Saturday, July 31, 2010

Ghosts of Gettysburg

Today Sarah and I took a quick jaunt out to Gettysburg. It's just over an hour away and seeing as how we're huge fans of Ghost Hunters, we couldn't resist checking out a couple of ghost tours. I did a Google search for "ghost tours gettysburg" and Ghosts of Gettysburg was the first place to pop up. Their website stated they were voted the #1 Ghost Tour last year, so I thought what the heck. We weren't disappointed. The staff was very friendly and their tour guides were top-notch. They have five different tours to choose from; This blog is based on the Carlisle Street Tour. Afterward, our tour guide told us she'd never seen a ghost while working that specific tour, but said she'd seen one four times while giving the Baltimore Street Tour. So guess what Sarah and I are trying to squeeze into our calendar.

As we walked the historic streets of Gettysburg, Sarah was particularly attracted to the alleys, and every time we would walk by one, this is basically what would happen:






As the day turned into evening and it got darker outside and the ghost tours continued, Sarah kept on snapping shots. A lot of the pictures she took contained what a lot of ghost fans call "orbs," small circles of light they believe are actual ghosts (or their energy) trying to manifest itself. Sarah and I tend to think it's just the reflection of the camera flash hitting dust, bugs, or something similar. Here are a couple of the most orb-filled photos, taken on the Gettysburg University campus:






Again, "orbs" don't really do anything for me, but there you are.


Our ghost tour ended around 10:30pm in the Gettysburg square in front of what we were told was the oldest building in the square. Our tour guide thanked us for coming and our small group dispersed. Sarah immediately went to the front door of the building where we stood (a store that, naturally, was closed at the time) and took a photo through the window in the front door.


As we walked away, she showed me the photo and I froze. I've seen a bunch of photos that include "ghost faces" and I hardly ever see what I'm supposed to be looking at. But this jumped out at me. Upon first glance, it looked like there was the figure of a woman dressed all in black with the collar of a white shirt poking up out above her long black coat, her black hair pulled back in a tight bun browsing the shelves in the store. It was really weird.



Can you see it? Maybe? Here. Maybe this will help.



I'll be honest. The picture looks a lot different on the computer screen than it did on the tiny camera display, but still....


Sarah ran back to the storefront and took another picture. Like the first one, she took this one with the flash turned off.



It looked like she was still there browsing, this time in a slightly different pose.



The inside of the store was dark and it was hard to see what might be in there, so I asked Sarah to take a picture with the flash on so we could see what might possibly be in there that would appear to make the shape of a person.



As you can see, there's nothing there.


On a whim, I pulled out my Flip camera, placed it against the window, and filmed for a few seconds. In one of her trademark goofy whispers, Sarah asked the mystery lady to show up again ("Lady....come baaack"), and then tried to remember what the tour guide had told us the original owner's name was.


Elated that we thought we might have photographed a ghost, we made our way back to the car and headed home. A few minutes out of town, I told Sarah she should watch the Flip video to see if we caught anything and, as she played it, we freaked out. I say "we" freaked out, because although I wasn't watching the video (see what a safe driver I am?), I could hear it.







I assure you, Sarah and I did not hear that sound when we filmed it. Our lack of response bears witness to the fact that we didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Yet it appears Sarah got a response to her plea for the lady to return. We listened to it over and over again, and it sounds as if something inside the store is moving. I ran the video twice in the above clip, the first time as I filmed it and in the second pass I lightened the picture a bit in an attempt to see if I could find what is moving or making the sound.


I didn't see anything.


So, did Sarah and I catch something? We don't know. But for a few minutes our hearts raced at the thought that we may have. Either way, it was a lot of fun.


August 22, 2010 - Sarah and I returned to de-bunk Mrs. Pickering...and we were successful! Read about it HERE.

1 comment:

stacey said...

you have to read nightmare...robins book!!!! esp after youre gettysburg trip.