Upon waking up on the morning of August 15, and noticing that NYC was still in the grips of the massive 2003 Blackout, my friend Lisa and I decided to escape Babylon for a while. So we packed our bags and drove to Gettysburg to hunt for ghosts.
I myself am not sure if I believe in ghosts, per se. My belief is based more on the energy we as humans transmit while we’re alive and the traces of that energy which lingers once we die. Some would call this a haunting and that may be an accurate description. However, pop-culture has raised this simple theory to a level of total fantasy.
There is no doubt that the city of Gettysburg is chock full of energy from the thousands of soldiers that died during the bloodiest battle ever fought on US soil. From July 2 through July 4, 1863 the Union Army lost 23,049 men and the Confederate Army lost 28,063 men. Just during the mere 50 minutes of a battle known as Pickett’s Charge, the Confederates lost over 5,000 men.
So this little city is ripe for ghost hunting. It is also ripe for tourist friendly spectacles that takes away from the essence of its history. The blocks upon blocks of gift shops to the fake corpse in the basement of Jennie Wade’s house.
Jennie Wade lived in the home of Mrs. McClellan with her new baby. Located smack in the middle of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge and the Confederate outposts in the town. Throughout July 1 and 2 Jennie baked bread for grateful Union soldiers. On the morning of July 3rd, while Jennie stood in the kitchen kneading dough, a bullet pierced the door and struck her. It lodged in her heart killing her instantly.
The union soldiers heard the screams of Jennie’s mother and sister. They proceeded to move her body to the basement where it stayed until the end of the battle. Jennie was the sole civilian casualty. An amazing fact considering the massacre of soldiers. This has also fueled the desire to rake money in from curious tourists.
The house is supposed to be one of the more “haunted” in Gettysburg. Tour guides told tales of unexplained sights and smells. Instances of people speaking in tongues and feeling cold touches on the backs of their necks. The sad image of a restless Jennie waiting for her lover to return, not knowing that he is dead too. Her father, a mental deficient that never got to say goodbye to his daughter.
Unfortunately this whole image is blown to pieces from the moment you enter the house. There is a life-size mannequin of a soldier with a video projected on his face. You’re supposed to believe that he is the one that found and moved Jennie’s body. A body which has been replaced by the aforementioned fake corpse.
Having said all that, the energy is quite strong here in Gettysburg. Especially walking along the battlegrounds and graveyards. But, being the skeptic that I am, I needed proof of some sort. We were told of images that appear on cameras and areas where cameras don’t work at all. As I snapped away around the outside of the Wade house, the tour guide asked, “Is your camera working?”
A bit perplexed by the question I replied, “Um…yeah.”
“That’s weird,” she said, “Because most electronic equipment, especially cameras don’t ever work here.”
