Civil War Ghosts

8. Gettysburg National Cemetery

Gettysburg, PA

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The Gettysburg National Cemetery was created in November 1863, just four months after the battle, and some of it is located on the land where it happened. The cemetery is a sacred historical place, but not everyone understands that. For some kids, breaking the rules is just part of growing up. Back in the 80s, a group of 5 boys, probably 12 or 13 years old, dared each other to play hide and seek in this cemetery at night. Cemeteries are naturally scary places but, in the darkness, they can become otherworldly. Billy covered his eyes and counted to ten, as the other boys ran and hid. When Billy finished counting, he looked for the others but with all the gravestones and monuments, the cemetery was an ideal spot for the game. After about 20 minutes of looking and finding no one, Billy began to get scared. He was alone and the fog was starting to roll in. It gave him the creeps. Then, he heard distant music. It was a sweet sorrowful song played by a single brass horn. Immediately Billy was overcome with a pang of deep sadness as though someone he loved had died. He headed toward the tune, thinking maybe one of his friends would be over that way. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone move, but when he turned, no one was there. Sure, that it was one of his friends, he called out, saying that he saw them and that meant they had to come out. About 100 feet away, among the gravestones, he saw a young boy walking alone carrying a small brass bugle, a small trumpet without any keys popular during the Civil War. He didn't look like any of Billy's friends, but he was about the same age. Billy couldn't make out much detail since the boy was far away, but it sounded like he was crying. This boy sat down next to a gravestone but then fell out of view. Billy moved closer, calling out to the boy, asking if he was okay. Yet, the boy only whimpered. Billy moved to about 20 feet away, and now he could see the boy more clearly. The boy was leaning against a grave marker with his knees pulled up to his chest; he was crying, and Billy could not see his face. And he was dressed strangely, like in an old military costume with his bugle lying on its bell end beside him. Billy asked, in a soft voice, what was wrong. Without lifting his head, the boy said that he just wanted to go home. He wanted his mother. He was scared. Billy said that he didn't have to be scared because they were together. And he could help him get home because he knew the area well. The boy whimpered and said, it's no use. He too knew the way, but it was just too hard to see. Then, the boy lifted his head, revealing a gaping hole where his eye used to be. Billy jumped back and screamed a blood-curdling scream and then ran all the way home. The next day, his friends teased him about ditching them, but he didn't pay them any mind. He couldn't get the boy's lonely bugle song out of his head.