The Hat Man

About 12 years ago, I had an encounter with an apparition that left me terrified.  More terrified than I had ever been before- and I've had my share of creepy encounters as a paranormal investigator.  It was a Saturday night, and I had been out on the Gettysburg Battlefield doing an investigation.  That night, I opted to stay at my parents' house rather than go home to my place.  I went to bed in my old room and had no issue falling asleep.  Some time late in the night, I suddenly woke from a sound sleep. I laid in bed for a moment listening, wondering if there was a noise that could have interrupted my sleep.  It was dark in the room.  There were no curtains on the window and no moon, or at least not a large enough moon to create enough light.  I happened to glance down at the foot of my bed, and there I saw a dark figure standing at the end of the bed.

The most notable feature was the wide brimmed hat that it wore.  It seemed to be wearing a long trench coat like garment or some type of long sleeved large collared jacket.  The bed was a 4 poster bed and the posts were painted an off white.  I distinctly remember seeing the man's hand curled around the post as if holding on to it.  The moment I saw the figure I was overcome with fear and panic.  I'm not talking about that "oh crap there's a ghost at the foot of my bed" fear, I'm talking about fear that comes from knowing that what's there isn't good.  I squeezed my eyes shut and began reciting The Lord's Prayer over and over until the sun started to peek over the horizon.  I finally managed to get up and started getting ready for work.  I couldn't find my glasses.  I'm a creature of habit, sometimes with a few slight OCD tendencies, so believe me when I say that I place my glasses in the exact same spot every night when I go to bed. Even now, 12 years later, I place them in the same spot- directly in front of my alarm clock. Yet that morning they were nowhere to be found.  Not under the bed, not on the floor, not anywhere near the clock.  I ended up being 15 minutes late for work and having to leave without my glasses (which I need to drive).

Luckily for me, my supervisor at the time was a fellow ghost enthusiast and didn't care about me being late because it came with a story.  I went through what happened and then got to work.  A few moments later, I heard my boss call out from the back room, " I thought you couldn't find your glasses."  "I didn't find them," I said.  "But they're sitting on top of your clothes in the bag!" I went to look and sure enough, my glasses were sitting right on top of my clothes. I threw my clothes in the bag myself and I know that there was no way that my glasses were in there, let alone set neatly on top of the pile.

It was several years later that I came across some information regarding what was called "the hat man".  I was shocked as I read about someone else's encounter with the very same entity I had seen.  I was intrigued and researched further and found hundreds of people around the globe have had eerily similar interactions with this "hat man".

The following are the most described details of a hat man encounter:

• Humanoid figure wearing a wide brimmed or "gaucho" type hat
• Appears to be wearing a trench coat or similar long sleeved collared jacket
• Commonly appears in bedrooms, usually at the foot of the bed
• Some claim to see red eyes while other see no eyes at all
• Witnesses describe an overwhelming fear, sometimes paralyzing
• Appears 2-dimensional
• Some people see it only once while other have repeated encounters with it 
• His visit usually comes after visits from shadow people

As with shadow people in general, it's hard to say what the Hat Man is, what he wants or what his agenda is.  With the majority of people having a sense of fear or dread, it doesn't seem as though it is something "good" or something with "good intentions".  Some people feel that he comes to monitor things.  There have even been some who believe that he monitors people with psychic abilities or those who investigate the paranormal.  Whatever his intents, I certainly hope he never makes another appearance in my room again.

Have you had an encounter with the Hat Man or with another form of shadow person? I'd like to know about it.  Email your story to investigations@gettysburgghosts.net

Shadow People- A Growing Phenomena

You're watching TV and suddenly catch something out of the corner of your eye.  You turn your head to look and see a shadowy figure dart quickly around a corner or through a wall.  Or you wake up in the middle of the night and see a figure darker than night staring at you and you're gripped with fear.  These are just a couple of scenarios people report of visits from "shadow people".

What are shadow people? By definition, they are supernatural humanoid figures that are described as being blacker than night with quick jerky movements and the ability to quickly disappear through walls, around corners or into mirrors.  Some are described as having red eyes though many have no facial features at all.  Some believe that shadow people are simply ghosts, however, there is a distinct difference between the two.  Apparitions that are seen tend to be describe as wispy forms and many have describable details such as facial features and clothing.  Shadow people have no discernible features or details.

For years, most encounters with shadow people involved seeing them out the the corner of the eye.  The encounters were brief with the entities disappearing quickly- making some question what they had actually seen.  Now encounters are starting to include more direct sightings with people viewing them full on in front of them and for longer periods of time.  In 2012, sightings of shadow people was one of the most reported paranormal phenomena.

