Michelle and I left on
our adventure to Gettysburg on Wednesday morning, May 21, 2003, at
8:30 A.M. The drive was uneventful and relaxing and the time seemed
to fly by. In a roundabout way, we finally located the Cashtown Inn
late that afternoon. We checked in, dropped off our bags, and headed
into Gettysburg. I was amazed at how pastoral and beautiful the
countryside was. It was difficult to imagine that nearly 140 years
ago, it was the scene of such a horrific battle. I have to say that
there was a certain "atmosphere" that was palpable - at least to me.
But Michelle seemed to sense it as well. It was a feeling of
melancholy but with some sharp edges. I can't imagine one small area
experiencing such intense emotions without retaining some imprints.
When we arrived in
town, we went to a pub on the town square for dinner. Earlier, our
innkeeper, Dennis, recommended the Gettysburg Ghost Candlelight
Walking Tour, so we had made a reservation for that evening at 8:00.
It was an entertaining and informative tour and we had some good
opportunities to snap a few pictures around town at night.
We decided to see if
we could find Sachs Bridge before we headed back to our room. We got
a scenic tour of the area but couldn't find the bridge. We did find
a battlefield though outside of town so we decided to make a quick
stop and get some pictures and do some meter readings. It was
extremely dark but we could make out what I think were field
hospital markers on the side of the dirt road. We turned off the car
and pulled our equipment out and went to work. We got no EMF
readings but got some orbs in the pictures we took. We spent about
forty-five minutes there before we headed out.
It was close to 11:00 when we
finally made it back to Cashtown and turned in. I was extremely
tired but couldn't fall asleep. I wasn't at all frightened and was
even hoping for some activity. After all, why would we pick a
"haunted" inn if we wanted a peaceful night of rest? Ha! I think it
was close to 3:30 when I must have finally dozed off. The next thing
I knew, I felt like I was dreaming - crying with a deep and
heartfelt sadness. Then, through the "dream" I felt someone nudging
my back between my shoulder blades, as if to wake me. I pushed back
against the pressure but it didn't abate. Finally I woke with a
start, and could still feel the area of pressure on my back. It was
very strange. Of course, at that point, I had no hope of falling
back to sleep so I rolled over and turned the light on so I could
read. Michelle, who hadn't been sleeping much either, sat up. We
decided to trade beds and I would read for awhile. I felt certain
there was a presence in the room but other than its attempt to shake
me awake, it made no appearance.
We got up and were ready to go
around 7:30 so that we could have breakfast in the tavern
downstairs. Michelle went into the room across the hall to dry her
hair. When she was done, she said that she heard what she thought
was my voice asking her "are you ready to go?" When she walked out
of the bathroom into the room, no one was there. The voice was very
clear and female. This was the Imboden Room. We were staying in the
A.P. Hill room.
After a great breakfast, we packed
up and checked out. I was a little disappointed that we hadn't been
able to pick up more paranormal evidence than we had in the way of
EVPs and pictures. We did get a few pictures with orbs, however. In
any case, I felt that the inn was active.
We got directions to Sachs Bridge
and decided to make a trial run out there to see if we could find
it. The plan was to return that night to get some pictures and
video. It was easy to find (once we knew where to look!) and so we
took a few minutes to look around and snap some photos. It was a
beautiful setting. I can't speak for Michelle but I didn't pick up
much psychically there. Michelle did get a good shot of some orbs.
We drove around a bit and headed
to Herr Tavern for lunch. This is another site we were interested in
seeing after hearing so much about its haunted reputation. Our lunch
was delicious and the staff was very friendly. As we walked to the
car, both Michelle and I seemed to be "hit" at the same time by
aromas. She asked me "do you smell that?" and I replied "campfire
smoke?" and she grinned and said "gun powder!" Apparently we both
picked up different impressions and smells at the same time. This
happens quite frequently, I have been told by visitors.
I have to make a short note here.
I mentioned the general feeling of sadness that I experienced when I
arrived in Gettysburg and Cashtown. This feeling failed to leave me
the entire time I was there. It varied in intensity but never left
me. Michelle felt the same way. After awhile, I think I became used
to it but didn't realize that it was affecting me on some level. It
is kind of like a bad smell that you get used to but it causes a
headache all the same. The point is that, at the time, I didn't
realize how much it was affecting me.
We checked in at Farnsworth House
where we left our bags and left to do a little exploring. We made
reservations for their ghost tour that evening at 9:15 as well as
for the ghost stories in the cellar at 8. We did try before dinner
to take a little nap as we were both feeling very tired by this
point. That was futile. Michelle felt something or someone poke at
her feet. I immediately felt my shirt sleeve being tugged gently. If
I felt a presence at Cashtown in our room there, what I felt here
were multiple energies - nothing ominous but persistent and strong.
They wanted our attention. That was obvious. Michelle took some
pictures while lying on the bed toward the bottom of the bed. The
pictures, snapped one right after the other, showed an orb, but what
was interesting was that there was a very fine white mist that
intensified in three of the frames and disappeared in the last. We
both felt the energy intensifying within the room.
