Gettysburg: Farnsworth House

Farnsworth House

Brigadier General Alton J. Farnsworth who died during the Gettysburg battle built this farmhouse located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1810.

Today this building is run as a nine-room B&B and is known to have many restless spirits.

Some haunt this house because they died in the bloodiest battle of the Civil War—the Battle of Gettysburg-- others died during different points in time—regardless they all died tragically.

During the Civil War, Confederate sharpshooters used the house to strike down Union soldiers. They shot the enemy through the home’s windows. Later the house was used as a makeshift hospital.

Several of these fallen soldiers, haunt five of the rooms plus the attic in the modern-day Farnsworth Inn.

These sharpshooters are often heard moving about the attic. Juice harp music is heard playing, and a soldier’s footsteps are heard as he carries a dying comrade downstairs to the basement. He is heard softly singing in an attempt to comfort this wounded man.

Especially at night, shadowy figures are seen throughout the house. They are often spotted in the dining room. One soldier is heard pacing up and down the main hallway.

Other ghosts observed at the house that have no connection to this famous battle include a youngster named Jeremy, who one afternoon was playing tag outside with his friends, he was tragically trampled to death by a passing buggy.

His ghost is seen being carried in a blanket by his sobbing father, who brought him into the house after the accident.

Jeremy’s apparition is seen roaming throughout the house. He is known to steal items, leaving his toys in their place. His ghost is seen at nearby homes and a shop as well.

A former resident of the house, a midwife, named Mary died in the Sarah Black room in the Inn. She is often seen in the Catherine Sweeney room. Several guests have observed her sitting on the edge of their beds.

Catherine Sweeney Room

She likes to mess with people’s personal belongings and to touch their hair. One guest who was ill with a cold saw Mary several times—this makes sense since while alive, she often tended to the sick.

The Inn gives ghost tours, and Mary’s ghost is sometimes seen accompanying these tours.

Yet another ghost at the Inn is spotted in the kitchen. This spirit appears first like a black mist and then slowly changes into an older woman, she likes to check out the modern gadgets in this room.

She wears 19^th Century clothing and she vanishes when approached. It is thought this lady must have been employed as a cook in the house at one time.

The Farnsworth Inn also experiences a lot of poltergeist activity. Employees are often touched, their aprons are tugged on, and trays overturn on their own.

One recent incident involving the Civil War ghosts in the house happened on Halloween.

A local radio station was about to broadcast live from the Inn—the crew was all dressed in blue jeans and blue shirts. When one of them called the station to check on their feeds, he addressed a person on the other end who was nicknamed, “Captain.”

A psychic who was part of this broadcast, later that day, reported that the ghosts of the soldiers were in an uproar. Hearing people dressed in blue, reporting to their Captain had given them the idea that they had been discovered by Union troops.

They were convinced they had a spy in their midst.

The psychic tried to convince them the war was over, but they didn’t believe her.