How To Spend Halloween in Gettysburg This Year

Gettysburg is a city that eternally holds a weighty presence, loaded with historic significance and death. The bloody Battle of Gettysburg signaled a turning point in the Civil War — one that came with a great cost. Around 50,000 men were dead, missing, captured, or wounded by the end of the fray, leaving this town swollen with ghosts. As such, Gettysburg is a prime location to explore during the Halloween season, with a plethora of ghost tours, whether you will be visiting on All Hallows’ Eve or the weeks leading up to it. 

What Is Gettysburg Like During October?

October is a glorious time of year to visit Gettysburg. The air is crisp and cool, and the leaves turn every brilliant shade of autumn there is. Apple and pumpkin picking are popular activities, as are a variety of ghost-related adventures. 

Gettysburg holds no shortage of spine-tingling offerings to entertain the whole family. Just be sure to book well in advance during this fright-filled time of year, especially if you’re hoping to stay in one of Gettysburg’s many haunted hotels.

Spooky Gettysburg Activities

It doesn’t matter if you’re searching for child-friendly events or a truly bone-chilling experience — Gettysburg harbors a treasure trove of haunting activities during the spooky season. From ghost-hunts to spirited dining options, this hallowed city truly has something for everyone. 

Watch the Gettysburg Halloween Parade

The Gettysburg Halloween Parade is an annual tradition in this Civil War town. Occurring every year around mid to late October, this procession of family-friendly ghosts, ghouls, and superheroes walks from Lincoln Square to Steinwehr Avenue, entertaining guests with a variety of colorful costumes. 

Visitors are encouraged to bring their own chairs and watch the flurry of frightening floats pass by at 7:15  pm. Beforehand, food trucks, costume contests, and trick or treating in Lincoln “Scare” is often part of the celebration. While you’re in the vicinity, be sure to check out the haunted Gettysburg Hotel in Lincoln Square, a site where phantom soldiers are known to roam. 

Spend a Night in the Welty House

Built in the 1830s, the Welty House did not stand for long before being tainted by the dark tendrils of war. Impact marks from bullets still fleck the brick wall of this old property, hinting at its battle-scarred history. Occupied by Confederate sharpshooters during the fray who aimed their blows at Union forces atop Cemetery Ridge, the home received many shots in turn. 

Within this colonial-style structure, the Welty family and neighbors sought cover in the basement. But not all were so lucky. After the bloodshed ended, the property acted as a temporary burial ground for 36 soldiers who would never return home. Although their bodies were moved to the National Cemetery, it appears their spirits were left behind. 

The home has been pervaded by strange happenings. Guests have heard footsteps late into the night, detected a rotting odor on the first floor, and captured strange figures in photos. Now part of the Brickhouse Inn, guests can tour the Welty house or spend the night, if they dare. 

Grab A Ghostly Bite 

Among Gettysburg’s many haunted destinations lie several spooky dining options, allowing you to drink in the haunting atmosphere while you satiate your appetite. 

A hair-raising favorite for both tourists and locals is the Dobbin House Tavern, known as the oldest building in Gettysburg. Within this stony establishment, guests have sensed the presence of original owner Reverend Alexander Dobbin and his wife, along with spectral children and lost soldiers. 

There’s also Mr. G’s ice cream shop, known by many to be a site of ghostly activity. Spectators have eyed shadowy shapes in its second-floor windows, along with an uncanny feeling they’re being watched. A few have even come face-to-face with long-dead Confederate soldiers in this building.

Visit Gettysburg Military Park

No trip to Gettysburg is complete without venturing into Gettysburg Military Park. Here, visitors can walk the grounds where 50,000 casualties occurred, soaking the grounds with the lost souls of young men who died in battle. 

Upon the battlefield, people have witnessed the traces of a phantom regiment, hearing the otherworldly drumming and footsteps of an unseen corps. Others claim to have sighted the phantom procession, seeing a squadron of spectral soldiers marching despite the battle being long over. 

Some especially haunted battlefield sites include Triangular Field and Little Roundtop, where figures seem to drift in and out of time. Devil’s Den is another paranormal hot spot due to the brutal fighting that stained it. Among these rocks, the spectral echoes of violence persist in phantom cries, shouts, and ghostly gunfire. 

Then there’s Sachs Covered Bridge, possibly the most haunted of all the park’s landmarks. Said to be a site where three Confederate men were hanged for impersonating Union soldiers, it is overwhelmed with strange activity, from ghostly cigar smoke to floating heads. 

Participate in a Ghost Hunt in the Jenny Wade Birthplace House

The spooky season is a perfect time of year to visit the Jennie Wade Birthplace House, home to the only Civilian who died during the Battle of Gettysburg. Hit by a stray bullet during the bloody three-day-long conflict, 20-year-old Jenny Wade may have died in her sister’s home, yet it seems she’s returned to her birthplace to live out her afterlife. 

Filled with period-authentic furnishings and artifacts, this somber property is eerily accurate to the mid-1800s, giving all who enter a taste of 19th-century living. But colonial decor is not all that this home harbors. Inside, visitors have heard disembodied voices, observed shadows, and even glimpsed the apparition of a Civil War soldier. 

While some of this spectral activity is linked to Jenna Wade, the other encounters may be of her relatives, including her father, fiancé, and sister. The home is open for ghost hunts in the evening as well as an overnight ghost hunt, during which top-of-the-line ghost hunting equipment is provided to guests. 

Embark on a Gripping Ghost Tour

Gettysburg offers a wealth of ghost tours, from family-friendly walking tours to haunted pub crawls for adults. Whether by day or by night, venturing along a history-soaked adventure is an ideal way to uncover Gettysburg’s most haunted places in one night. 

Along these excursions, you’ll hear of Gettysburg’s most notorious haunts, like the Farnworth House Inn, in which 16 spirits are said to linger. A site pockmarked by more than a hundred bullets, it sheltered Confederate sharpshooters in addition to being used as a makeshift hospital following the battle. Its quiet quarters transformed into crude operating rooms, it likely oversaw much pain and death during those days — the memories of which linger in strange ways. And yet, this is just one of many otherworldly Gettysburg ghost stories. 

Some tours will be more history-focused, others more spirit-centered, but the best will provide the perfect blend of both. And once the spooky safari ends, you can return to your favorite haunts for a second peek, exploring all that ghostly Gettysburg has to offer in greater detail.