of the creek or nearby. It was weird but no ghosts, or orbs or anything. We are going again and staying at Farnsworth Inn. Should be interesting.
Maybe Frank needed courage to face the ghost and figured he would find it in a six pack. What a jerk. All that matters is that it was a place of immense tragedy and you really don't need to experience any "paranormal" activity just knowing the history of that whole area is "haunting" enough.
Re: Linda.....My family went to Gettysburg a few years ago. My mother mentioned 2 times she smelt lilacs to the point it was stifling. I have never been but we have a trip planned for next weekend. I am excited.
My Great Great Grandfather fought at devil's den on jul 2 1863
Can anybody recommend any hotels or B&Bs with the most paranormal activity? If you can, please include any personal experiences. Thanks!
Was just there early August, and while I didn't see anything , there definitely is a somber feeling. You can't help but be awestruck by everything that went on there.
nice story, but you got a-lot of the facts wrong. Roughly 8,500 men from both sides where killed outright across the entire battlefield..not 51,000(good god)! That figure represents the overall count of casualties (dead,wounded&missing). Also Jennie Wade is really Ginnie Wade...That name Jennie is a mispronounced name by people now days. And finally, on the contrary, Devils Den and the surrounding area has changed a lot since the battle...the area around DD (especially the summit of Little Round Top) was sparsely wooded, DD also had a few more trees growing out of the rocks in their time.. and that first picture of that "Ghost" is a photograph of a statue between DD and the Wheat Field taken at night and on the edge of the photographers flash... I have seen it there... All the rest of your article holds truth though...
I live 45 minutes from G-burg, and go there fairly often. The official war records call the troop(s) casualties "losses". So while 50k plus sounds horrific, it was closer to 20k dead or missing. Still horrible! I went to the Farnsworth house just two days ago. Interesting and worth the 9 bucks. Not a big ghost believer, but saw pictures being taken digitally of the Inn etc... that included bright orbs! Pretty creepy. The stories and history are worth the trip. But don't go just for ghosts, the history there is amazing!
i believe it. i saw something like this at the little big horn and freiked. they were US like calvary in a strait line
i am goibg to gettysburg soon i hope i see something that shouldn't be there
I've lived in Gettysburg my entire life and not once have I or any of the people I know who have also lived here for all of their lives seen anything out of the usual. Unless you count tourists who decide to stand out in the middle of the road looking for "ghost spirits" with candles at night. I'm not saying people can't believe what they want to believe or that ghosts don't exist, I'm just saying if you visit Gettysburg, or a place like Gettysburg, please have some common sense. Sometimes I think people want so badly to see things they think they actually see them. Devil's Den and Sach's Bridge are beautiful places and should definitely be visited and respected. However, isn't it possible that the ghosts in pictures and the fact that your phones turned off are technical malfunctions? I'm not trying to be mean, I think it's cool that people can believe in these things, I'm just wondering if that possibility crossed anybody's mind. I've been to Cashtown, Orrtanna, Chambersburg, Hunterstown, Hanover and all the surrounding areas that were affected by the Civil War along with Gettysburg... I've been to them during the day and at night, for long periods of time and nothing has ever occurred.
Devil's Den is an amazing place..you can feel the history. That whole camera thing is crazy, it didn't to happen to me but it's more than coincidence if it's happened to a number of people.
All of Gettysburg is an unbelievable place to visit and should be respected.
dc64 says:
2 years ago
Great site. I lived in Gettysburg for a while. Loved it!