Antietam National Battlefield is located on Rt. 65 in Sharpsburg, Maryland.
The battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862. General Robert E. Lee led a force of about 40,000 Confederates against an 87,000 strong Union force led by General George B. McClellan. More men were killed or wounded at Antietam than on any other single day of the Civil War. Union losses totaled 12,410 while Confederate losses rose to 10,700. The battle ended late in the day and was considered a draw.
Strange events have taken place at Bloody Lane that lead people to believe that it is haunted. The sounds of gunfire and the smell of smoke and gunpowder are just some of the strange happenings there. People have also seen strange blue lights near Burnside Bridge where many Federal soldiers died while trying to cross Antietam Creek. The Pry House was used as McClellan's headquarters and is thought to be haunted by General Richardson's wife Frances, who cared for him on his deathbed. Ghosts have also been seen at the Piper House, Sherrick House, Otto House and St. Paul Episcopal Church, which was used, as a Confederate field hospital following the battle.
Many ghost hunters have investigated Antietam Battlefield and have come away with paranormal photos of "orbs" and strange mists. There certainly appeared to be ample reason to conduct an investigation of our own.
We started our investigation on day one by driving to the walking tour in the North Woods area in the late morning of a beautiful November day in 2002.
My wife was using the dowsing rods as we investigated along the walking tour that starts across the street from Auto Tour Stop 2. After passing tour stop 2 the dowsing rods crossed numerous times in the North Woods mostly on the highest ground and the area just outside of the woods. The TriField Natural EMF meter spiked several times to as high as 4 on the SUM setting during this time.
For about forty-five minutes the dowsing rods were both spinning clockwise in the East Woods between walking tour stops 3 & 4. My wife was sitting on a large rock near tour stop 4 when the rods began spinning very quickly. At the same time the EMF meter was spiking between four and six. At this time we took a digital photo that shows the EMF meter spiking up to eight. We also have a 35mm photo which shows the needle buried. The area of stop 4 borders the East Woods and the Cornfield and was the scene of much devastation and death during the Battle of Antietam. Many casualties during the battle were along the edges of the battlefield, here and along the sunken road.
We spent fifteen minutes in the cornfield at which time the dowsing rods were spinning clockwise for my wife but not as often or with as much energy as they did in the East Woods.
We stopped for lunch and drove to Bloody Lane to continue our investigation. For fifteen minutes at the Western end of Bloody Lane, the dowsing rods were spinning clockwise then counter clockwise over and over again.
At dusk we re-visited the East Woods because this was the most active area earlier in the day. At dusk the dowsing rods were still spinning clockwise but not with as much energy as they had earlier in the day. The large rock near tour stop 4 still was the area with the strongest energy present.
On day two of our investigation, we visited the Pry House in mid morning but took no readings there. A somewhat uneasy feeling was sensed as we walked around the house.
After leaving the Pry House we visited the Sherrick House. For the first ten minutes at the Sherrick house we had no EMF readings and no real movement in the dowsing rods. I then tried using the dowsing rods by the front windows and both rods pointed to the front door. While standing on the front porch the left rod began slowly spinning clockwise and the EMF meter spiked to four. The rod then began to spin faster and finally both rods pointed inside. It was as though we were being asked to enter.
We left the Sherrick House and began our investigation of the Otto House. The Otto house was full of energy that you could feel without any instruments being necessary. On the back porch near the cellar door the left dowsing rod was spinning clockwise with a strong force. My wife was near the cellar door when she felt a surge of energy and sensed multiple emotions passing through her at once. At the same time the EMF meter spiked to five and the dowsing rods continued spinning rapidly clockwise.
It was very evident to us that the East Woods near the corner of the Cornfield and the back porch of the Otto House near the cellar door were areas of high energy and unexplained equipment readings. The energy we discovered in the East Woods is understandable considering the fierce fighting and tragic deaths of so many soldiers both blue and gray during the Battle of Antietam. We will continue to investigate this area of the battlefield at a later date.
The energy we experienced at the Otto House took us somewhat by surprise. This energy was some of the strongest we have ever felt at any location during a paranormal investigation. The cellar door appeared to be the center of the energy that we recorded on that day. The house was used as a refuge for many wounded soldiers during and after the battle as were many homes around the battlefield and the town of Sharpsburg. We speculate that the energy we experienced was a result of the suffering of the wounded that took place there.
