Old Orphanage at Gettysburg Ghost Conference

At the Holiday Inn in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania., the IGHS (International Ghost hunters Society) was holding a conference. I was very excited to be able to attend this event. We had many choices as to where we could go "look" for spirits, and also chances take photographs and recordings hoping to turn up (or not?) something ghostly and scary on film or tape.

I had decided on the "Old Homestead" as my place of investigation. This is a home owned by a delightful little 76-year old lady. It was an orphanage, after the bloody and horrible battles of the United States 'War between the States". Gettysburg is famed not only for the battles, but now to a lot of ghost hunters as the most haunted city in America. There were 51,000 soldiers killed there in 3 days. All those sudden and unexpected deaths make possibilities for a lot of ghosts!!

When we got to the "Homestead", a gray, misty rain was lightly falling. The light wind blowing gave us a bit of a chill. We had been told some of the history of the old house as we entered. The original caretakers of the orphanage had been kind and benevolent. However,after they left, an evil woman was hired as overseer of the orphaned children. Horror stories started to arise from the local people. Children were shackled with heavy chains in the basement, or locked and chained in sheds, out in the fields-in mid-winter! One little girl was found near naked, shackled and shivering after spending three days chained inside a tool shed. She had not eaten for three days. The evil woman was shortly removed from her position after that occurrence. Rumors that some children died in the basement of the house, still circulate through Gettysburg.

Well, back to the spooky part...

As I entered the house (with several other ghost hunters) I felt a presence immediately. It seemed shy and timid, not malevolent in any way. I walked through the home, and as I entered the dining room, I saw an antique doll, in a rocking chair. I thought to myself, it was some child's doll. As I did, I froze in my tracks; the rush of cold air that hit me was amazing. I figured a ghost was in there with me. I was snapping pictures, when someone (with electronic equipment) detected a spirit presence in the room!!! I already knew it was there, from the eerie coolness, and also there was a slight tingling in my legs. Now, as I stood there, my legs began to "fall asleep"- you know that feeling - of ants running up and down them? I relayed this feeling to my fellow spirit-seekers. Then, all of a sudden, my feet went TOTALLY cold and NUMB. I was perplexed (?) and curious, and then it hit me---the shackles!!!! I was feeling them around my ankles!!!! Oh! How awful! Fear and anxiety were the feelings I was receiving, so much that I had to sit down!! Another rush of cold came over me. Then, as quickly as they had started, all of the feelings subsided, as if the spirit of the little child had vanished...but our detection equipment showed (her) to be right THERE, in THAT chair, WHERE I WAS SITTING....

I felt that presence until I left the "Homestead". However, the feelings I got felt more calm to me, as if the ghost realized I only wanted to comfort her,that we were not there to harm her, and that no one can ever shackle her to a wall again...