www.ghostvillage.com is hosting their first annual convention in Gettysburg this weekend. There won't be many people there, but we are staying at the Berger Hill campground. We are then going on a ghost tour of the battlefield at night with infrared equipment and video recorders.

The peopl that are participating are professional paranormal investigators and it should be fun. If you would more info IM me.

That sounds kool! G'burg is supposed to be loaded with ghosts and paranormal activity.

Well it's free, except for the campground charge, which is nothing. One guy is coming from New Orleans and he is making jambalaya for dinner for us.

The guy who runs the website just got a book published named The World's Most Haunted Places.

Damn, I would love to go. I have too much to do this weekend though. Let me know if you do it again. That's right up my alley. I mean the scary parts, not the camping.

A few years ago I went on the Haunted Tour of Gettysburg, which was really cool. I've always wanted to do one of those paranormal ghost tours! I'm so intrigued by that stuff!

A college friend of mine once went to Devil's Rock (I think that's the name of it) in Gettysburg - I guess it's on or near the battlefield. Anyway, it's supposedly the most haunted place on the battlefield. He said that he felt a very strong presence there. He got freaked and had to leave.

Paranormal activity happens where I work all the time....

Seriously, a couple people I have a great deal of respect for have some interesting "ghost stories". One also has a UFO story from way back (like 40 years ago or so) in the St. Louis area. Normally I'd say it is someone makin' stuff up or not too bright, and/or mistaking common things for paranormal things, but these folks are pretty solid. So I dunno. I've never had such a thing happen, and I still think most such stories are untrue (mistakes or lies). But maybe not all...

Anybody got any good stories?

Good idea, Snoopy. Give us ghost stories, people.

Well if you want good ghost stories go to www.ghostviallge.com. Their message boards are just like this one, but everyone shares their paranormal experiences, very cool site.

OK, now here's my episode, which happened in York (Phish!) This is why I got to ghostvillage all the time.

I can still remember to this day the horror I felt when I encountered this evil specter. It was in the 70s, I was about 10 or 12 years old. We had recently moved to a nice suburban split-level home. It was early evening, and while the rest of my family watched TV in the lower level family room, I worked on a homework assignment in the living room. I was cutting pictures out of a magazine for some type of collage. I had to go to the bathroom, and with scissors still in hand I started to climb the steps up the dark hallway to the second level. When I reached my father's den, I fumbled for the light switch being new in the house I was unfamiliar with the location of it. But, not fearing the dark, just innocently thinking about my homework, I walked through the dark den to the bathroom door and opened it.

What I faced made my blood curdle. Right in front of my face, but without being able to see a thing, a woman let out a hideous low evil laugh, mocking and insidious. Almost like the witch on the Wizard of Oz, but lower and even more sinister. I froze for what seemed like an eternity, my face pale, my body unable to move. Finally, I ran down to the family room where my family was gathered and when my brother saw my ashen face and tears he asked what was wrong. I said I could not tell them because it was too scary. He scoffed, but after a while I told my father what I had heard. He insisted it was probably just a squeaking door, but I pleaded with him to check theentire house before I would have to go back up to my bedroom on the third floor. He checked everywhere, but no evidence of any strange sounds was found.

I never went into that bathroom at night again, not even when I was fully grown and in my twenties, when my parents eventually moved. I would run up the stairs past that landing every time, and would always get a chill up my spine. Nothing else ever happened in the house, but I can still hear that distinct laugh to this day, I know what I heard and will never forget it.

OMG, that is so creepy. And you told it so well. It gave me shivers! I love it!

Here's my one and only. Admittedly, it's not very creepy to other people, but if you had been there and understood the circumstances...

I had moved back home with my parents when I was around 24. Broken heart and broken bank. My parents worked the night shift, so I was alone in their house in the woods of West By God. This never scared me. I would walk the dogs in the pitch dark. No big deal. Nothing had ever scared me before. I sought out haunted houses and ghosts before, but never encountered any.

I was watching TV when I heard the dogs barking their "I mean business, I'm going to eat somebody" bark. We had two German Shepherds at the time, and they were trained to protect. I muted the TV and listened to the barks go from the front of the house to the back. I had to go check it out in case it was actually a stranger that wondered in the yard and was now being mauled by the dogs.

