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Skeptical Gettysburg ghost investigation

ParrotPirate said:
Antietam doesn't have the same mystique. While it was the bloodiest single day, it didn't drag on for three days. It also wasn't the "high tide" of the Confederacy, or one of the few times the Union managed to beat Lee. Antietam was at best a draw, and didn't really end up as a major strategic gain for either side. That's probably part of why it's ignored by the woo-hunters. It's just not as well known, also.
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According to that horrid 1995-looking website Haunted American Tours, Antietam is #2 behind Gettysburg for Most Haunted Battlefield but, truly, a distant 2nd. I'd be curious how many ghost tours have set up shop there. Gettysburg has like 15 now.

BTW, if you go to that HAT link above, notice how many of the ghost photos have the same type of anomaly...
 
I once saw a show (I think on History) about a haunted train shed. Haunted by Civil War soldiers. I don't know which side.
 
sadhatter said:
Your analogy was good until you forgot the cardinal rule of horror films.

The minority dies first.

And the cardnial rule of any mainstream horror film produced post 2001.

No men survive.
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Whaddaya mean? I've watched every episode of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?", and everyone always survives!

;)
 
idoubtit said:
The diabase boulders at the surface can be magnetic which messes with ghost hunting equipment.
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I'm an analytical chemist and this part always sends me howling into the wilds with my hair on fire. "ghost hunting equipment" always leaves me guessing. How do we know these instruments detect ghosts? Is there a standard ghost somewhere that can be used to calibrate these things? Why are these instruments always the latest, electronic telemetry thingies and not the humble pH meter?

The answer has always eluded me. Due to the annoying scarcety of ghosts and other paranormal phenomena, the choice of detection instruments is very difficult, let alone the verification of their precision.

Anyone could let me know why FLIR is better than a strip impregnated with phenolthalein?
 
Slimething said:
I'm an analytical chemist and this part always sends me howling into the wilds with my hair on fire. "ghost hunting equipment" always leaves me guessing. How do we know these instruments detect ghosts? Is there a standard ghost somewhere that can be used to calibrate these things? Why are these instruments always the latest, electronic telemetry thingies and not the humble pH meter?
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I wonder if anyone makes a bull***t detector.

If not, it would be a great idea for a funny iPhone app :) And ironically could use the exact same code as the iPhone Ghost detector apps, only with different graphics obviously.
 
Fnord said:
Phenolphthalein reacts to alkaline subtances like plaster dust; turning a deep, blood-like shade of red.
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Thanks for catching my mispelling, Fnord. I didn't check it before posting but I should have known. The indicator is red at low pH but blue at alkaline pH levels. My HS chem teacher (one of the best I've had) used to say "red to blue alkaloo" as a mnemonic.

That's not the point, though. Just what can we use to detect a ghost? Per the woo artists, it's the latest gadget. No justification given.
 
Slimething said:
Thanks for catching my mispelling, Fnord. I didn't check it before posting but I should have known. The indicator is red at low pH but blue at alkaline pH levels. My HS chem teacher (one of the best I've had) used to say "red to blue alkaloo" as a mnemonic.
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Sorry, kid ... but that is "Litmus" that you describe. Phenolphthalein is colorless at a Ph of about 8 or less.
Slimething said:
That's not the point, though. Just what can we use to detect a ghost?
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Nothing. Ghosts do not exist.
 
Note that metal detectors are illegal within Gettysburg NB & if you are carrying something that looks like one you'll probably be contacted by someone -

That's to keep people from located & removing historic artifacts...
 
idoubtit said:
I agree. I'm almost certain that the Ghost Lab guy saw a reenactor. It was daylight, in July when he recorded his video. Gettysburg is CRAWLING with people in uniform at that time. You can't avoid it. It's ridiculous to accept his paranormal explanation compared to more logical ones.
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I know,I have done some crawling there in Blue myself...
 
Tiktaalik said:
Note that metal detectors are illegal within Gettysburg NB & if you are carrying something that looks like one you'll probably be contacted by someone -

That's to keep people from located & removing historic artifacts...
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And hammers. They don't like geologic hammers. ;)

I use my compass to note which of the boulders have magnetic properties.

I think we are also going to try a battery drain test, since that is a common report.
 
When I clicked on the link provided by RSL the paranormal site happened to have two guys discussing soldier ghosts at Gettysburg I listened to while looking for Robert's spot. These guys were a hoot. They were saying they go there every year (and that's easy to understand -- I love Gettysburg myself) and were saying they saw ghosts in the reflections of windows and mirrors and heard battlefield sounds in the distance while doing their ghost hunting.

According to them Gettysburg is ground zero for spooks. They saw/heard ghosts around every corner.
 
It's like Mecca for ghost hunters, which has heightened its reputation for ghosts and is the reason why we wish to target it for investigation.
 
Bell said:
I once saw a show (I think on History) about a haunted train shed. Haunted by Civil War soldiers. I don't know which side.
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Confederate soldiers, of course.

Because the South SHALL RISE AGAIN!
 
idoubtit said:
  1. People get creeped out because they KNOW so many people died there; thus, suggestible.
  2. The topography of the area (low ridges with valley in between), surface outcrops, streams, open fields and copses of trees lends itself to spooky fogs and areas of differing air temperatures and humidity levels.
  3. The diabase boulders at the surface can be magnetic which messes with ghost hunting equipment.
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Another factor - you ever drive through there at night? It's frakking creepy. The battlefield is not lit or anything, so you just see all these monuments as shadows emerging from the dark.
 
Senex said:
When I clicked on the link provided by RSL the paranormal site happened to have two guys discussing soldier ghosts at Gettysburg I listened to while looking for Robert's spot. These guys were a hoot. They were saying they go there every year (and that's easy to understand -- I love Gettysburg myself) and were saying they saw ghosts in the reflections of windows and mirrors and heard battlefield sounds in the distance while doing their ghost hunting.

According to them Gettysburg is ground zero for spooks. They saw/heard ghosts around every corner.
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Which makes me wonder if you have a similiar phenomenon in, say, Russia at places like the Stalingrad or Kursk battlefield sites.
 
Cleon said:
Another factor - you ever drive through there at night? It's frakking creepy. The battlefield is not lit or anything, so you just see all these monuments as shadows emerging from the dark.
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Your're in Georgia; do Ghost Hunters ever do their antics at Kennesaw Mountain or Chickamauga?
 
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