You are here: Real Ghost Stories :: Haunted Places :: Devil's Den In Gettysburg

Real Ghost Stories

Devil's Den In Gettysburg

 

This event took place in July of 2013:

I am a member of the Boy Scouts of America, a Star Scout at the time (for those interested, I have since gotten my Eagle Scout). At the time, I was 15 years old and did good in school. Due to my grades, my parents allowed me to go on our units upcoming scouting trip to hike the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, and then tour Gettysburg, PA on the way back home to New York. My dad, being an Eagle Scout and a troop leader, was tagging along. We (about 12 of us) were all very aware of the history of the Blue Ridge Mountains involving the American Civil War. My dad mostly wanted to tag along because he grew up in Roanoke and has always been sensitive to the paranormal, and was seeing if he could experience anything during the trip. Boy, did he...

We had been in the mountains for 10 days, hiked over 45 miles, sleeping in hammocks in the woods. Occasionally in the night, we would hear leaves being stepped on, a twig/branch breaking, but that was to be expected, considering it was the outdoors. The part that inspires me to tell this story happened on our way home, in Gettysburg.

We decided to hike 5 miles through Gettysburg to get a 50 Miler Patch. We looked at everything during the day, but a lot of us agreed that we'd like to go on a ghost tour at night. So that night we did. And it honestly went as you'd expect. Walking around at night, learning about the history, but nothing out of the usual. When the tour was over, some of us wanted to do our own "ghost tour". We went into a shop and bought a pendulum. My dad has used a ouija board and a pendulum in the past, and knew how to properly open and close a session, so he was going to help us.

It was roughly 11pm when we took the pendulum to Devil's Den, an area with large boulders that has a steep drop off to some smaller boulders down below. You may want to google what it looks like to get a better idea. We parked the cars about 30yds away from the bottom. A few of the other parents stayed at the cars and talked, while the rest of us made our way to the smaller boulders, where we would sit down and start using the pendulum. Once my father opened the session, we started asking generic questions, like "Did you die during the Battle of Gettysburg?", "Did you fight for the Union or the Confederates?" and such things. About 15 minutes in, someone asked "Are you an ancestor of someone that is here right now?". It said 'Yes'. We went around the circle saying, "My last name is ____, are you my ancestor?". When it was my turn to ask, it said 'Yes'. It gave me chills, because my great great great grandfather, Hermann, did fight in the American Civil War. My father then asked "Are you Hermann _______?". It said 'Yes'. Suddenly my father yelled, "Bulls**t! Hermann never fought in Gettysburg and didn't die in the war!". Then, I heard a *thud* from behind me. Looked, and I didn't see anything. My dad said, "We don't want you here anymore, please leave." I hear another *thud* and then about 10 seconds later, I feel something hit my backpack, as if something fell onto it. I turn around, and there was a rock, about the size of a softball or a grapefruit, that fell down from the top of the rocks. My friend then shouted in pain as a rock in similar size, hit his arm.

Considering there's a staircase that let's you climb to the top, I thought that there was someone up top that was throwing down rocks, not knowing we were down there. I shouted to the parents at the cars, asking if they could see someone up top. They said that they saw the silhouette of a guy on the top of the rocks. Me and my friend run up the stairs to confront this guy and tell him to stop. We got up there and the crickets, the frogs, everything went quiet. It was really unnerving. We didn't see anything. We shouted back down, "There's nobody up here!", to which the parents below replied, "What do you mean? He's right in front of you! Just standing there!". That's when chills went up my spine and I froze. I noticed how cold it was compared to down there. Easily 8-10 degree difference. I just turned to my friend and we shared the mutual look of 'we should go'. His flashlight, in which there was brand new batteries, died. That made us both go pale.

Completely chilled to the bones, we sprinted back down to the bottom and told everyone that we should leave, and that whoever is here, doesn't want us here. My father closed the session and packed everything up. We got in the car, did a quick prayer, asking God to prevent anything or anyone from becoming attached and following us back home, and left. Every time I tell this story, I get chills and my voice shakes, as this event had such an impact on me. But eventually I want to go back to Gettysburg and try to catch something on camera...

Other hauntings by E6bee

Hauntings with similar titles

Find ghost hunters and paranormal investigators from Pennsylvania

Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, E6bee, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

Lenape_Woman68 (1 stories) (4 posts)
 
3 months ago (2024-08-12)
The Devil's Den is, IMHO, one of the scariest places on the entire Gettysburg battlefield. I've had more than a few unsettling encounters there.
AugustaM (7 stories) (996 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2019-03-05)
I have worked for several outdoor history museums - yes the grounds may close at a certain hour and yes there is "security" - but given the sprawling nature of these places, there are just too many opportunities for ingress for a typically understaffed security team to effectively patrol, even if they were motivated to do so. There are also often areas outside of that owned by the museum that also qualify as part of the area of interest that can be accessed at about any hour since its public property - folks are likely to be run off by a police officer but only if one happens along.