I've had my own run-ins with these entities.  Approximately 14 years ago, I was regularly seeing figures out of the corner of my eye looking around corners at me.  As I would notice movement in my peripheral vision, I would quickly turn my head and see a dark form pull back behind the wall. After mentioning the sightings to my mother, I learned that my father was witnessing the same thing in the same areas of the house that I was. 

October 2010 I had another encounter with a shadow figure, this one more frightening.  I was taking my daughter and a couple of her friends out on the Gettysburg Battlefield for some ghost hunting.  We went to the tower at Culp's Hill.  While we were sitting on the steps of the tower platform, we heard footsteps on the tower.  At the time, there were no other cars or people in the area.  I climbed up 2 flights of steps on the tower and sat quietly listening.  There was no other noise heard.  At this point, the girls were feeling uncomfortable as was I.  We opted to head out.  As we made our way across the road to our parked vehicle, I felt someone watching us and turned to look behind us.  There I saw a shadow figure standing on the platform of the tower.  We kept walking to the van, and I turned and looked again and saw the figure had moved closer. I unlocked the van doors, but as everyone went to open the doors, they locked again.  It took 3 tries before we were able to open the doors and get into the car.  The encounter left me rattled.

So what are these things? There are many theories about what they might be.  Some think they could be astral bodies or spiritual bodies of people  having out of body experiences.  Others think they could be time travelers, aliens or inter-dimensional beings.  Some argue that they're dark beings or demons and still others claim that they are guardian angels.  In my own experiences, I felt apprehension and fear, but I'm not quick to say they're evil.  I simply do not know.

Have you had your own experiences with shadow people? I'm compiling stories of this phenomena and would welcome you to email me your stories at investigations@gettysburgghosts.net

Stay tuned for information regarding another shadow figure known as "The Hat Man"

The Lost Silver Mine of Silver Run

In the County of Carroll in the State of Maryland sits a small town called Silver Run.  In the late 1700's, a master silversmith by the name of Ahrwud lived in the area with his daughter Frieda.  They lived apart from the other settlers of the area, and Ahrwud was known to be a friend to the local Native Americans.  People wondered about Ahrwud's friendship with the Indians, his beautiful daughter who was know to run around the woods with her hair in braids and the fact that Arwud was able to sell his wares at an unusually low price.  It was almost as if he had access to an unlimited supply of silver.

Each night, Ahrwud would lock Frieda in her room.  She would hear her German father speaking the language of the local Indians and then she would hear her father close and lock the shop door.  Frieda was angered at being treated as a child when she was 17 years old.  So one night she waited up for her father to return.  When she heard Ahrwud come into the house, she went to him begging him to tell her where he had been all night.  Seeing his daughter's tired and worried face he agreed to take her with him the following night if she swore never to reveal his secret.

The night came and Ahrwud did as he promised.  He blindfolded his daughter and started out into the night leading his daughter in one hand and holding a lantern in the other.  The trail was rough and had them going up hill and down through briars and brush.  At a stream, Frieda was allowed a drink and the blindfold taken off momentarily.  She took the opportunity to get a bearing on her surroundings before being blindfolded again and continuing on their way.  They eventually came to a cave.  Ahrwud led Frieda inside and removed her blindfold to reveal a silver mine with silver coins and bullion lying about and a thick shimmering vein of silver striking through the rock.  Ahrwud explained to his daughter that the mine belonged to the Indians who shared its location with him because of their friendship.  Ahrwud warned his daughter that should the secret of the mine ever leave their family, they would pay a penalty with their lives within 3 days.  The mine would vanish and their souls would walk the earth until 3 lives were sacrificed to set them free.  Only then would the local settlers learn of the mine's location.  Frieda swore to keep the secret.

Ahrwud began melting down the silver and making coins.  An hour before dawn, he blindfolded his daughter and they made the trip back to their home.  Frieda, though blindfolded, was able to mark the trail by breaking branches.  Once home, Ahrwud went to sleep, but Frieda was too excited and immediately went to tell her friend of the treasures she had seen.  After some coaxing, Frieda's friend convinced her to show her the mine.  Using the broken branches as markers, the girls made their way to the cave.  They loaded up with as much silver as they could carry and made their way home.  Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. 

The first day passed without incident as did the second, but on the third day, several Indians showed up at Ahrwud's home.  Telling Ahrwud of his daughter's betrayal, they took both father and daughter out of the house and to the mine.  There Frieda was beheaded and burned Ahrwud's eyes from his head with a rod of hot silver.  It's said that people still see the shadowy form of Ahrwud in his wide brimmed hat carrying his lantern making the trek back and forth to the mine and his daughter by his side. 

