When you go there on pleasant evenings, ghost hunters galore are found throughout the battlefield. Some of these people have a serious interest in the paranormal; others are simple thrill seekers, who have heard about the hot spots through the popular Ghosts of Gettysburg books by local author Mark Nesbitt. I have found that for the best results, you need to go somewhere where there aren't a lot of people making noise and laughing.  You must remember when you come upon a battlefield or somewhere where there was a lot of death and heartache, that this place is sacred and you need to be respectful of something you don't always see in Gettysburg.  It has become almost a haven for young people to hang out and see ghosts.  To avoid the masses, my husband John and I decided to explore some off the beaten path areas, one such place being the Rose Farm and adjacent woods. Now this is somewhere I am extremely uncomfortable.  John is well-read on the battle, and knows hundreds of Confederate soldiers were buried in shallow graves around the Rose Farm.  Most of the Confederate dead were disinterred and sent home to South in the years following the war, but many historians agree that large numbers of these bodies may still lie forgotten on the field today - the Rose Farm is believed to be the location of one such mass grave.  (Wasted Valor by author Greg Coco is an excellent guide to the areas where CSA dead were once buried.)

The first trip to the Rose Woods made my hair stand on end.  I felt like I was being watched by troops of men.  I felt my hair being pulled. (Something that happens to me a lot around spirits).  Within minutes we were capturing orbs of energy.  All I had to say to my husband John was they are right behind me, take the photo, and lo and behold the orbs were dancing around my head.  I almost always feel like running when I am in this section of the battlefield.

We took members of our ghost group, called THE CAPITAL GHOST FORUM to the Rose Woods to see what they would find. We adhere to the standards and protocols of the International Ghost Hunters Society, to ensure that our photos do not show camera straps, dust, rain, etc...  One member took a photo by a monument and when it was developed, it showed a row of lights, almost like a row of candles along the structure going into the woods. They follow the terrain precisely.  There is no reasonable explanation of these lights; different than the standard orbs, vortices and ectoplasm, its a truly unique anomaly which was captured here. 

One night which totally freaked me out was in May 2000.  We decided to take a trip to the woods and see who was around.  Well, I felt like an army of men were around me and told John to hurry, they are all here.  Well, by the shout my husband gave, I knew I needed to high tail it out of there.  There were numerous orbs around my head, along with what seemed to be the sparkles so often seen with the camera flash, but not on the digital image or film..  It looked like outer space.  We even captured them following me to the car! Needless to say, I didn’t go back there for awhile. 

A more comical experience was then night when the troop of spirits I encountered were in a jovial, playful mood - a pleasant change from the dreary feelings I usually get here.  They started by saying that they hadn't seen a woman in quite some time and they liked my, well, my chest to say it nicely.  My husband started taking photos and the orbs were right in front of me; one soldier was above me looking down and laughing - John captured this singular bright orb with the digital.  We also experienced a lot of blurry photos that couldn't be explained.  We  have had luck using both the digital and regular 35 mm cameras with faster (400 asa) film. (I've even see great photos from the battlefield taken with the throw away cameras.) Needless to say, from my experiences on certain parts of the battlefield, I am not always as anxious as John to go back.

Another haunted place which is not right on the battlefield itself, but a few miles away is the historic Sach's covered bridge, which was used during the battle by both armies. As the battle lines formed, the bridge was in the rear of the Southern Army's lines along Seminary Ridge.  The bridge and area surrounding it was used as an aid station following the final day of fighting; thousands of Confederates passed over the bridge on their retreat South. There are also rumors of accidents on the bridge (unrelated to the battle) - whatever happened here sure made an impression.  I have seen dozens upon dozens of great spirit photos, video & audio captured here.  John and I both captured fantastic ectoplasm shots, and it was a dark, clear, fog-free night!! 

In 1999, I worked with local TV station FOX 43 (York PA) at Sach's Covered Bridge, filming a ½ hr. documentary The Pennsylvania Ghost Project.  They asked me to walk across and see what I felt. The shift in energy is rather interesting to experience. Starting out, the bridge feels happy, then towards the middle of this old wooden structure you start to feel sad.  By the time you are on the other side facing dense woods, you feel like crying. 

Many people have heard voices.  I just got a report this morning of a man who belongs to our ghost group saying that he and his wife heard a horse crossing the bridge while he was taking pictures in the field.  He quickly turned, shot and captured a large ball of light coming from the bridge.  He was just a bit spooked!  I feel that there are a lot of energies mixed together in the woods along the creek.  I see Indians and the soldiers.  Two different time periods.  The soldiers were sweaty and dirty.  Asking for help.  The Indians are just standing by the trees.  I met one soldier named Peter that asked to be sent on.  I did this for the television cameras.  (It was strange to see myself doing this on the program, I never really knew what this looks like).  I gather in a big breath, and raise my arms into the air, and mentally speak to the spirit and tell them to go.  I blow all the air out of my body that I can muster, and I suddenly get a very ice cold chill that starts at my feet and works it way up my body. It then slowly leaves through my finger tips.  I know the spirit has gone on to the other side.  I was guided to do this one time, and feel safe doing so.  (Remember, I always protect myself before interacting with the spirits in any way)

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