Since the nap idea wasn't working, Michelle left to take some
pictures outside. I washed my hair and was again plagued by the
feeling that someone was trying to get my attention. Was it my
imagination or was I feeling everything more intensely? I pushed the
thought aside and Michelle and I went down to dinner.
After dinner, we joined our
storyteller in the cellar of the Farnsworth House for an hour of
stories about the area and spirit inhabitants of the inn. These
stories are all well-known so I won't relate them here. Again in the
cellar, I felt bombarded by emotions. I almost had to leave because
as soon as I walked in, I was overcome by claustrophobia. I don't
like small places to begin with but this room wasn't small. The only
way I can explain it is to compare it to other psychic impressions
that I have had in the past. It just feels "different" and it is a
"different" that I now recognize for what it is. It is not a great
scientific method of proof but one that I know and can understand. I
did manage to sit through the stories. It was fun and we left, ready
to go on the second ghost tour of our visit.
I have to say that a lot of what
we listened to on the second tour was a repeat of the previous night
but it was a pleasant evening so we took pictures as we went. I
caught some very impressive orbs during our walk. This guide dragged
us all over the place so by the time we got back to our room at
11:00, we were both exhausted. I set up my micro cassette recorder
in the room and we grabbed our equipment and headed out to visit a
few spots on our last night in town.
On the way to Sachs Bridge, our
first intended stop, we drove along Seminary Road to Seminary Ridge.
We had stopped here earlier that day and were both struck by the
beauty and peace of the area. I pulled to the side of the road and
suggested to Michelle that we should take a few battlefield pictures
at night to see what we might get. There was no one around. It was
very dark - no streetlights or moon for illumination. I rolled down
the windows and turned off the car engine. What happened then, I
have trouble describing. I looked to my left over the battlefield.
What should have been a peaceful beautiful scene suddenly filled me
with what I can only describe as stark terror. I had a visceral
reaction to it, thinking only of escaping immediately. I turned to
Michelle and said "we have to leave - NOW" She started to chuckle at
my change of mood when whatever "it" was suddenly hit her. I started
the car and pulled away - my only thought being one of escape. At
that same moment Michelle was overcome by nausea and felt as is she
was going to be sick. The further away I got, the less intense was
my fear but I was extremely shaken as was Michelle. Abandoning all
thoughts of going to the bridge, we headed directly back to the inn.
Now, I have gone over and over
this incident in my mind and Michelle and I have discussed it and
analyzed it to death. Neither of us is prone to hysterics. We seek
out the paranormal to study and document it. Speaking for myself, I
have never felt this type or intensity of fear and believe me, I
have been in some very frightening places and situations. What I
experienced in that battlefield was an intense feeling of
concentrated rage. I felt it was a tangible thing and was coming
toward us with dangerous intent. The question for us then was, why
and why there? Of course no one can answer that for us for certain
but we felt after looking back over the past few days, we learned
some invaluable lessons as investigators. The first one was to
always keep our psychic defenses up when in an active area. We had
had almost no sleep for close to three days at that point and we
were very tired. In retrospect, we realized that we weren't as
capable as we normally were of fending off draining emotions and
experiences. We were about as "open" as we could get. Secondly, we
tried to do too much in a short amount of time. We overloaded and we
should have known better. It is very easy to get caught up in an
investigation and lose sight of your physical and mental condition.
I think I can safely say that we will not make those mistakes again.
It is dangerous when you are sensitive to let those barriers down.
It is the first time I feel I was caught in a psychic battle and I
had no ammunition with which to defend myself. I will not put myself
in that position again. I will be prepared! For this reason, I don't
regret the experience there. It taught us both something we aren't
sure we could have learned the same way, in any other way. I
realized after this was all over that we were in the middle of the
Confederate lines in a car with Connecticut license plates. I wonder
if that had any bearing on our experience.
Now, back to the
story! We got our butts back to the inn and let ourselves into our
room. Not good! The room felt like it was crackling with energy. All
I could think was "I am not up to sparring with these entities all
night. I don't have the strength." I felt totally and completely
drained. We thought maybe if we went across the hall and watched TV,
we might be able to relax enough to sleep. We knew we had a long
drive ahead of us the next morning and we desperately needed our
rest. After a few minutes of that, we headed back to the room and
climbed into bed, fully clothed. It was soon apparent to both of us
that sleep wouldn't be coming. With no ability to block the activity
in the room, there was no way! Michelle saw a crack open up in the
ceiling that was moving. That was enough for us both. We literally
sprang out of bed, shoved our belongings into our bags, and at 1:30
A.M. we jumped in the car and drove away from Gettysburg as fast as
we could go. Even we had to giggle at the thought of us two mature,
responsible paranormal investigators running for their very lives! I
think the mark of a good investigator is to know when to "get out of
Dodge"!
In spite if
everything, we are tentatively planning another trip sometime this
fall. Hopefully we will go back a little wiser and better prepared
for whatever we might encounter!