The otherworldly jumble of boulders, twisting paths and shadowy woods was supposedly called Devil’s Den long before the Union and Confederate armies decorated it with corpses back in July of 1863. It’s said that even the Native Americans who inhabited the area that became Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, thought the place was creepy. It still is.
The three-day Battle of Gettysburg claimed over 50,000 casualties, making both the town and the surrounding countryside a breeding ground of spooky activity. Perfect for me. I’ve always believed in ghosts. Halloween was my favorite day of the year when I was growing up, and over the years I spent many hours prowling the Gettysburg battlefield, soaking up the atmosphere and hoping to encounter one of the many spirits that haunt the place - even sneaking into the park after dark - to no avail.
Until the fall of 1993, when I had a face to face encounter with one of the battlefield’s most famous ghosts. Over the years he has been reported by many visitors to the bizarre moonscape that is Devil’s Den: A spectral soldier dressed in rags, most likely a southerner who died among the rocks.
I was on one of my many pilgrimages to the battlefield, and had fallen in with a young couple from Ohio who were there for their first visit. After touring several sites on this clear, sunny day, we wound up on top of a mammoth boulder in Devil’s Den. We were looking down into a portion of the field known as the Slaughter Pen, when the three of us simultaneously became aware of someone behind us. We turned to greet our fellow tourist and there “he” was.
We'd been joined by a hippie.
He wore a plaid shirt and appeared bedraggled, with unkempt hair and a poorly groomed beard.
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Re: The Ghost Of Gettysburg
By GrayReb, June 11, 2008 at 13:30Great story, Richard. Visited Gettysburg several times and always stop in Devil's Den. Curious though why you and the other two people weren't "camera-ready" and snapped a quick photo. Even if you thought he was a "real hippie", that would have been sufficient reason to take his picture. I've captured a couple of anomalies (orb and strange streaks of light) there but regrettably have never seen an apparition. I'll keep hoping and trying in future visits.
Re: The Ghost Of Gettysburg
By Richard Day Gore, November 3, 2007 at 06:36Hi Robyn,
Thanks for your kind comment and for sharing your story. I always find the debate about the existence of ghosts amusing. I'm sure there are many, many people who believe in ghosts but simply can't admit it. After all, what is religion itself but a codified, officially sanctioned belief in the supernatural?
My grandmother was a case in point. She was regularly visited for many years by the spirit of a French WW1 fighter ace whom she had known and had quite the crush on. She would tell us of his visits over the years, while still swearing that she didn't believe in ghosts!
Personally, I guess when I was younger I "wanted" to believe in them. But over the years I've had so many experiences, culminating in spending the last 13 years living in a haunted apartment, in a haunted old apartment building in which almost everyone has experienced apparent ghostly activity. Now I am a firm believer. Like so much else in life, it comes down to what we choose to believe.
The truth is out there, I suppose.
Regards,
Richard Day Gore
Re: The Ghost Of Gettysburg
By Robyn Stubbs, October 29, 2007 at 08:46Great story - thanks Richard! I've a had a bit of a run-in with a ghost myself ... I was working at a little dessert and coffee place on Granville Street in Vancouver. The cafe had two storefronts side by side (Tigers and Cheesecake Etc) but sold the same menu and was connected through the kitchen - it was impossible to get to the back offices without first going through that shared space. When I first started working there, I was told about the Tigers Ghost, who was friendly but liked to make its presence known after the cafe closed at 1 a.m. I had never really believed in ghosts and quite frankly, thought everyone there pulling my chain - until I experienced it for myself, that is.
I was alone in the back, doing the dishes, when I saw a weird shadowy figure move across the front window. I chalked it up to the shadows of people walking by on the street, but I couldn't ignore the strange feeling that overcame me. I wasn't really scared, but I just felt ... weird about it. I continued on with the dishes, and then I heard the scrap of the chair legs against the tile floor. I assumed somebody was in there tucking in the chairs, and hurried to finish up and get home.
When I walked into the other side of the cafe, I saw every staff member who was working that night sitting at the back booth - I knew that it would have been impossible for a real person to be in Tigers, walking around and pushing in chairs, because they would have had to walk by me in the back room.
I had experienced the Tigers Ghost - I hadn't SEEN it, but I had FELT it. And when I told my co-workers, they smiled and told me not to worry - it was a friendly spirit. I'm told it's a female ghost, but I'm not sure about why she's stuck around that particular place. The restaurant owners, by the way, didn't like ghost talk around the shop - bad for business, I suppose.