Thursday, April 17, 2014

Hauntings: Orphanage at Gettysburg

Orphanage at Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)

After the Civil War, many orphanages were opened around the country to take care of children whose parents died in the war.  One opened in Gettysburg and was run for many years by  Phelinda Humiston.  When she retired, she left the children in the care of a woman named Rosa Carmichael.  However, Rosa was a merciless sadist who beat the children, imprisoned them in the basement for days, and even killed some of them.

One young girl escaped and told others of her experiences at the orphanage, which included being beaten by teenage boys, who Rosa armed with sticks, and being tied to a fence in the hot sun until she suffered serious burns.  When the house searched, it was found to be full of torture devices, and the basement had been converted into a dungeon where children were shackled to the walls and left to starve.

Today, the house is the Soldiers National Museum, but the dungeon was kept as it was in the 1870s -- the shackles can still be seen in the basement and many of the other artifacts from Rosa Carmichael's time there are on display.

Visitors have reported hearing children crying or moaning and feeling invisible little hands tugging on their clothes.  Photos come out with strange white streaks on them, and sound recordings with e.v.p.s (electronic voice phenomena) have been made.





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30 comments:

Leslie S. Rose said...

Okay, this orphanage is wrong on so many levels, it deserves to be haunted.

SK Anthony said...

Oh my gosh, how horrible! Rosa does not deserve her stuff to be out on display. Poor kids :(
{that being said, I would be freaked out if I felt hands tugging on my clothes}

Sophie Duncan said...

That must be a horrible experience to hear the children suffering. Poor children.
Sophie
Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

Kate Larkindale said...

What a horrible story! That's just awful. I can't believe they let people walk around and look at devices that tortured kids. Yuck!

Dr. Theda said...

Greatly enjoying your posts for A to Z ...
Did Not get the "Crypt" signed up ... but am making my daily A to Z " Horror posts at my blog as well ...
Hope you and yours are well dear Lady Lexa....

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Such a terrible person! How could anyone do that to a child - to so many?

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

omgosh! What a horrible place!!

Dani and Jax said...

Those poor children. :( What awful things for them to have gone through. ~Jax

Unknown said...

Fascinating story, Lexa. Thanks for sharing it! Just stopping by from the Alexandria Publishing Group blog.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

That place would not be on my list of things to see when visiting Gettysburg.

messymimi said...

Remind me to skip this place when i make my battlefield tour.

Andrew Leon said...

Which is why it's good when they're abandoned.

worddancewoman said...

That is horrible and yet I must thank you for sharing this. I am always on the hunt for ghost stories. Visiting you back from A to Z. Intriguing blog, will be back again! storytellingmatters.wordpress.com

stephen Hayes said...

It's amazing how monstrous some people can be to the innocent. I hope this sadist is suffering somewhere.

Jennifer Hawes said...

Their little hands trying to touch you!! I'm so creeped out:)

Robin said...

This just made me hurt. What a horrible place... no wonder it is haunted. Too bad Rosa isn't stuck there with the kids she tortured. That sounds like just desserts. Maybe they could hold her down and beat her with sticks.

Loni Townsend said...

*shiver* Creepiness combined with children really freak me out.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

People who hurt children are just evil. I don't understand them at all. I have a soft spot in my heart for orphans since my mother was a half orphan and lived in an orphanage for a while.

cleemckenzie said...

How do the sadists wind up in charge of kids? This is heart shattering.

Rajiv Sankarapillai said...

Scary !

C.Mahan said...

As horrible as it is, I love hearing about haunted places, no matter how bad. I should become a ghost hunter ;)

Mere Joyce said...

Definitely horrifying and sad, but fascinating, too. There is just something about the ghosts of children...

LD Masterson said...

Well, there's certainly no question as to why this place would be haunted. How could it not be?

Jocelyn Rish said...

It's stories like this that make me hope there really is a Hell where Rosa is suffering 1000x worse than what she did to those poor children for all eternity.

Julie Flanders said...

Wow I don't think I could handle seeing those shackles knowing what happened there. It never ceases to amaze just how cruel and horrible some people can be.

Unknown said...

Wow ... the things that happened in that orphanage. Yikes. Orphanages are already creepy.

Kathryn said...

That's horrible.

DMS said...

Oh my goodness! Rosa was just horrible. I feel so bad for the children who were left in her care. I can't imagine how awful things were for them. I can understand why the building is haunted!
~Jess

Anonymous said...

What a horrible woman. No wonder the place is haunted.

Anonymous said...

What a horrible woman. No wonder the place is haunted.

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