It was pitch black outside. I stepped out onto the second story back deck. I didn't turn the porch light on. I was comfortable in the dark. By this time, the barking had stopped, but I could hear the dogs walking around underneath the porch. I walked over to the side of the railing and leaned over it to see if I could make out the dogs down at the ground level. I poked my damn face right into the empty pitch black air. I heard an unfamiliar man's voice plainly and clearly say my name. In an instant, my head shot up out of the darkness, I white knuckled the railing and I immediately, assertively, boldly, loudly said, "WHAT?" I froze and listened the hardest I've ever listened in my life. An eternity passed and I heard nothing but the dogs climbing the steps to come to me. It couldn't have been a person because the dogs would not have been quiet. They barked at everyone that wasn't me, mom, or dad. I knew mom and dad were at work. In slow motion I started walking backwards toward the door to the house. I said WHAT again with no response. My name was said so casually, without questioning or menace or anything. Just like when you pass somebody in the hall and they acknowledge you by speaking your name and nodding in your direction. It was just creepy because it couldn't have been a person or the dogs would have been going crazy.

I got in the house, turned every light on, locked every door. I sat in the recliner with my back to the wall, a shotgun and phone in my lap, and made the dogs stay at my feet until my mom got home. She was just glad I didn't blow a hole through the wall.

Oh Heather, I certainly can relate to that one! And I know you tell people about it and they think you're crazy, but you KNOW what you heard!

Hearing someone's voice (or laughter in my case) out of the pitch black certainly can shake you!

Here's a good one, a co-worker told me (very up and up guy who wouldn't make up something like this).

One night he woke up in his bedroom and this really strong wind came out of nowhere and started blowing the curtains and the covers off of him. He was so freaked, he just grabbed the sheet and put his head under it and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes, the wind suddenly stopped.

Several weeks later, he awoke one night and looked toward his dresser. There was a GUY SITTING on the lampshade of his lamp, just starting at him. Now this is physically imposssible. If I ever saw a ghost look me in the eyes i would freak!

Then, several nights later he awoke to find the SAME guy sitting on his bed right next to him starting at him. Aaaaaaaaa!!!!!! He opened and closed his eyes and the guy was gone.

He moved shortly after that.

Scary, eh?

HOLY FREAKING CRAP BK! That is some creepy shyte! Was someone sleeping with him?! A wife or girlfriend? Someone to wake up and show? I would poop my myself if that happened to me.

No Heather, he was by himself. I know, that story freaked me out. Especially the guy sitting on the lampshade part.

I'd be outta there so fast the breeze would have knocked him off the lampshade!

I don't have any personal experiences to share, but here's an experience my Dad had.

When he was young, his grandmother (my great grandmother) had lived in his home with him and his parents. She had this rocking chair that she used to sit in all the time.

Well eventually she became sick and ended up in the hospital. One night my Dad was home alone. He suddenly could hear the rocking chair start to rock upstairs. Suddenly it stopped and the phone rang. It was his mother calling to say his grandmother had just died. Totally freaky!

I went on the Martinsburg ghost tour a few years ago....not
that I believe in them or anything...the stories were interesting
as was learning more about the history of the town and the various
sites we visited....here's a website with more local tours:

http://www.wvsocietyofghosthunters.com/home.html

The haunted campout sounds awesome! I wish I could get away...hmmm, I'll have to work on that!

I have a couple of ghost stories that are good. The most recent one was when I was driving my youngest son to school. We always go down Burnside bridge Road which of course goes right through the battlefield. There's an old house with a big front porch that we pass by every morning, it looks like no one has lived there in a while. The other morning my son said something like "oh look someone's living there" and by the time I turned my head to look, all I saw was an empty rocking chair rocking back and forth (there was no breeze blowing that day!) My son was so freaked out as he described the lady he saw sitting in the chair rocking a baby on her lap. He said she had a long dress on, very plain looking with a kerchief on her head. He went on to say that she just disappeared. I knew he wasn't making it up because he was so startled, his face had that totally white "I've just seen a ghost" look and his description wouldn't have been that detailed, plus I saw the chair and it looked like someone had just gotten up out of it and it was rocking like crazy!

Thanks Naomi - excuse me while I try to work these chills out of my spine.

If anybody is interested, the campout is at the Granite Hill campgound in Fairfield, Rte. 116. We will be in the Berger Hill area. All you have to do is go there (you do not have to reserve campsite) and pay $12.00 and you can pitch a tent anywhere. Food costs are $10.00 and that includes a Cajun fare Saturday night and a hot dog.hamburger cookout sunday for lunch. That also includes the whole ghost tour/battlefield thing. It's gonna be a nice weekend! Come on out!

Or, if you don't want to stay overnight, there is a minimal $3.00 fee for camground visitors.

Is everyone getting there Saturday and staying Saturday night into Sunday?

Yes, we're all staying Saturday night. I think there is another tour of the battlefield sunday morning, then a noon cookout.

Check in time at the campground is 3 p.m. Most everyone will be there then. Hope to see you!

Oh man, it was the best weekend in Gettysburg! Here's a link to the rundown if anybody is interested!

http://www.ghostvillage.com/ghostcommunity...topic=3929&st=0

Glad it was a good weekend for ya! Unfortunately, I couldn't get away...

I'll definitely have to check out the site!