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INVESTIGATION #011
Farnsworth House
Gettysburg, Pa.
Dates Of Investigation: January 19-21, 2008
Time: 10:00pm - 4:00am
Investigators on Scene: Marty Seibel, Lisa Rose, Curtis and Kelli Jones
Weather: (1/19/2008) Partly Cloudy, 32 degrees, 61% humidity, Winds 9-20 MPH, Moon-- waxing
gibbous with 89% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated(1/20/2008) Partly Cloudy, 14 degrees, 49%
humidity, Winds 6-16.9 MPH, Moon--waxing gibbous with 95% of the Moon's visible disk illuminated
Background History
The historic Farnsworth House is located on Baltimore street in Gettysburg and was right in the middle
of the action during
the battle of Gettysburg. John McFarland built the house in 1810. It has over one hundred
bullet holes in one side of the
building from the battle. It is also believed this is the house from which a confederate sharp
shooter shot and killed
Jenny Wade across the street from the attic. She was the only civilian killed in the
battle of Gettysburg. The house
is known to be extremely haunted and it is claimed to have 13 resident
spirits.
The house offers 5 haunted rooms for overnight guests. The two more popular rooms are the Catherine Sweney and Sarah
Black rooms as they are believed to be more active. Lisa and I have had the opportunity to stay at the Farnsworth House
on numerous occassions, each time having some sort of experience or capture some significant data. However, this would
be the first time, we as a group would do an more complete investigation of the house. We were lucky enough to have
complete access to the Sweney and Black rooms for the weekend.
The Sweney room is often said to be haunted by a midwife and many people having feelings of heaviness and sadness. A
stillborn died in the house and according to what some people say, the midwife feels some responsibility for that. There
are stories of a nurse who goes from room to room to check on guests, comfort them. Then there in the story of Jeremy and
the hauntings of the Sarah Black room. Jeremy was a very young boy who was run over by a carriage while playing a game
of tag in front of the house during the 1880s. He was brought into the Black room and died a few days later. The room is
said to be haunted by Jeremy as well as his grieving father. The attic is haunted as well by what is claimed to be an
agressive confederate soldier. During the battle of Gettysburg confederate snipers used the attic.
The Sarah Black Room, known as one of the more haunted rooms at the Farnsworth.
Past Investigation Data and Experiences
Catherine Sweney Room (August 2003)
The Catherine Sweney Room is known to be one of the more paranormally active rooms in this house. It is named after
Catherine Sweney of the Sweney family who owned the house at the time of the battle of Gettysburg in 1863. There is a
general feeling of sadness in this room, one that even I felt. While I've stayed at many haunted inns and hotels, never have
I felt such a heavy feeling as I did the weekend we stayed here in the Sweney room in August of 2003. Some of that may be
attributed to the fact that in this room there was a woman named Nan/Mary, a midwife who was there to help a woman
who had just had a stillborn birth.
There have been many sightings of Mary in the house. She is often said to go from room to room and check on guests, to see
if they are comfortable. She has been seen sitting at the end of people's beds or standing beside the bed. This such experience
just so happened to Lisa our very first night in the room. Having no prior knowledge of Mary, I was awaken around 2 am in the
morning by the sound of Lisa screaming and clawing at my arm. After claming down, she informed me that she had felt a gentle
nudge or two along the side of leg by the side of the bed, casually looking up, she saw the image of a woman standing directly by
the bed looking down upon her. The image of a woman in victorian clothing, a older woman, her hair up in a bun. Lisa
described the whole image as if it were in black and white (no color), as if it was like an old time photograph.
Sarah Black Room (September 2006)
The story of Jeremy
There is the story of Jeremy and the hauntings of the Sara Black
room. Jeremy was a very young boy who was run over
by a carriage while playing a game of tag in front
of the house during the 1880s. He was brought into the Black room
and died a few days later. The
room is said to be haunted by Jeremy as well as his grieving father.
The audio recordings below referred to as evp were recorded in the Sarah Black room upon our first visit in 2006. You can
clearly hear a child's voice answer our questions as well as a male voice in the first recording. We believe these voices to
be those of Jeremy and his father.
| "un huh, I'm bored " Farnsworth House, Sarah Black Room (Gettysburg, Pa.) 9/23/2006 by Marty Seibel
| | "un huh, I'm bored " Farnsworth House, Sarah Black Room (Gettysburg, Pa.) Amplified and Noise Reduction
| | "what " Farnsworth House, Sarah Black Room (Gettysburg, Pa.) 9/23/2006 by Lisa Rose
| | "what " Farnsworth House, Sarah Black Room (Gettysburg, Pa.) Amplified and Noise Reduction
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Recent Investigation Data and Experiences (January 2008)
Audio Results:
Marty and Lisa- Minutes used on cassette recorder--60 mins. – Black, Shultz and Eisenhower rooms and stairway leading
to attic (No results),
Minutes used on digital audio recorder--35 mins.--Black, Shultz and Eisenhower rooms and stairway
leading to attic (No results)
Kelli and Curtis- Minutes used on cassette recorder--20 mins. – Sweney room and hallways (No results)
Minutes used on
Digital Audio Recorder--20 mins, one evp captured in Sweney room)
Kelli Jones recorded the following evp in the Sweney Room using Olympus WS-311M digital audio recorder. No one was
in the room at the time of the recording, only Kelli Jones.