The location of the mine is thought to be in the vicinity of Rattlesnake Hill just east of Union Mills.  Just recently, my parents (who reside in Silver Run) had a sinkhole open up in their pasture.  It made me immediately think of the mine.  Sadly, there was no sign of silver.

The Family Witch

Grandmother Scheufele in her "church room"

Years ago, I interviewed my grandmother for an Anthropology project.  The topic was my great-great-grandmother who was reputed with being a psychic-medium.  Grandmother Scheufele had a room in her home that was called her "church room".  Here she would conduct services.  My grandmother Pauline remembered attending one or two of these services where she witnessed Grandmother Scheufele going into a trance and speaking in a voice that was not her own.  Mt grandmother claimed these "services" were actually seances.  Later in my grandmother's life, when she was married, she was having some health issues.  Her mother took her to the doctor, but nothing seemed to be helping.  Finally, they went to talk to Grandmother Scheufele. It was suggested (by Grandmother Scheufele) that someone (my grandmother's mother-in-law) had placed a curse on her.  She told my great-grandmother to cut open my grandmother's pillow and there she would find a hard lump of feathers.  They were instructed to burn the lump of feathers in an outdoor fire while saying an incantation.  Unfortunately, my grandmother was unable to remember what the specific incantation was, but did say that it was to take place during a specific time of day and month.  After burning the feathers as instructed, my grandmother began to heal. 

Another story involving Grandmother Scheufele had to do with my grandmother's cousin Will.  Will lived with his grandparents because of his stepmother (who, according to my grandmother, did not like Will and was not very nice to him).  Will was described as something of a daredevil.  He like to torment the bull at the nearby farm and generally wasn't afraid of anything.  One night while he was downstairs at Grandmother Scheufele's house, he saw a face looking in the window at him.  He screamed and threw the closest weapon he had- a hammer- right through the window.  Grandmother Scheufele came to see what the problem was, and after Will told her what happened, she told Will that his stepmother had sent the devil after him.

The paper I wrote for my class was titled "The Family Witch" though my grandmother took offense to that reference.  She would get downright angry if she heard me refer to Grandmother Scheufele as being a witch.  Not that it is meant in any derogatory way.  However, recently I discovered that Grandmother Scheufele had a book (or possibly more than one) that was written in German (she came from Germany) that contained recipes for potions.  She also had a crystal ball.

It's unfortunate that I was never able to meet this fascinating woman.  Though I am thankful that was able to record some of the stories about her before my grandmother's passing.

Ghost Ships: The Titan

 On April 14, 1912, the huge "unsinkable" ship the Titanic was steaming across the Atlantic towards New York.  This was the Titanic's maiden voyage, and her captain was encouraged to break the record for speed while making the voyage. As most people know, after striking an iceberg, the unsinkable ship went down in only a matter of hours.  Out of the 2,201 passengers, only 711 were saved.   Since then, there have been many books and movies about the Titanic.  

    There was one fictional story written by a merchant seaman by the name of Morgan Robertson.  Robertson's book was about an unsinkable passenger liner that sank while carrying the elite people of the time.  The ship in Robertson's story was called the Titan and the book was titled The Wreck of the Titan.  Even though the book is fictitious, the events in the story parallel the events of the Titanic.  Both ships were built to be unsinkable.  Both ships sank after striking an iceberg.  Both ships were on their maiden voyage.  The most well to do famous people were on the Titan and Titanic.  Only one third of the passengers on each ship survived.  Both ships had an inadequate number of lifeboats.  Both ships were encouraged to break speed records during their voyage. 

    Robertson's book The Wreck of the Titan was never published.  Each time it was rejected by editor's, they told him the same thing.  The story was unbelievable.  Surely the events he wrote of could not possibly happen to an unsinkable ship.

The book The Wreck of the Titan was written in 1898,

fourteen years before the Titanic hit an iceberg and settled on the bottom of the northern Atlantic.

History of Halloween...

Halloween dates back to the time of the ancient Celts who celebrated their new year on November 1.  The new year signified the coming of the darker colder months of winter- a time when many fell ill and died.  The Celts believed that on the eve of their New Year (October 31), the physical world and the supernatural world were closest and allowed the spirits of the dead to roam the earth.  These ghosts were said to destroy crops and cause trouble, but it was also believed that their presence helped the Druids (Celtic priests) make predictions for the coming year. These predictions offered comfort during the hard winters, and so to commemorate the event, large bonfires were built.  The Celts often wore costumes, mainly animals skins and heads.  At the end of the celebration, the Celts would carry embers from the bonfire in a hallowed out turnip or rutabaga to their homes to light their hearth.  This "holiday" celebrated on October 31st is called Samhain (pronounced sow-in and derived from Old Irish Samuin meaning summer's end).

