Places to Get a Chill in Gettysburg

Gettysburg Orphanage

A building where children without families were taken after the battle, the National Homestead was built on battlefield land adding to its spookiness. Today, walk through the orphanage and feel the presence of children who were taken to the basement’s “dungeon” for strict discipline.

Farnsworth House

Peer into sections of the house where Confederate sharpshooters nested in the rafters or the dining room that served as a makeshift hospital after the battle. It is said that echoes of those bloody days still linger as the Farnsworth House is regarded as one of Gettysburg’s most haunted places.

Sachs Covered Bridge

A spot of serene beauty in daylight quickly turns scary at night. The remote location is supposed to be haunted by three Confederate soldiers who went AWOL during the battle, were captured and subsequently hung from the bridge’s support beams. Sachs Bridge is a prime example when picturesque can become darkly grotesque.

Jennie Wade House

Tragedy struck the house where an innocent, youthful Jennie Wade tended for her ailing sister during the battle. She was killed when a rogue Confederate bullet struck her in the crossfire, making her the only civilian casualty of the battle. Blood marks where Jennie died, and it is believed her spirit still haunts the place.

Welty House

The site of gruesome fighting during the battle, the house served as a Confederate sharpshooter stronghold and still shows its battle scars in the form of bullet holes that rivetted its walls. Some say the bullet that killed Jennie Wade was fired from the Welty House. Two families hid in the basement during the fighting and today tours of the tightly knit space are available.

Gettysburg College

Gettysburg College found itself in the midst of the battle in July 1863. Hardly a graduate escaped studying there without hearing tales of hauntings of the magnificent, towered Pennsylvania Hall, and others such as Stevens, Penn or Huber halls.