Photograph Results:
Marty and Lisa- 24 photographs taken using a Cannon Sureshot 105u 35 mm camera with kodak 400 speed
film--(no photographs of interest)
75 photographs taken using a hp Photosmart R607 (4.1 Mp) digital camera--(1 photograph of interest--no conclusion)
Kelli and Curtis- 63 photographs taken using a Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 digital camera--( no photographs of interest)
Photographs from inside the Farnsworth House
Black Room
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Attic Door
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Hallway
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Hallway
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Photographs from the investigation of the Farnsworth House
K-II and emf
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Kelli in Parlor
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Marty & Kelli
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EMF and Temperature Results:
EMF spikes and data was recorded throughout the house and for the most part was traceable sources discovered (electrical,
copper pipes, etc.). In particular, the Eisenhower and Shultz rooms were prime examples where the source was detected.
Many spikes ranging from 2.0 to 5.0 were recorded on the stairway leading to the attic. However, not having access to the
attic, we couldn't say one way or another if these were paranormal or not. With electrical wiring in the attic, we would
more than likely have to say not of paranormal nature that we could determine.
In the Sweney Room, we did record many emf spikes and fluctuations that we could not determine the source. All of this
was recorded on video while in the room while also recording temperature fluctuations, an increase from room temperature
of 68 degrees to 79 degrees in a matter of seconds. Orbs were video taped in the room while this is occurs. Lastly, a
temperature drop from 69.4 degrees down to 47.1 degrees was recorded on the stairway. Photographs were
taken of the area but revealed no unusual activity.
Video Results:
Kelli Jones--
Sony Handycam DCR-HC38 w/ NightShot Camcorder--60 minutes used in Sweney room with results
as seen and explained below.
Marty Seibel--
Sony Handycam DCR-HC38 w/ NightShot Camcorder--62 minutes in Black room with results as seen
and explained below.) 63 minutes used in the Eisenhower room. (No results)
Recorded January 20th, 2008 by Marty Seibel using a Sony Handycam DCR-HC38 w/ NightShot Camcorder.
Although orbs are highly controversial as any kind of proof, we did find these clips interesting enough to share inconclusive
as they may be. Yes, we know orbs can be many things, from dust to other enviromental factors. However, we do feel when
combined with other hard data and evidence, that perhaps there is a bit more to orbs than meets the eye. While we clearly do
not base our investigations on orb data, we do make every effort to define the explanation and recreate the situation if possible.
Please feel free to review these videos and be your own judge.
Sara Black Room
There is the story of Jeremy and the hauntings of the Sara Black
room. Jeremy was a very young boy who was run over
by a carriage while playing a game of tag in front
of the house during the 1880s. He was brought into the Black room
and died a few days later. The
room is said to be haunted by Jeremy as well as his grieving father.
Unusual video was captured by Marty Seibel in the Sara Black Room shortly after 2 am. With the video camera facing the
bed as I am lying in bed, I am asking questions (evp) using the digital audio recorder. I mention in a statement that if the two
of them (Jeremy and his father) see the light, they should go to the light. As I am beginning this statement, you will notice a
white light moving down the screen (the right upper side, at the foot of the bed). After this capture, for period of about 35
minutes, this continues in this same area but with the light moving in many different directions and at many different speeds.
After 35 minutes it completely stops. So it starts with my statement at about 10 minutes into the recording session and ends
at the 45 minute mark. I checked for vents, etc to see if any kind of draft was coming into the room. Nothing. Window
blinds were closed, no draft from there either. No insects in the room. Below are clips from our video recordings from
the Sara Black room. Just click on a video link to view that video.
Catherine Sweney Room
The video below was captured in the Catherine Sweney Room, right next to the Sara Black Room. Captured by Curtis and Kelli
Jones, it shows a question and answer evp session, while using both a K-ll meter and Cell Sensor EMF Meter. It shows
various orbs moving about the room. Orbs moving in many different directions, speeds and some a
quick change of direction.
Final Conclusion: Haunted
A good investigation is basically a series of investigations and collection of much data. I have now had the pleasure of staying
at the Farnsworth House five times. All but one time I have been able to obtain what I believe is tangible evidence that the
house is indeed haunted. Very haunted I would say. We've been lucky enough to capture photographs, clear audio with
intelligent responses (evps), sudden temperature changes, emf spikes, recent unexplained video and our own personal
experience during our very first visit. All of what I just listed, we could not explain.
Upon our most recent stay and investigation of the house, we were able to collect video results in both the Sweney and Black
rooms. In the Sweney room, with our emf meter and k-ll meter lying on the bed, both constantly went off and on while
video filmed orbs passing nearby.
In the Black room, Lisa and I were lucky enough to capture about 30 minutes of video of a moving orb in the corner of our room.
It is in an area that I had placed some toys for Jeremy. Unfortunately we were not able to capture any evps of Jeremy like we
had back in September of 2006. No other results were recorded in the room during our most recent investigation and stay.
I have now video recorded in our last two investigations of the house, only with any results from this most recent
investigation in January of 2008.
Our group found the Farnsworth House a fabulous place to investigate and stay at, well worth a weekends visit. As for Lisa
and myself, five visits now and I truly do believe this location is haunted. We have been so lucky to have collected some
awesome evidence over the years as well as a great personal experience. What more could you ask for! Look and listen
to the evidence we submit and be your own judge. But I'll go on record as saying I believe it is the most haunted
location I have ever stayed at.
Copyright © Marty Seibel
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