Through the centuries, Roman festivals were incorporated into the Celtic traditions.  One in particular, a day to honor Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees, is possibly the origin of the tradition of bobbing for apples.  Eventually, the Catholic church created All Saint's Day on November 1st and then All Soul's Day on November 2nd in an attempt to replace the Celtic holiday with one sanctioned by the church. On All Soul's Day, people celebrated by having big bonfires, parades and dressing in costume.  The name Halloween is derived from Middle English  Alholowmesse which means All Saint's Day.  The day before was termed All-hallows Eve and eventually became Halloween.

The celebration of Halloween was limited in colonial New England because of the strict views of the Puritans.  Halloween was most popular in Maryland and the southern colonies where different European ethnic groups and Native Americans meshed their beliefs.  Public events were held to celebrate the harvest and people gathered to to share stories of the dead, tell each others' fortunes and dance and sing.  When the millions of immigrants fleeing the potato famine of Ireland began hitting the shores, the celebration of Halloween began to become more popular.  People dressed in costume and went door to door begging for food or money which later became "trick-or-treating". 

In the late 1800's, people were encouraged to do away with the scarier aspect of the celebrations.  It was then that the holiday lost most of its religious and superstitious meaning.  In the 1900's, celebration moved more towards community events such as parades and parties.  By the mid 1900's, the tradition of trick-or-treating was revived as it was an inexpensive way for the community to share in the holiday (and perhaps prevent any mischief).  During this time, Halloween became more of a young person's holiday.

And where do Jack o' lanterns fit in?  There's an old Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack who tricked the devil.   Because of this he was not allowed into heaven, nor would the devil allow him into hell.  So Jack's soul was forced to wander the earth with only an ember in a hallowed out turnip to light his way.  So people began making hallowed out turnips lit with a candle to keep Jack and other evil spirits away.  Because of their size and abundance, Americans began using pumpkins. There is also a correlation between the Celts' use of the turnip to carry embers from the sacred bonfire to their homes.

So go out, have a bonfire, carve a pumpkin, remember your dreams and eat a lot of candy.

Ghost Ships: The Mary Celeste

Launched in 1860 under the name Amazon, the Mary Celeste started her ill fated life.  In the 10 years before she was to become the Mary Celeste, the ship was involved in several accidents and went through several owners.  She was sent to the New York salvage auction where she was purchased for $3,000.  After extensive repairs, she was christened Mary Celeste.

Painting of the Amazon, later christened Mary Celeste

 The new captain Benjamin Briggs, his wife, and young daughter, along with 8 crew members departed New York on November 7, 1872 bound for Genoa, Italy.  The cargo consisted of 1700 barrels of raw American alcohol. 

Captain of ill-fated Mary Celeste

 On December 5, 1872, the ship Dei Gratia came upon the Mary Celeste floundering on the sea.  The captain of the Dei Gratia knew Captain Briggs and was surprised to see the ship derelict as Briggs had a reputation as an excellent captain.  Men from the Dei Gratia boarded the abandoned Mary Celeste to determine what was going on.

The ship was found in good seaworthy condition.  It appeared as though the crew had left in a great hurry.  They discovered that the chronometer and sextant were missing.  There was water between the decks and the Galley was in bad shape.  The stove was knocked out of place and cooking utensils were strewn about.  There were no lifeboats aboard the ship and everything was soaked.  A rope was found hanging over the side of the ship trailing in the water.

The crew from the Dei Gratia managed to get the Mary Celeste into port.  When the cargo was unloaded, they found 9 of the barrels of alcohol empty.

What happened to the crew of the Mary Celeste?  Some feel that the cargo became unstable and that the captain decided to trail behind the ship in the lifeboat until such time that it was safe to board.  However, for some reason, the ship outdistanced the lifeboat leaving the crew helpless on the sea. 

Another theory involves foul play.  However, no evidence was ever found to prove that.  Still others think that the ship was caught in the middle of a seaquake.  And still others claim the crew was eaten by sharks during a swim.

Whatever the reason, the story of the Mary Celeste stills fascinates people.  Something about the image of a ship sailing alone, the crew and captain missing..... without a trace.