Granted, that said, I have never been to Gettysburg - maybe they have that place on lock down in the evening but its hard for me to imagine.
Spockie (8 stories) (203 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2019-03-02)
That's all very interesting, especially since they close the Battlefield off at 10:00 p.m. And nobody is allowed in there.
AugustaM (7 stories) (996 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2019-03-02)
I think your dad sounds great! And had I been one of the scouts on that trip, I would've been over the moon with excitement and nerves! I don't think a little pendulum session conducted by an adult well versed in the practice counts as bad parenting in the least - but maybe my childhood was fast and furious (lol I really don't think so 😁).

Anyway, looking forward to reading more your own and your father's experiences, E6bee.
E6bee (2 stories) (7 posts)
 
6 years ago (2019-02-27)
lady-glow,

By the term 'sensitive', I mean like my father used to be able to see some spirits and entities when he was younger and feel their presence. I'm sensitive in the nature that I can feel the presence of something, but have yet to really see anything, minus some shadow figures when I was about 5 or 6. My father told me he was the most sensitive around his late 20's, early 30's. Since then he said he noticed he's not nearly in tune with the spiritual world as he used to be.

It's possible that the presence wasn't strong enough for him to feel it, considering he was in his mid 40's at the time. And I guess I wasn't even really as sensitive to it as I am now, so I may not have felt it due to that as well.

As far as calling the spirit a liar, I have a hunch that he got infuriated as it was claiming itself as a family member. It could remind him of an event with a Ouija board in the past? He has some stories he has yet to tell me about. I'd have to ask him why he got so upset.

About the cleansing process, it makes sense that the pendulum wasn't cleansed as much as it should have. Therefore not really creating a 'safe' session.

I realize now that any future stories should include much more detail, as to not cause any confusion. My apologies!
lady-glow (16 stories) (3194 posts)
 
6 years ago (2019-02-27)
E6bee - thanks for the info about the " 'Gentle Energy Cleansing Kit' from Ask Your Pendulum". I just stopped by to check the link.

...the only problem I see is, it takes at least 12 hours to clean/energize a pendulum... It seems like you didn't have enough time to treat the device properly that night.
lady-glow (16 stories) (3194 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2019-02-27)
E6bee - thanks for replying.

From your profile:

"At about 15 years old, my parents told me how I seemed to always be a little sensitive to the paranormal world."

I'm not surprised since your father is a sensitive too, it's very common for this 'gift' to run within families.

Out of curiosity, - what kind of gift do your father have? Is it the same as yours?
Has your father developed his abilities? I'm asking these questions because, in my opinion, there's a difference between being sensitive and being knowledgeable about the paranormal, it's not unusual to hear of people who are afraid of their paranormal capabilities to the point that they have learned to ignore them and even suppressed them. Though this doesn't seem to be your father's case.

I find it interesting and puzzling that, given the fact that there were, at least, two sensitive persons in the group (you and your father), why was it necessary to use a pendulum as a method to communicate with whatever that might had been present at that moment?
Didn't any of you sense the presence of this spirit and its negative nature before starting to ask questions?

I have difficulty understanding why your father, being not only the troop's leader but sensitive to the paranormal, would risk to anger the spirit by calling it a liar, and expose all of you to any possible consequences, instead of just closing up the session.

Anyway, I hope you guys learned the lesson and gave up delving in the paranormal in any further camping trips.
E6bee (2 stories) (7 posts)
 
6 years ago (2019-02-27)
LuciaJacinta,

All of us were roughly 15-16yrs old and they warned us of possible outcomes from using a pendulum, so its not like we were going to do this blindly. Also, it wasn't us that were throwing rocks or anything and how would we be in the wrong for having rocks thrown at us? Its not necessarily a bullet point that comes up in meeting to "prevent rocks from being thrown at us".

I'm not trying to come across as mean but keep in mind that y'all are insulting my father if you ask "what kind of parents are these?"

My father knew what he was doing. Properly opened and closed the session, and informed all of us what could happen.
LuciaJacinta (8 stories) (291 posts)
+2
6 years ago (2019-02-27)
Ok. It probably happened. But, yeah I'm with those that think what kind of parents are these anyway? My son was in Boy Scouts too and also went on very long hikes along the Blue Ridge Mountains and all sorts of battlefield adventures but nothing like ouija/pendulum sessions occurred and if they did I'd want to know about it and would be ruffling feathers concerning it. I believe in the power of these things but don't think they are *games* for Boy Scouts. The only stories I heard of my son's adventures were of swimming in streams and general fun.

I'm also questioning the rock throwing part when Boy Scouts are all about safety. They wouldn't approve of kids being rocked in fear of a lawsuit. So again...I'm like what kind of troop is this?
E6bee (2 stories) (7 posts)
 
6 years ago (2019-02-27)
lady-glow,

I can understand where one would be skeptical when reading the story and my comment. I should clarify that we bought the pendulum at around 7:30-8pm, and we wandered around the town of Gettysburg while it was being charged with the moonlight. It was suggested by the shop owner to use the moonlight considering the sun was almost fully set and it was just shy of a full moon that night. The car had 4 people in it that night. My father, two friends of mine, and me. All of us who believe in the paranormal and know the dangers. As far as the cleansing kit, I wasn't aware of those either before then. I can't remember the exact one but a good example would be like the 'Gentle Energy Cleansing Kit' from Ask Your Pendulum, if you'd like to investigate more.

