Gettysburg Hotel

One of the town's most ghostly active inns, originally built in 1797 and rebuilt after an 1893 fire. The hotel has hosted countless soldiers, tourists, and even presidents over its long history, accumulating centuries of residual energy.

The Gettysburg Hotel, Pennsylvania's oldest hotel, was established in 1797 as the Scott Tavern in the very center of Lincoln Square. When the Civil War came to Gettysburg in July 1863, the hotel—then called the McClellan House—was commandeered and transformed into a field hospital. Wounded Union soldiers were brought in droves, their cries echoing through the halls as overworked surgeons did their best with limited supplies and grim odds. The floors lay jam-packed with wounded soldiers, and the walls contained their screams as 50,000 bodies littered the battlefield outside.

The most frequently encountered spirit is Rachel, believed to be a Civil War nurse who worked tirelessly to save lives during those desperate days. Dressed in period nursing attire from the 1860s, she has been seen walking through the halls—fully walking, not floating—and even on the outside sidewalks before disappearing entirely. Guests report drawers opening on their own, personal items being mysteriously moved, and the soft swish of skirts in the hallway at night when no one is there.

The ghost of James Culbertson, a well-respected Union soldier from Company K of the Pennsylvania Reserves, also haunts the hotel. Culbertson was brought here after being critically wounded by a gunshot. Despite his grievous injury, he insisted on returning to duty, but succumbed to his wound hours later. His faint, pale apparition appears in Union soldier attire, suffering from what seems to be a bloody hole in his torso. Lingering cold spots accompany his presence.

In the ballroom, guests witness a young woman in a Civil War-era dress swaying as if dancing to unheard music, sometimes accompanied by the ghosts of soldiers standing beside her. A former employee working in the basement heard footsteps behind him and watched a dining cart roll twelve feet on flat ground, turn around, and come to a dead stop.

Paranormal activity is so commonplace that staff barely react when guests mention it. The Gettysburg Hotel is widely considered the most haunted hotel in the United States.