The Battlefield Apparitions of Gettysburg

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On one warm, humid morning in July 1863 two armies met around the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, a crucial meeting point between the North and South during the Civil War.

Three days later, 7,000 soldiers surrounded the Pennsylvanian landscape, pools of blood flowing down Gettysburg's Cemetery and Culps hills. Months after the fabled Battle of Gettysburg, confederate soldiers rotted in mass graves as the townspeople struggled to heal the 30,000 wounded soldiers, some on the brink of death. Over 140 years later, the souls of these soldiers still linger around Gettysburg, making Gettysburg the most haunted battlefield in the entire world.

Why Gettysburg's Ghosts Will Not Leave
After the bloody battle of Gettysburg ended in July 1863, the people of Gettysburg, around 3,000 strong, struggled to find a way to treat the injured soldiers. The number of those injured soldiers was ten times the size of their entire town. As the people of Gettysburg treated the injured, the dead rotted in the hot, July sun. The smell was horrific; people could not leave their houses without scented handkerchiefs. Without the handkerchiefs, people vomited upon smelling the appalling stench.

When people die without proper, dignified burials, such as the soldiers of Gettysburg, ghosts appear. The ghosts haunt their grounds as a way of seeking redemption after death. All 7,000 of Gettysburg's soldiers never received this dignified burial, some rotting in mass graves for months after the battle itself. Over 5,000 ghosts haunt Gettysburg now, seeking that unclaimed redemption.

The poor residents of Gettysburg first piled these dead, decaying bodies in the streets of Gettysburg. They took the wounded inside houses, setting up makeshift medical centers. A lot of these wounded soldiers died, soaking up these houses with thick, dark blood. During the couple of weeks that followed the battle, the North attempted to properly bury the Union soldiers. The confederate soldiers continued to rot in makeshift mass graves until they were properly dispersed and buried months later.

Years after this battle, people would begin to report ghostly sightings on Gettysburg's Cemetery and Culps Hills.

The Battlefield Apparitions of Cemetery and Culps Hills
Now over a century and a half since Gettysburg's end, ghosts still haunt their final resting place.

Cemetery Hill and Culps Hill, two hills outside of Gettysburg, is where most of the soldiers met their end. During the first night of Gettysburg, soldiers retreated to the safety of Cemetery Hill, only to be killed by opposing troops. Both Cemetery and Culps Hill saw the deaths of thousands of soldiers, both from the North and the South. Cemetery Hill sees more ghosts, however.

People frequently report smelling faint peppermint or vanilla. This smell comes from the scented handkerchiefs the people of Gettysburg used while they took care of the wounded -- and the dead. Disturbed apparitions also haunt the living that continually visits Cemetery and Culps Hill. People report seeing ghosts walking around these hills, along with other angry ghosts touching them and warning others to leave.

The Hauntings of Rose Farm and Devil's Den
The two most haunted places in Gettysburg are not Cemetery Hill and Culps Hill -- in fact, the concentration of these hauntings occur on Rose Farm and the neighboring Devil's Den.

Rose Farm, located outside of Gettysburg, worked as a makeshift hospital after the battle. Rose Farm took on a huge number of injured and dead soldiers, most of the dead buried outside in rows. To this day, the dead still scare others and cause ghostly visions inside the house, including blood-stained walls. Residents warn others from visiting Rose Farm and the nearby Devil's Den.

Devil's Den, where most of the battle took place on day two, was also the sight of strange apparitions before the battle took place. Native Americans say that another huge battle took place here, earning the name Devil's Den. With the death of additional soldiers in 1863, it added to the story, making this the most haunted place in Gettysburg. One woman reported being approached by a dirty, shoeless man while taking pictures of Devil's Den. When she turned around to thank him, he was gone. Many people have reported the same sighting as well. In the nearby Triangular field, electrical equipment refuses to work -- even cameras. It is the US's modern version of the Bermuda Triangle and is extremely haunted.

Are all of these places really haunted? The locals swear it is, and visitors have as well. Gettysburg still lives on through its haunted apparitions -- but only you can find out by checking it out for yourself.