RSAChick,

I honestly couldn't tell you why the parents would agree to let us all participate in the session. I bet it would be because most of them didn't believe in the paranormal, so to them it would be harmless fun. Also, in Gettysburg, many shops were open late due to the amount of tourists that would probably explore the idea of the Ghost Tours. Better business! A lot of ghost tours actually are ran by these spiritual shops themselves, at least that's my experience. So it would kind of make sense for them to be open late. And no need to apologize! I'm always up for questions and such. I'd love to go back to Gettysburg at night in the future. I went one time since that night, but I was driving through it and just took a look during daylight.

Appreciate the time y'all are taking to reply! 🙄
RSAChick (115 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2019-02-26)
Hi E6bee, thanks for clarifying.
Jip, I think I had a protected childhood and also, my parents were not into these sort of things.
Good for me to look at things from another perspective.

Still, why would a parent, regardless of their child's age, risk contacting an evil entity, because the kids wanted to do this 'fun' thing.

While I'm typing this I'm thinking that maybe all the parents were in on this...?

Oh, and how were you able to find a shop with pendulums open at night?

Apologies if my comments and questions seem out of line.
I would recommend that you go back, like you said at the end of your story.
Looking forward to hearing about that experience!
lady-glow (16 stories) (3194 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2019-02-26)
"My father bought the pendulum as well as a well recommended cleansing kit for it, and for safe measures let it sit on the dashboard of our car while the moonlight shined down."

I wasn't even aware that there are 'cleansing kits' to treat pendulums.🤔

Don't take me wrong but the way you describe the pendulum sitting on the dashboard to get 'charged' sounds kind of... Unorthodox?

If the car was moving, it's hard to imagine it was always facing towards the moon. Also, how many people were riding on the car? Keep in mind that the vibs of the individuals present at that moment would affect the energy from which the pendulum was feeding.

I'm not claiming to be a wiz on this subject, but I find your description of the pendulum session a bit strange.

I would ask you to be more specific about the cleansing process performed by your father but, given my skeptical nature, I probably would think that you'd answer to my questions not with what really happened but by improvising a response after gathering the proper information. 😁

I hope you pay more attention to detail on your future submissions.
E6bee (2 stories) (7 posts)
 
6 years ago (2019-02-26)
RSAChick,

Well the only reason they let us try and confront him is because we all thought that someone up there was just having fun throwing rocks down and had no idea that we were all below. Otherwise if we thought they were deliberately trying to hurt us then we would've just left.
In regards to having us exposed to such things, we were all about 14-15 at the time and well aware of the possible consequences. My father made us all aware and enforced the idea of how its not a toy.

Lady-glow,

My father bought the pendulum as well as a well recommended cleansing kit for it, and for safe measures let it sit on the dashboard of our car while the moonlight shined down. I can see your concern of legitimacy involving using the pendulum in the open, but let me reassure you, we made sure that the wind wouldn't be interfering. The rock face prevents the wind coming from one side and we formed somewhat of a wall around it, although it is possible that some wind made its way in. Although it just made sense that it was moving with what the spirits were answering, considering there was very minimal side-to-side movement, and reflected the board pattern extremely well.
Also as a matter of fact, the pendulum did start oscillating haha.

Thank you all for your input! ❤
lady-glow (16 stories) (3194 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2019-02-25)
I wouldn't give too much credit to a pendulum session in the open since the answers could be affected by even the slightest breeze. Besides, it was a new pendulum, - did your father have enough time to cleanse it and charge it with his own energy?

Ha ha... I like the way your father yelled "Bulls**t! Hermann never fought in Gettysburg and didn't die in the war!". - I bet at that moment the pendulum began oscillating like Miley Cyrus' twerking hips when your father broke the stage of relaxation required when performing a pendulum session.

Waiting for your feedback.
RSAChick (115 posts)
+3
6 years ago (2019-02-25)
There is something a bit off about this story for me. Maybe because of how I was brought up, but my parents and my friends' parents would never have exposed us to ouija or pendulums etc.

The strangest part is where you are thrown with sizeable rocks, the parents see the perp, and allow the kids to confront this person...

Seeing how this has affected you I think it was irresponsible of your father and the other parents to expose you to such a situation.
Or maybe my childhood was too protected?
msforgetmenott (17 stories) (316 posts)
+1
6 years ago (2019-02-25)
Hello E6bee, welcome to YGS,

You brought me back in time, I was a Senior Girl Scout and had coupled with an Eagle Scout. Such a innocent and delightful relationship.

I am happy your Dad had leadership skills, on a very interesting trip. It is a shame that someone didn't bring out a cell phone and snap a shot.

I have never traveled through the Blue Ridge Mountains, only passed by when heading south. So beautiful, from a distance.

Thank you for sharing your event,
Jan

To publish a comment or vote, you need to be logged in (use the login form at the top of the page). If you don't have an account, sign up, it's free!

Search this site: