Most Haunted Places In Gettysburg

Known as one of this nation’s most haunted towns, Gettysburg continues to bear a bone-chilling heritage loaded with historic significance, trauma, and ghostly lore. So dense are its haunted places that one can easily visit numerous sights in a single day, making it an ideal destination for otherworldly enthusiasts. 

Ghoulish Gettysburg Facts

• Hauntings at Gettysburg Battlefield stretch back to 1863, when Union forces claimed to see a mysterious figure who disappeared and reappeared wearing a Revolutionary War uniform. Many believe this eerie figure was George Washington himself, appearing on the eve of the battle’s deadliest day as a grim warning. 
• The Battle of Gettysburg may not have been the first conflict to mar this land. Accounts reveal a larger battle may have occurred nearby between two Native American tribes, marking this land as a battle zone long before the Civil War.
• Currently, Gettysburg has a population under 10,000 people — less than one-fifth the amount of those wounded, missing, or killed here in battle — making its ghostly numbers possibly far larger than its living population.

Why Is Gettysburg So Haunted?

Home to the Civil War’s bloodiest battle, the Battle of Gettysburg left an inerasable scar on the land of this historic town, seeping into nearly every structure and home. Although the conflict lasted only three days, its consequences were disastrous, claiming more than 50,000 soldiers as casualties. More than 160 years later, many of these victims still linger, unaware that the battle no longer carries on. 

Must-Visit Haunted Places in Gettysburg

Jennie Wade House

Not everyone who died during the Battle of Gettysburg did so in the fray. Twenty-year-old Jennie Wade was the only civilian to succumb during the Gettysburg battle. Tragically hit by a wayward bullet while baking bread in her sister’s home, her death seemingly left a peculiar imprint on the Jennie Wade House, where she died.

To this day, people who enter this modest property hear strange voices, see doors sway open and shut as if operated by ghostly hands, and sense a feeling they are not alone. Luckily for them, Jennie appears to be a benevolent spirit, more confused than anything else. 

Brickhouse Inn

During those three violent days in 1863, the Brickhouse Inn sat between the Union and Confederate forces, catching all manner of crossfire in the process. Bullet holes still pepper many of its exterior walls as an eerie reminder of these deadly days.

Now a red-bricked inn, this Victorian property still holds the unearthly echoes of this harrowing event. While its beautiful grounds, bay windows, and claw foot bathtubs may have fooled some, locals know this 19th-century inn holds an otherworldly energy that has seemingly soaked into its very woodwork. It now incorporates the historic Welty House, where Solomon Welty and his children sheltered in the basement as the war raged on outside. 

Gettysburg College

Just a stone’s throw from where some of the bloodiest skirmishes took place during the battle, Gettysburg College operated as a command post and hospital amidst the brutal conflict. Countless tales surround this phantom-filled institution, with ghosts littering its many buildings and residence halls.

The most terrifying tale might be that told by two staff members who stumbled across a dreadful scene in Pennsylvania Hall. Somehow transported via the building elevator, they encountered a scene of chaos: blood-drenched medical practitioners moved in agitation, attending to wounded soldiers who groaned and wailed as if still in the thick of the Civil War’s darkest days. 

But this is far from the college’s only haunted tale. Spirits and shadows are said to wander in Stevens Hall, which holds the spirit of a strange blue boy, as well as the basement of Hanson Hall and the Huber Hall dormitory. 

Gettysburg Military Park

Undoubtedly one of this Pennsylvania town’s most renowned sites, the historic Gettysburg Battlefield holds several haunted locations within its bounds. 

One such eerie place is Devil’s Den, a collection of rocks which Confederate soldiers used as cover while sharpshooting. In this gruesome location, electronics malfunction, screams and groans are heard, and when cameras do occasionally work, strange beings are captured in photos. 

Northwest of this rocky hotbed, visitors will find Triangular Field, another highly unnerving site. Here, shadows drift across the landscape, ghostly gunfire sounds distantly, and foggy figures in uniform shuffle past, seemingly unaware the battle has ended.

Sach’s Covered Bridge

A hundred-foot-long covered bridge that spans Marsh Creek, this picturesque structure has a ghastly past. A site where Confederate soldiers were hanged, this timber-framed bridge was trodden by both Union and Confederate forces during the bitter battle, leaving bloody imprints on this gloomy pathway.

Now, unearthly cannon blasts carry across the air along with the smell of smoke. Others have experienced a ghostly hand tapping them on the shoulder, although no one is there. 

Gettysburg Orphanage

Otherwise known as the National Homestead Orphanage, the Gettysburg Orphanage harbors some of the most morose echoes of conflict. Constructed to care for children orphaned during the Civil War, it was erected on the very battlefield where many such men died. Yet this was far from its young occupants’ concerns. 

The orphaned souls condemned to this forlorn place fell under the care of a brutal headmistress, who confined her charges to the basement as punishment. Now a hotbed for hair-raising activity, this dungeon-like cavern is home to ghostly cries, eerie balls of light, and a heavy sense of dread. 

The Farnsworth House Inn

Few can forget the weathered history of the Farnsworth House, as more than a hundred bullet holes still litter its exterior south wall. Formerly a harbor for Confederate sharpshooters, this location is believed to have housed the marksman who unintentionally shot Jennie Wade. 

Yet those aren’t the darkest days that this building likely saw. After the battle ended, it served as a makeshift hospital, housing the grisly aftereffects of the bloody battle. Now a historic inn and restaurant, this 1810 property draws in countless visitors with its period-authentic dining experience. 

Despite the warm atmosphere, both staff and visitors of this gabled structure have felt cold spots or heard phantom footsteps in this two-century-old building. A few have even sighted manifestations of ghostly soldiers. Whether they linger out of choice or duty is unknown — but it may be that they feel particularly at home among the period-dressed wait staff in this storied establishment. 

Gettysburg: A Haunted Crossroads

Gettysburg is sometimes referred to as “the Historic Crossroads” due to its system of interconnected roads that became strategic during the Battle of Gettysburg. But, while its streets are winding and timeworn, they are also woven with spirits, leaving this quiet town one of America’s most haunted. 

To dive deeper into this phantom-rich city’s haunted offerings, consider booking a spooky-centered Gettysburg ghost tour to be shepherded to many of this city’s most chilling locations. Perhaps you’ll end the night with a ghost story of your own, adding yet another layer to Gettysburg’s haunted legacy.