They're Baaaaaack

And so am I. I'm updating again as it's Halloween season once more (YAY!). What better way to kick things off than with a post about Ghost Adventures?

This week, they aired the premier show of the season and the guys went to Gettysburg. The results were, like usual, fun and creepy. I did think that Zak played up his new-found fame a bit too much. It looked like he had had his teeth capped with veneers (they were glowing eerily throughout the episode) and was wearing a touch of pink lip gloss. And can we discuss the spray tan? Come on, Zak. You're not Pamela Anderson. You're Zak Bagans, the tough guy who harasses ghosts!

The montages of the guys "fighting" in the Civil War was way over the top, but made me laugh. It did eclipse any scary bits they got, which I honestly can't remember. Can someone post

something in the comments section to jog my memory? Thanks!

Zak:"I scare ghosts with my shiny, supple mouth."

ORBS OF DEVIL'S DEN

I went to Gettysburg again this weekend, this time with my sister, Lynn, and friend, Cat. We drove around the battlefield and went to Devil's Den after dark. After Cat captured some impressive orb photos (I will post them in a later entry), we started aiming and shooting, and got some orbs of light.

First, a little history of the place from HauntedHouses.com:

Devil's Den can be found west of Little Round Top, in the Triangular Field, called the valley of death, as it became a "slaughter field." It is considered the most haunted spot in the Park. It is no wonder as not only are Phantom soldiers and apparitions often seen here, but Indian Warriors as well.

Devil's Den, besides being a hot spot in this battle, also was the scene years before of the huge Battle of the Crows. War Hoops and apparitions of dead warriors had been seen in this area years before this Civil War Battle. The creepiness and strangeness of this huge piling of boulders which create deep crevices and mazes already had an infamous reputation before the Union and Confederate troops used it as a position.

Devil's Den is a pile of rocks that long-haired confederate calvarymen from Georgia and Texas fought fiercely for and finally drove the Union forces out, after suffering many casualties, as they fought their way across Triangular Field to Devil's Den.

After the 3 day Battle of Gettysburg ended and the lucky ones who survived the fight for Devil's Den, retreated with Lee, the Union forces found the seemingly endless numbers of bodies in the valley and on the boulders. Many were not buried but thrown down the deep crevices of the rocks, as they were already rotting. The lucky ones were buried days / weeks later.

Visitors and Park Rangers have seen the apparitions of sharpshooters among the tree line of Triangular Field and have heard phantom sounds of gunshots and drum rolls coming from the wooded area of this field.

Read more here.

Our orb shots at Devil's Den:

Dust? It's possible, but we were pointing and shooting repeatedly getting nothing in one shot and dots of light in the next frame, then nothing again in the subsequent shot.

GETTYSBURG REPORT

Gettysburg is apparently filled with ghosts. Approximately 58,000 men lost their lives there on the battlefields during the three-day battle that lasted between July 1 -July 3 1863. Hence, there are tons of paraphernalia pertaining to the spirit world all over the small town.

There are loads of ghost tours advertised, some that even include seances and walks through some of the notoriously haunted buildings in town. Since I have a cranky two year old, I wasn't able to partake in the spookery. Luckily I live nearby and can do it another time.


One of these haunted places, named the "most haunted house in Gettysburg", is the Jenny Wade House. Jenny Wade was baking bread for Union soldiers in her house when a stray bullet came through the window and killed her. She is the only civilian killed in the battle of Gettysburg. During some of the ghost tours, the guides bring people into the house after dark.


Another haunted house, which is also a bed and breakfast, is The Tillie Pierce House. I just watched an old episode of Paranormal State that focused on the activity taking place in this house. The in-keepers claim that at 3:02 every night the house shakes (this was documented by the Paranormal State team). The woman that runs the place was reluctant to even walk up to the second floor of the house where most of the activity takes place. One interesting piece of footage that the team got was a bottle of hand soap that switched sides on the sink.

Tillie Pierce was a fifteen-year-old girl who volunteered as a nurse during the war. She cared for the soldiers, witnessing some grisly things that she eventually wrote about in a book that made her famous. It's said that her spirit still lingers in the house along with some of the soldiers who lost their lives there.

“The horrors of war are fully known only to those who have seen and heard them. It was my lot to see and hear only part, but it was sufficient.” - Matilda “Tillie” Pierce -

The in-keepers have a black lab named Sam who feels right at home with the ghosts - check it out here.


What impressed me the most about Gettysburg were the battlefields. They are truly awe-inspiring when considering just how much history took place on them. I felt the hairs stand up on the backs of my arms in some spots. There were so many lives lost, it's incredible to consider. In addition to the history that saturates them, the fields are also gorgeous, decorated with the split-rail fences of the era.
The bloodiest battle of Gettysburg took place on Wheatfield. Legend says that after the fighting, it was impossible to walk on the field without stepping on bodies and that the wheat was crushed and red with blood.

Wheatfield today.

Understandably, the battle fields are considered haunted and some of the ghosts tours take patrons onto the fields after dark. I talked to one of the tour guides who informed me that The Travel Channel's Most Haunted also visited the fields last year.

AWAY IN GETTYSBURG

Off to Gettysburg, land of Civil War ghosts and major history. I'll have a report and pictures when I return. . .

NEW TV: GHOST LAB

The latest in big-dudes-busting-ghosts reality shows will air on October 6 at 10 pm on the Discovery Channel. "Ghost Lab" follows two brothers from Texas, Brad and Barry Klinge, who want to get to the scientific root of why ghosts act the way they do.

Their team, titled "Everyday Paranormal" travels in a mobile lab that is capable of providing 200,000 watts of electricity to power audio, video and photo analysis stations; flat-screen televisions and an interactive touch-screen smartboard. The lab also contains surveillance video cameras; temperature, humidity and dew point data loggers; thermal imaging cameras; and audio recorders.

Some of the locations the Klinge brothers and their team investigate on the 13-episode-show include Tombstone, Arizona; Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, where Elvis got his start; and Granbury Opera House, where legend says that John Wilkes Booth changed his name and performed Shakespeare after assassinating Abraham Lincoln. Apparently the Klinge brothers also manage to get Civil War soldiers talking on audio.

Sounds worth checking out, especially in time for Halloween.

The team (with Klinge brothers looking on ominiously in the back)