Gettysburg’s Jennie Wade House is among five Central Pennsylvania places featured in a WITF Halloween roundup linking documented history with stories of hauntings. The Oct. 16 feature by Katie Knol ranges from historic theaters to sites associated with murders and local legends.
Wade was 20 when she was killed by a stray bullet during the Battle of Gettysburg. WITF describes her as the battle’s only direct civilian casualty. Her house is mostly preserved, and the feature recounts visitors’ claims that photographs taken there show her apparition, as well as reports of sightings near the house and in the surrounding countryside.
The Lebanon Farmers Market stands on the site of the former county jail, where five men accused in the 1870s Blue-Eyed Six murder case were hanged. The jail later burned, but remnants of its foundation remain in the market’s basement. Staff members have described hearing unexplained sounds there, and the market has offered ghost tours.
Harrisburg State Hospital operated from 1851 to 2006. Stories tied to its former grounds include reports of shadowy figures, voices and footsteps; the site also contained tunnels, a morgue and a cemetery. The hospital buildings are closed to the public.
In North Hopewell Township, York County, the former home of Nelson Rehmeyer is linked to his 1928 murder. Rehmeyer practiced powwow, a Pennsylvania German folk healing tradition. WITF recounts a legend that his spirit extinguished flames set by his killers; the property is not publicly accessible.
Lancaster’s Fulton Theatre opened in 1852 on the foundation of an earlier jail. Its history also includes the 1763 massacre of Conestoga people who had been held there for protection. The theater’s ghost stories include reports of a friendly, whistling figure in a white suit and a former performer said to appear onstage.
The roundup presents these as legends and reported experiences, not proof of paranormal activity. Anyone considering a visit should also check access rules: some of the places are closed to the public.
Source: WITF: “Want to be spooked? Here are 5 haunted places in Central Pa.”