Devil's Den- Gettysburg, PA

[jadewik]

I've been to the Gettysburg battlefield in PA twice in my life. Once in 1999 with my family and again in 2005 with my old roommates. Both times, I've really enjoyed myself there. The historical significance alone is really inspiring... and, of course, the ample graveyards and ghost stories really made me feel at home.

You have to spend at least a day in Gettysburg. The battlefield is so extensive it takes a whole day to see that (if you do the self car tour)... the visitor centers and museums are really engaging too.

One place on the battlefield particularly piques my interest-- The Devil's Den (DD). The DD was a location of great casualties. Union soldiers were pinned in the massive boulders and confederates were up on the facing hill and down by the stream. It was quite literally a bloody mess.

The location itself is considered one of the many haunted hot spots on the battle field. There have been several reports of a union soldier who appears to be a reinactor on the hill who will pose for photos, but not be in the photo when it's developed. Others have had cameras break in this location. Film has been mysteriously exposed... electronic devices go on the fritz.

A lot of the camera difficulties have been pinned on the belief that because battle scene photographer, Alexander Gardner, moved one soldier's body from this location (Link to Photo) to this location (Link to Photo) , the ghosts are very hostile towards photographers.

In 1999, at the Devil's Den, my mom's camera broke when she was trying to take photos. Coincidence? Maybe. The camera was working fine up to this point... but suddenly, pressing the button would make the film go forward 3-4 photos at a time. The images are thus streaky and blurry. We didn't get any other photos on the trip at that time, so I resorted to purchasing post cards.

When we visited, it was around 6pm. The sun was starting to yellow and set. My sister and I were climbing the boulders, weaving in and out of the crevices and jumping over them. For me, it was the most fun part of the battle field... 'till my parents decided it was time to go.

Reluctantly, we piled into the car and drove up, around the back of the boulders. I looked out my window towards the boulders and, sitting at the side of the road, I noticed a Union Soldier reinactor taking an afternoon nap resting against the boulders with his slouch cap pulled down. I asked my dad to stop the car so we could talk to the fella, but he said it was getting late and we needed to get going, so he drove on.

I didn't really think about it 'till we did the Ghosts of Gettysburg walking tour later that night... our tour guide started telling the story of the Devil's Den. After the tour, we asked our guide if she knew if there were any reinactors up at the DD today. She said she didn't know... but she was surprised when I described in more detail the Union Soldier I'd seen that day. I don't know if it was a reinactor or not... I won't pretend to explain it away either.

In 2005, I revisited the battlefield with my roommates. It still held the same luster it did previously. It still took 1-2 days to see what we wanted to see. I made a point of going to the Devil's Den to take photos. Since the trip in 1999, I'd done some reading on the area. I'd heard if you ask for permission to take photographs, that you can usually have sucess without having to purchase another camera. So, feeling like a goob for talking aloud to apparently noone, I asked the ghosts permission to take photos and explained to them that I really loved this place and wanted a photo to take home. All my photos turned out (though, they're a little grainy because I took them at twilight).

Here are a few of the photos I took:
The Devil's Den
Rocks where the soldier was "moved" to
Where I saw the reinactor

After the 2005 trip, I was talking to my dad about the 1999 trip. I more or less said that I'd wished he'd stopped to talk to the reinactor and I asked him why he didn't. Very plainly, my dad told me that he didn't stop because he didn't see anyone there.

[mamawof2]

I was there last August. It had always been a place I wanted to visit. I had camera problems at Devil's Den and at the time did not realize why.
Did you by any chance go to the Jenny Wade house?

[jadewik]

I've gone past the Wade house (It may or may not have been a stop on the ghost tour). I've never been inside. Was there something in particular about the house you needed/wanted to know?

I'm glad you got the chance to go! It's the best battlefield site I've seen. I hope you had a really good time. =)

[Dr Strange]

That's some pretty crazy first hand experience you have there. Too bad nothing showed up on thos ephotos you took.

[jadewik]

It's not really crazy. It's just circumstantial... but the story sounds better if left open to interpretation.

Everything could easily be explained away. The camera could have just died-- it was pretty old and cheap. The guy I saw could have been a real reinactor. My dad might not have seen the reinactor because he was sitting on the ground and my dad was looking for someone standing up.

While I don't doubt the authenticity of the hauntings at the Devil's Den and the nearby wheat field (among it's haunted locations), I still remain somewhat skeptical of my experience there... Almost all the strange experiences I've had can be connected with circumstances that introduce a certain amount of doubt.

Supernatural? Maybe. Evidence? None.

[mamawof2]

I went in the Jenny Wade house and the overwhelming smell of kerosene was nauseating to me, I said something about it and I was the only one that could smell it. I thought maybe if you had been there you may have heard someone else have a similar experience.

[midnight kitty]

we go there every yr, hell the husband and i went there on our honeymoon (the husband's a civil war buff and has always wanted to go there, so i though 1/2 of our honeymoon there would be perfect)
got some great pics of my daughter climbing on devil's den
i remember on our honeymmon, we were walking around w/ the video recorder. it was working perfectly fine. the minute we get into the triangular field, it shuts off, then suddenly starts back up and records the moment we left the field

[Haunted Horseman]

jadewik, great story. I love Gettysburg, such an interesting place. I've only been there once. I'll have to take the family one of these days. I'll be sure to ask permission before taking any photos of the Devil's Den.

[_Vampire_Princess--O]

*grumble* I want to go to Gettysburgh so bad and so do my friends, but we haven't had the time at all....

[jadewik]

Photos from my 1999 visit on the camera that just happened to break at the DD. When, previously, it was functioning just dandy-fine.

[MacPhantom]

Thanks for posting your story! I know what you mean about needing lots of time there... You can spend a whole day in the town alone and never make it to the battlefield, and then you've got three days worth of things to see after that!