Have you visited Gettysburg? If not, you’re missing out! Gettysburg is located in the southern portion of Pennsylvania and is the location of one of the bloodiest battles (The Battle of Gettysburg) in all of the Civil War. Because of this, Gettysburg is home to the Gettysburg National Military Park, museums, and so much more! And best believe ghost tours are part of the many activities which bring people to Gettysburg.

Ghost tours, you say? Yes, ghost tours! Due to the violent nature of war and the events which transpired here over 160 years ago, it’s said that Gettysburg is a paranormal hotspot filled activity and ghost sightings. Although the reasons behind the activity is tragic and unsettling, it truly does attract those who are interested in learning about  history of the paranormal nature.

This is where I come in and take a little half-day trip to Gettysburg. If you didn’t know, I LOVE going on ghost hunts and tours when I travel. I’d like to call myself an open-minded skeptic, meaning that I view the paranormal/ghosts with more of a logic and research based mind frame with just a hint of optimism and open-mindedness. Since it’s October (spooky season), I figured it’d be a perfect opportunity to do a ghost tour in Gettysburg, PA.

*US Ghost Adventures kindly reached out to me to do a sponsored tour. Thank you so much US Ghost Adventures for this opportunity!*

What is a historical ghost tour?

There’s different types of tours where you can learn and communicate with ghosts or the paranormal. There are overnight investigations/hunts, half or full day ghost investigations/hunts, traditional historical ghost tours, cemetery tours, pub crawls, etc. So, there’s no one size fits all tour and each location will have different types of tours to showcase the area’s ghosts or paranormal activity.

The type of tour I decided to go with was a historical ghost tour in Gettysburg through US Ghost Adventures. It’s called, Civil War Ghosts of Gettysburg Tour. Why? There’s a few reasons as to why I went with a historical ghost tour, which consists of walking to multiple points, discussing the place’s history, and how it’s linked to activity. The reasons being:

1. I’m a nerd and I love history!
2. Gettysburg has so much history behind it
3. It’s about 1.5 hrs from where I live in Pennsylvania
4. I love ghost tours and learning about the types of activity witnessed by people
5. I was solo so I couldn’t do a pub crawl (next time when I’m with someone else!)

One of the best ways to learn more about a location is to learn about its history. When learning said history through a ghostly paranormal lens, it gives a different perspective on a place and how past trauma(s) can be tied to physical places to the point where it manifests itself after death. I find both these elements to be fascinating and informative at the same time. Therefore, a historical ghost tour was the perfect choice for me!

What tour company is it with?

The tour company I went through was US Ghost Adventures. As mentioned above, they kindly reached out to me to do a sponsored tour. However, I’ve done a tour with them before, though it’s been a few years since I’ve done it (it wasn’t sponsored either). If you remember my 7 Day Road Trip through New England, I traveled to Fall River in Massachusetts to do a historical town walk and ghost tour of the Lizzie Borden House. It was a cool tour and I loved not only learning more about the home and its dark past but also the history of Fall River and its connection to the Borden family.

All this to say, I’ve been with this company before and enjoyed my experience! So going with US Ghost Adventures on this historical ghost tour made perfect sense to me and it’s just a great choice for a tour company.

Where is it located?

The ghost tour meet up point for the Civil War Ghosts of Gettysburg Tour was inside the Brickhouse Inn Bed & Breakfast in Gettysburg, PA. We had to meet at 6pm for the tour to start. The Inn is very easy to find, it’s a beautiful red brick house with a large sign. It’s right on Baltimore St., a very busy and active stretch of street where you’ll find a lot of the museums, gift shops, pubs, restaurants, and accommodations. So you can’t miss it.

What to expect

For this tour, expect to be there for an hour. You meet up at the Brickhouse Inn at 6pm. They go over some history of Gettysburg, the war, and some of the history of the surrounding buildings. Just a couple of places you go to are the Brickhouse Inn, the Jennie Wade House, and the National Cemetery.

While walking through the streets of Gettysburg, being informed about history and ghosts, you can use a tool. Not just any tool, an EMF Reader that’s specifically used to help detect if there are ghostly presences near by. It basically works by detecting electromagnetic fields, as ghosts are said to be able to manipulate these fields. When the reader is on the higher end of the spectrum, flashing towards the red, then you can see that there may be something near you.

Whether you believe that this device works or not, it’s still pretty cool to see it light up as you’re walking from destination to destination. In conjunction with hearing about what took place on the grounds of these locations, it makes for a cool experience!

My personal experience and thoughts

So, what are my personal thoughts and experience with this tour? My honest thoughts on this tour are very positive. This was a fun tour that had a lot of information packed in, use of equipment for ghost hunting, with a tour guide who was funny yet knowledgeable. Let me tell you, this is not your boring, stuffy, dry ghost tour. Whether you see a ghost or not, you’re guaranteed to leave on a high note from all the laughter and fun you had with your tour guide.

My experience with the tour guide and group was nothing short of amazing. Very kind, respectful, and fun! I definitely enjoyed having a tour guide who has such a quirky yet entertaining personality. Coupled with his knowledge on the events that transpired on the grounds of Gettysburg, it made for a delightful experience on my end.

As for the paranormal aspect of the tour, that’s open for debate. Like I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m definitely an open-minded skeptic. Therefore, going into ghost tours, I keep an open mind with full awareness, analytical, and factual eyes. I’m not here to definitively prove or disprove the existence of ghosts. Rather, I’m hear to be observant, use my senses to experience what’s happening in real time with myself and the environment. I try to explain occurrences to the best of my abilities and leave what I can’t explain to other, more potential, paranormal explanations. Either way, I’m here to have a good time, learn, and see if I do or don’t capture anything on camera.

Would I recommend this tour?

Would I recommend this tour? My answer is YES! Not only because it’s that time of year where spooky activities are the thing to do but it’s truly a cool way to learn more about Gettysburg. Each person will have their own thoughts on paranormal activity, that cannot be denied. But a tour like this is where believers, non-believers, and everyone in between can come together and learn about a very influential and important area in Pennsylvania.

Not only that, it really is a fun tour! My tour guide in particular, Jason, was amazing! He was super informative but added his own sense of humor and personality to the tour. If you’ve ever watched Pirates of the Caribbean and know of Captain Jack Sparrow, Jason reminded me so much of him! If you ever have Jason as a tour guide, you’ll love it!

Overall, this Civil War Ghosts of Gettysburg Tour comes recommended no matter the time of year. And, it should be on your list of tours to do in Gettysburg, PA.