Spirits of the Children’s Orphanage
Posted: 11.30.2024 | Updated: 01.09.2025
A town deeply steeped in Civil War history, Gettysburg is often considered one of America’s most haunted cities. When one pictures the ghostly residents of this historic town, images of spectral soldiers and phantom battles leap to mind. Yet one of Gettysburg’s most haunted sites, the old Children’s Orphanage, has nary a ghost soldier to speak of.
Instead, tales of ghostly children and a cruel disciplinarian haunt the walls of 777 Baltimore Street. For over 150 years, stories have circulated of spirits lingering in this old brick house. Those who descend the stairs to the dungeon-like cellar are immediately taken aback by its oppressive atmosphere.
Given its reputation, it is no surprise that the Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage has been frequented by many paranormal investigators over the years. On their visit to Gettysburg in 2011, the Ghost Adventures team spent a night in the basement attempting to communicate with the ghost of the cruel former headmistress. Such a site beckons for further examination.
Is Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage Haunted?
Featured on Travel Channel’s Most Terrifying Places in 2019, the Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage is well-recognized for its haunted activity. The TAPS crew also investigated the site in 2014, capturing audio recordings of children’s voices.
Why do these children still haunt the Gettysburg Orphanage? Read on to unwrap the sad and sinister tale behind this once charitable home for children. Eager to head out the door and see some haunted sites in person? Book one of our Gettysburg ghost tours with Civil War Ghosts today!
History of Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage
The Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage contains a dark and traumatic history. Although the intentions on which it was founded were benevolent, its story soon took a much darker course.
The Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage, also called the National Homestead at Gettysburg, was once a private residence. Occupied by Philinda Humiston, the house was turned into an orphanage following her husband Amos’ death in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Both Philinda’s children, considered partially orphaned, and other fatherless children between the ages of 5 and 13 would stay at this establishment until the age of 14. This bright, youthful age may seem young to some, but boys were often slated to be sent to work at 14 during this period, while women were anticipated to enter into married life by 15.
The orphanage looked to be a kind and caring facility until Philinda remarried in 1869. With her three children no longer being semi-orphans, she moved with them to the Northeast and settled into her new life. At this time, a new headmistress took over the orphanage: a spiteful disciplinarian named Rosa Carmichael.
While Rosa’s job should have been to look after and care for the orphaned children of Gettysburg, she did quite the opposite. She abused the children terribly, whipping the youth and forcibly restraining them inside the house.
Rosa went so far as to prevent individuals from entering the building on behalf of the children. If doctors wanted to examine the orphanage’s occupants, she made them do so on the front porch.
Some of the worst abuses transpired in the cellar of the orphanage, where children were confined to a tiny alcove called the pit or shackled to the wall. The town eventually caught wind of Rosa’s barbaric behavior, and the home was closed down in 1878.
A Cellar of Terrors
Given the dark and desolate history of this troubled home, it’s no wonder that locals consider it haunted. A flood of strange activity has been reported here over the years. Shadowy figures remain a common sighting, thought by many to be the lingering spirits of the orphaned children who once resided here.
Recurrent experiences include guests sensing cold hands on them or feeling dread as they enter the dark, cavernous space. One tour guide recounted being pushed violently from behind in one experience as if someone or something firmly didn’t want him there.
Multiple paranormal investigations have taken place over the years at this gloomy location. A few have even walked away with concrete evidence of their otherworldly encounters. EVP recordings have captured the sounds of children whispering and laughing as well as cries for help.
Another investigation resulted in an image of a woman thought to be the spirit of Rosa Carmichael. Might she too remain locked in this dark location? Perhaps she stays trapped in her dungeon as a punishment for her crimes. She experienced little recourse for them while alive.
Those who visit the cellar today will also see various toys strewn about the grounds. Left here by the current owners, likely in a gesture of remembrance and kindness, they often move around — appearing in different places than where they were left.
Many have speculated that some of Rosa’s cared-for children went missing during her reign of horror. Might their ghosts remain here? If so, these antics must be the work of such children, perhaps enjoying the playthings they rarely encountered during their youth and instead playing with them in the afterlife.
The Tale of the Ambrotype and the Unknown Soldier
The tale of how Philinda learned of her husband’s passing is a strange one. Amos Humiston met his wife-to-be in Candor, who was a young widow at the time. After moving to Portville, New York, they had three children: Franklin, Frederick, and Alice.
Upon the advent of the Civil War, Amos considered it his duty to attend, despite Philinda’s appeals that he stay. He joined the 154th New York Regiment and traveled to Virginia. While there, Amos received a gift from his wife: an ambrotype of his three children — a gift that would lead to an unusual outcome.
After combat, his body was discovered in a vacant lot between the railroad tracks and a white clapboard home, the ambrotype tightly gripped in his hand. From his pose, it was clear he had spent his final moments beholding his children, dying with his eyes still frozen upon them. Still, his body could not be identified, and he was buried in an unmarked grave on the property.
The ambrotype fell into the hands of saloonkeeper Benjamin Shriver, who displayed it in his tavern. John Bourns, a Philadelphia doctor, entered the tavern by chance after a broken wagon axle and, seeing the ambrotype, offered to find the owner’s kin.
Multiple papers published the story with Bourns’ address, recounting the tale of the loving father. Bourns sent copies of the photos to all who wrote to him. Eventually, the story reached Philinda, and his identity was confirmed. Bourns traveled to Portville in January 1864, handing Philinda the bloodstained ambrotype.
Many were taken by the heartrending story of the tender soldier and his fatherless children. As a result, funds were raised through various efforts, including the sale of his children’s photo, which contributed to the founding of the Gettysburg Children’s Orphanage.
Haunted Gettysburg
Today, the orphanage is open for tours, where bold adventurers can journey into the claustrophobic cellar and see the sight where these atrocities occurred. The building itself is said to be one of the most haunted in Gettysburg, yet that hasn’t stopped a few brave residents from renting out the top-floor apartments.
Are you prepared to take one of the best Gettysburg ghost tours available to the public? Book a tour with Civil War Ghosts Until then, continue reading more stories of Gettysburg’s ghosts on our blog, or follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Sources:
https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/ghost-adventures/episodes/gettysburg
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/28213
https://www.syfy.com/ghost-hunters/season-9/blogs/episode-recap-orphans-of-gettysburg
https://pastlanetravels.com/gettysburg-orphanage-haunted-history/
https://www.truthorscares.com/post/cruel-headmistress-haunted-orphanage
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/sergeant-amos-humiston-at-gettysburg/
https://www.historynet.com/amos-humiston-union-soldier-who-died-at-the-battle-of-gettysburg/
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Visit the many haunted downtown inns and buildings where the wounded took their last breaths in agony. Touch the traces of their sacrifice that remain and reach out from beyond in this small, haunted town that shaped the future of the United States.
